A landowner group approached about its land faces a choice between mechanisms that sound similar and do very different things. This article sets them side by side.
The four routes compared
| Tenure conversion | Part IIIA registration | Lease-leaseback / SABL | State acquisition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statute | Land (Tenure Conversion) Act 1963 | Land Registration Act Pt IIIA | Land Act ss 11, 102 | Land Act ss 10, 12 |
| Land stays customary? | No | Yes | Yes — rights suspended | No — becomes State land |
| Custom abolished? | Yes — s 16 | No | Suspended for the term, except what is reserved | Yes |
| Result | Estate in fee simple | Customary ownership recorded | An SABL to a developer or group | A State lease may be granted |
| Who applies | A citizen | Representatives of an ILG | The Minister leases from the owners | The Minister |
| Reversible? | Effectively no | n/a — nothing changes | Yes — at end of term | Limited — s 48(2) |
| Can it be sold after? | Yes — subject to s 56(1)(b) | No — s 132 still applies | The SABL may be dealt with | The State lease may be dealt with |
Tenure conversion — the most far-reaching
It produces a registered fee simple and ends customary tenure. Section 16 is comprehensive: the land ceases to be customary land, ceases to be regulated by custom, and all pre-existing rights are abolished except those specified in the order.
- Everything must be agreed. The Commission must be satisfied that all persons interested are in agreement.
- Garden land cannot be converted. Section 9(2) prohibits an order over land that should remain customary to meet the owners’ need to produce food for their own consumption.
- The title carries restrictions — minimum area and frontage, no more than six owners, Land Board consent for transfers or leases over 25 years, and a 25-year cap on a mortgagee’s possession.
- The market is narrow. It is freehold, so section 56(1)(b) reserves acquisition to citizens — and section 16A bars converting it into a substitute State lease later.
- Succession changes from custom to wills and intestacy.
Part IIIA registration — the least disruptive
It records what already exists. The Director prepares a Registration Plan showing the land owned under customary tenure by the group and the derivative interests of others — their names, boundaries and the nature of each interest. Objections may be made within a period of not more than 90 days.
The land stays customary, and section 132 of the Land Act still prohibits dealings outside custom.
Evidence and organisation. A group with a Final Registration Plan and a functioning ILG knows its boundaries, has its derivative interests written down, and negotiates from a documented position. That is worth a great deal when a developer arrives — and it is the natural first step before considering anything else.
Lease-leaseback and an SABL — temporary but long
The State leases the land from the owners and grants an SABL back. The land stays customary and reverts at the end — but the term may be up to 99 years, and all customary rights except those specifically reserved in the lease are suspended for it.
Gardens, sago, hunting, fishing, access, water, burial grounds, sacred sites — if the group wants them to survive, each must be expressly reserved. This is exactly where a Part IIIA Registration Plan earns its keep: it is the schedule of interests to be reserved.
Note also that no rent is payable by the State for the head lease, and no rent is payable on the SABL. Any money comes from the commercial arrangements with the developer. And section 66 is the group’s friend: an SABL provision inconsistent with the head lease is of no effect.
State acquisition — permanent
The State acquires by agreement under section 10, or compulsorily under section 12. The land becomes State land and a State lease may then be granted.
Before acquiring by agreement the Minister must be satisfied, after reasonable inquiry, that the land is not required or likely to be required by the customary landowners or those on whom it may devolve by custom. Compensation is governed by Part IV, and a claim must be made within one year of the date of acquisition.
Only limited recovery is possible: section 48(2) says the Minister should, where practicable and unless undesirable, declare former customary land to be customary again if within seven years it is proposed to lease it for a different purpose — but not where substantial improvements have been made.
Questions a group should ask
- Do we want to keep the land in the family for good? Then registration — not conversion, and not acquisition.
- Do we need money now, from a project? Lease-leaseback, with a carefully drafted reservations clause and independent advice.
- Do we need a title we can borrow against? Conversion is the only route to a fee simple — but read the 25-year mortgage cap and the fragmentation limits first.
- Is the State taking it anyway? Then the questions are about compensation, the one-year claim deadline, and who receives and distributes the money.
- Have we settled our own membership and boundaries? If not, do that first. Every route assumes it.
Get advice for the group, arranged and paid for by the group — not by the party on the other side of the transaction. And remember section 9(4) of the Land Act: the State is not bound to see to the application of money paid to an appointed agent, and the agent’s receipt is a sufficient discharge. How money reaches members is a question to settle in writing before anything is signed.
Start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or a firm from the law firms directory.
Sources
- Land (Tenure Conversion) Act 1963 — ss 7–11, 16, 16A, 23–26
- Land Registration Act (Chapter 191) — Part IIIA
- Land Act 1996 — ss 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 48, 66, 102, 132–135
- Land Groups Incorporation Act — PacLII 1986 Revised Edition
- Constitution — ss 53, 56; Preamble (National Goals 4 and 5)
- Tzen Plantation Ltd v Mukurramainga Land Group [2025] PGSC 50; SC2746
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Land Act 1996 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.