What Is a Mission Lease?

Division 6 of Part X of the Land Act 1996 creates a lease type that exists in few other countries’ land statutes, and it reflects the history of church-run schools, hospitals and airstrips across Papua New Guinea.

Section 96 — who may hold a mission lease

So the lessee is either the mission corporation itself, or a trustee holding for it. The term may be for such period not exceeding 99 years as the Minister thinks proper.

Note the wording — the object must be the establishment or conduct of a Christian mission. That is what the section says. A body of another faith seeking land for a place of worship or a school would be looking at a special purposes lease under Division 8, which exists precisely for cases where a grant under another Division “would not be appropriate or would not be possible”.

Section 97 — what the land may be used for

A mission lease may be granted for:

• (a) the purpose of —
  1. a church;
  2. a dwelling-house or houses for members of, or persons employed by or working in connection with, the mission;
  3. a school;
  4. a hospital;
  5. a building for any other charitable, educational or religious purpose;
  6. gardens or pastures for purposes ancillary to any of the above; and
• (b) the construction or operation of an aerodrome for the purposes of establishing or conducting a Christian mission, and the erection or maintenance of hangars and other buildings required to operate it.

Section 98 — no rent

Five words, and a substantial public subsidy. It reflects the fact that missions have historically delivered much of the country’s education and health care.

Rent-free does not mean condition-free. A mission lease is still a State lease, and remains subject to:

• the purpose conditions in section 97 — the land must be used for the mission purposes stated;
• the general conditions the Minister imposes under section 82(2), and the implied reservation of minerals and petroleum under section 82(3);
• forfeiture under Part XV for breach of a condition; and
• approval of dealings under Part XVII before any transfer or other dealing.

The main practical risk: use drifting from purpose

What a mission should keep on file

1. The lease document and certificate of title, and a current title search.
2. Evidence that the lessee entity still exists and still has the mission object — church incorporations change over time, and a lease held by a body that has been wound up or restructured creates real difficulty.
3. Where the lease is held in trust, the trust instrument and the current trustee appointments.
4. A record of how each part of the land is used, matched against the section 97 purposes.
5. Any correspondence with the Department about use, subdivision or transfer.