Communication site usage
If a communications tower or related infrastructure is planned, operated, or already exists on Crown land, landowner’s consent may be required to apply for development approvals. A communications licence will also be required.
Licences are issued to organisations for the use of Crown land for communication purposes. A licence must be held by both communication tower owners and co-users.
Responsibilities of the licence holder over the term of the licence are outlined in the communications licence agreement. These responsibilities include the granting of the licence, ownership, care and maintenance, rent and payment, indemnity and insurance, and removal of structures.
Landowner’s consent may be required by organisations seeking to develop communication facilities or associated infrastructure on Crown land administered by Crown Lands, before any development or other applications are lodged with relevant approval authorities.
For each communication site managed by Crown Lands, licences are issued to both the tower owner (primary user) and any co-located organisation (co-user).
A head-licence agreement is issued by Crown Lands to organisations occupying Crown land for communication purposes. Standard terms and conditions for occupying a communication site are detailed in the head-licence agreement.
Each individual site occupied by an organisation is authorised through a site appendix that is annexed to the head licence. Special conditions specific to each site may also be included in the site appendix.
Each authorised occupant of a communication site located on Crown land is assigned one of 2 classifications:
- Primary user: An organisation is classified as a primary user when access to Crown land for developing communications infrastructure, such as a tower, has been granted through a Crown Lands agreement.
- Co-user: An organisation is classified as a co-user when communications equipment is co-located on a third-party structure. Rent for co-users is calculated at 50% of the rent charged to primary users.
Each site appendix issued to an organisation for a communication site will indicate the applicable site-usage category.
A range of tools is used by Crown Lands to identify the occupation of communication infrastructure on Crown land. These include:
- referencing the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) databases
- reviewing Crown Land records
- consulting with primary users
- consulting with Crown land managers
- reviewing spatial imagery.
Under licence conditions, the primary user of each site is required to notify Crown Lands about any organisation that co-locates on their facilities. This information is used by Crown Lands to update account records and issue new licences when needed.
Communication licence rent is due on 1 July each year.
When a new site appendix is granted, a reference number for each site may be provided by the licence holder. This reference number can be used to reconcile future land-account notices against their internal records.
Developing communication facilities on Crown land
In addition to obtaining a licence to occupy Crown land, planning permissions must be determined and obtained by any organisation seeking to develop communication facilities or associated infrastructure. Depending on the proposal, this may be achieved through:
- A development application for development consent under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act), which requires the consent of Crown Lands, as landowner, to enable lodgement with council.
- A complying development certificate under Part 4 of the EPA Act, which requires Crown Lands consent as landowner, to enable lodgement with council or an accredited certifier.
- An environmental assessment under Part 5 of the EPA Act, where the proposal is for a matter that does not require development consent (and is not exempt or complying development).
Regardless of the planning approvals required, a licence agreement must be entered into with Crown Lands to occupy Crown land.
For proposals requiring a development application (DA) or a complying development certificate (CDC), landowner’s consent is required to lodge the DA or CDC with a consent authority (for example, local council or an accredited certifier).
To apply for landowner’s consent, the following must be submitted for consideration:
- The completed development application intended for submission to council.
- Location, plan and elevation drawings of proposed works, including tower, compound, associated building, and access tracks.
- A Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) to accompany the development application.
- Payment for landowner’s consent to lodge a development application.
- Any other site-specific requirements deemed necessary.
If the approving consent authority requires modifications to the plans during the assessment process, the amended plans and drawings must be reassessed and landowner’s consent re-issued.
Crown Lands must be advised of any changes to the proposed development during the development application process. If the approved development differs significantly from the original proposal, a licence to occupy Crown land may be refused.
Once development consent has been granted by the relevant authority, a copy of the approved development plans bearing the consent authority’s stamp of approval and the development consent document must be provided to Crown Lands.
At that point, Crown Lands consent may be sought to apply for a construction certificate.
Division 21 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Transport and Infrastructure) 2021 (TISEPP) permits certain communication facility proposals to be carried out:
- without consent (section 2.141), or
- with consent (section 2.143), or
- as exempt development (section 2.144), or
- as complying development (section 2.145).
| Development type under TISEPP | Requirements |
|---|---|
Section 2.141 – Development permitted without consent (Considered an ‘activity’ under Part 5 of EPA Act) | An environmental assessment must be submitted that addresses the provisions of Part 5 of the EPA Act for determination. See below for further detail. |
| Section 2.143 – Development permitted with consent | A development application must be lodged with the relevant consent authority. |
| Section 2.144 – Exempt development | No planning permissions are required. A licence to occupy Crown land is still required. |
| Section 2.145 – Complying development | A complying development certificate must be lodged with council or an accredited certifier. |
Where a communication facility is permitted without consent under TISEPP and the applicant is a public authority, the environmental assessment provisions of Part 5 of the EPA Act must be satisfied.
When a licence application is submitted, evidence must be provided that a Part 5 environmental assessment has been completed. Approval to proceed with works will not be granted until a licence has been executed between the applicant and Crown Lands.
To seek consent to occupy Crown land, the following must be submitted for review:
- Location, plan and elevation drawings of the proposed works, including towers, compound, associated buildings, and access tracks.
- An up-to-date identification survey, including the proposed tower, compound, associated buildings, and access track.
The environmental assessment under Part 5 [Review of Environmental Factors (REF)] or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
For proposals classified as a ‘Low Impact Facility’ under the Commonwealth (Cwlth) Telecommunications (Low-Impact Facilities) Determination 2018, the processes outlined in the Cwlth Telecommunications Act 1997, the Cwlth Telecommunications Code of Practice 2018, and associated codes must be followed.
However, a licence must still be applied for by submitting the following:
- Communication Tower Sites Co-User Application Form.
- Location, plan and elevation drawings of the proposed works, including infrastructure, compound, associated building, and access tracks.
- Relevant notices under the Cwlth Telecommunications Act 1997, the Cwlth Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997, and associated codes.
- Any other documents as directed by Crown Lands to support the licence application.
Application process
To apply for a licence, email our telecommunications team at [email protected] to discuss the identified location and seek advice on the next steps.
Co-locating on communication facilities on Crown land
To co-locate on communication facilities located on Crown land, a licence to occupy the land must be applied for by the co-user organisation.
A separate agreement with the tower owner is expected to be in place for the use of tower infrastructure. It must be ensured that the tower owner is authorised to occupy the land and holds a current Crown Lands licence.
The rental charged to the co-user is separate from and additional to any negotiated rental paid to the tower owner.
Conditional approval to locate on the tower infrastructure must be obtained from the tower owner before a licence application is submitted to Crown Lands. A licence cannot be granted to a co-user without sighting this conditional approval.
Similarly, the tower owner is not permitted to allow another organisation to use its facilities without the consent of Crown Lands.
Confirmation that the facility is located on Crown land can be provided by the tower owner, who will hold a current licence with Crown Lands.
Communication licence rent
Communication licence rents are determined based on the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) report titled Final Report – Review of rental arrangements for communication towers on Crown land – July 2013.
In July 2014, all 23 recommendations from the IPART 2013 report were adopted by the NSW Government, including the rental fee schedule. The report can be viewed at the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.
The recommendations from IPART’s 2019 review were not adopted by the NSW Government due to limited market data available at the time.
For the 2023 review, a significantly larger dataset of private market rents for communication sites was obtained by IPART. A final report was provided to the Government on 7 March 2025. The Government will consider whether the recommendations will be adopted and when both the report and a Government response will be published.
Until then, rental fees for communication licences will continue to be invoiced in accordance with the licence agreement and adjusted annually based on changes to the consumer price index.
The annual rent for communication facilities located on a standard site is determined by the type of occupation and the location of the facilities.
In accordance with the IPART 2013 report recommendations, NSW has been divided into four density classifications. These classifications are used to determine the annual rent for each site.
Table 1 defines these classifications. Figure 1 shows the location of the classifications.
A primary user of a site who owns and maintains the communication infrastructure is charged the rent figures listed in Table 2. A co-user of a site is charged rent at 50% of the rate applied to a primary user.
| Density classification | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sydney | Local council areas in metropolitan Sydney with a population density of greater than 1,800 people per km2. |
| High | Local council areas in metropolitan Sydney with a population density of less than or equal to 1,800 people per km2. Greater metropolitan area of Central Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong. |
| Medium | Areas within 12.5 km of the centre of the 37 UCLs defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as having a population of 10,000 people or more, based on the 2011 census. |
| Low | The remainder of NSW. |
| Financial year | Sydney | High | Medium | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | $42,132 | $35,109 | $19,505 | $9,362 |
| 2024–25 | $43,719 | $36,432 | $20,239 | $9,714 |
| 2025–26 | $44,735 | $37,279 | $20,710 | $9,939 |
Rent redetermination
A rent redetermination refers to a change in rental following an assessment of the market rental value of Crown land.
Reviews of rental arrangements for communication towers on Crown land are currently undertaken by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), as engaged by the Government.
When a rent redetermination is carried out on communication tenures, government-adopted IPART recommendations may be applied by Crown Lands.
Terminate a communication licence
To support the termination request, documents showing equipment removal, photographs of the remediated land, and any required reports may need to be provided. Land clean-up or payment of outstanding fees may also be required before termination is approved.
Any unpaid rent must still be paid even after the licence has been terminated – Apply to cancel a communications licence.
Communication licence rebate
A rental rebate may be available to communications providers who meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Table 3.
To apply for a rebate, a Communication Licence Rebate application must be lodged for assessment. Additional information regarding rebate eligibility can be found in the Financial Concessions Policy (PDF, 188 KB).
Crown Lands must be notified by organisations if a change in circumstances occurs that may affect rebate eligibility.
| Category | Definition |
|---|---|
| Community groups | Special not-for-profit community-interest groups. |
| Budget-funded sector | Government emergency services bodies (agencies or authorities) that deliver essential services to the public and typically cannot fully recover the value they create through user fees. The budget-funded sector includes both Australian Government and NSW Government agencies and authorities. |
| Local service providers | Commercial entities that solely or predominantly service communities in a limited number of low- and/or medium-density locations. The business operations must be predominantly in these areas, and the rebate is available only to the sites located in the low- and medium-density locations. |
| Telephony service providers | Telephone service providers required to provide telephony services under government direction or legislative requirements in low-density locations, specifically for small country automatic exchange (SCAX) sites. |
Table 4 describes rebates that may apply for eligible organisations if a rebate application is approved.
| Rebate category | Sydney annual density location rebates | Annual high density location rebates | Annual medium density location rebates | Annual low density location rebates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community groups | Statutory minimum rent | Statutory minimum rent | Statutory minimum rent | Statutory minimum rent |
| Budget-funded sector | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% |
| Local service providers | N/A | N/A | 60% | 60% |
| Telephony service providers | N/A | N/A | N/A | 60% |
To apply for a communication licence rebate, the online application form must be completed and submitted – Apply for a communication licence rebate.
Fees
Go to Fees and applications overview to view fees associated with:
- Communication licence (for new communications licences)
- Granting of landowner’s consent to lodge a development application.