Duty of care
The duty of care is a legal obligation requiring all individuals to exercise reasonable care when doing something that might possibly harm other people, property or the environment.
As well as meeting this common law duty of care and their general environmental duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1994, all holders of leases, licences and permits issued under the Land Act 1994 must satisfy a statutory condition that they demonstrate a duty of care for the lease land.
The Delbessie Agreement has clarified that, where a lease is issued for agricultural, grazing or pastoral purposes, the duty of care requires the leaseholder to take all reasonable steps to:
- maintain pastures dominated by perennial, preferential and productive species
- maintain native grasslands free of encroachment
- protect riparian vegetation
- manage declared pests
- avoid causing or contributing to salinity that reduces the productivity of the leased land or causes damage to any other land
- conserve soil, water resources and biodiversity.
Fact sheet—Delbessie agreement: Duty of care (PDF, 100K)*.
Under the Delbessie Agreement, a leaseholder who implements and complies with a land management agreement is satisfying their duty of care to the land under the Land Act 1994.
The publication Managing grazing lands in Queensland (PDF, 642K)* provides useful information to assist lessees in managing their property, meeting their duty of care requirements and preparing a land management agreement.
Leaseholders also have a duty of care under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 to take all reasonable and practical measures to ensure their activities do not harm Aboriginal cultural heritage on their land.
Fact sheet—Cultural heritage: your duty of care (PDF, 73K)*.
* Requires Adobe Reader
Last updated 5 October 2011