The Land Act 1996 (No 45 of 1996) is the principal statute governing land administration in Papua New Guinea. It was passed to consolidate and amend legislation relating to land, and it repealed a long list of earlier statutes.
What the Act regulates
Twenty-eight Parts, but they group into six practical subjects:
- National title to land (Part II) — the declaration that all land other than customary land is the property of the State.
- Acquisition of land by the State (Part III) — by agreement, by lease-leaseback, and by compulsory process.
- Compensation (Part IV) — nine Divisions on who may claim, how it is assessed, and how disputes are resolved.
- Reservation, the Land Board and alienation (Parts V to IX).
- State leases (Parts X to XIX) — the types of lease, their conditions, variation, forfeiture, surrender, licences, approval of dealings, subdivision and consolidation.
- Powers, offences and miscellaneous (Parts XX to XXVIII) — including special provisions on customary land, unlawful occupation, and fencing.
What the Act does not cover
- Ownership of customary land. The Land Act deals with customary land only where the State is acquiring it, or under the special provisions in Part XX. Who owns customary land, and disputes about it, are governed by the Land Disputes Settlement Act (Chapter 45) and by custom as part of the underlying law.
- Registration of title. The register, certificates of title, transfers, mortgages and caveats are governed by the Land Registration Act (Chapter 191). See the Torrens system in PNG.
- Planning and zoning. Physical planning is governed by separate legislation, and a lease purpose under the Land Act is not the same thing as a planning permission.
Section 1 — the constitutional footing
The Act opens by declaring itself a law that regulates or restricts five qualified rights under the Constitution: section 44 (freedom from arbitrary search and entry), section 48 (freedom of employment), section 49 (privacy), section 51 (freedom of information) and section 52 (freedom of movement).
It states that it is made for the public interest in public order and public welfare, to protect the rights of others, and for public purposes reasonably justified in a democratic society. That recital is what section 38 of the Constitution requires of a law restricting a qualified right — and it is worth knowing that the Act says so on its face.
Section 1(2) also declares that the Act relates to a matter of national interest for the purposes of the Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local-level Governments.
Definitions that matter
- “Customary land” — land owned or possessed by an automatic citizen or community of automatic citizens by virtue of rights of a proprietary or possessory kind that belong to that citizen or community and arise from and are regulated by custom.
- “Custom” — the customs and usages of indigenous inhabitants existing in relation to land at the time and place in question, regardless of whether the custom has existed from time immemorial. Custom does not have to be ancient to be law.
- “Citizen” — for the purposes of this Act, includes a business group, a land group, a customary kinship group, a customary descent group, and a customary local group or community. Groups, not only individuals, count.
- “Acquire” (in Part III) — includes purchase or lease.
Read the current text
The consolidation used here runs to No 10 of 2018, and there are further amending Acts — the Land (Amendment) Act 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2022. Some amending Acts have been passed but not commenced. Before relying on a section, read it in the current consolidated text and check the commencement of any amendment.
Sources
- Land Act 1996 — ss 1, 2, 4
- Land Registration Act (Chapter 191) — PacLII 1986 Revised Edition
- Land Disputes Settlement Act (Chapter 45)
- Constitution — ss 38, 44, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53
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.