Land tenure and availability

This guide outlines the types of land tenure that exist in the Northern Territory (NT) and how tenure affects the process for granting a title.

There are 3 main types of land tenure.

Most land in the NT, outside of townships, is either Aboriginal freehold or pastoral leasehold land over which native title rights can exist.

There are areas of land that are subject to reservations that may restrict certain activities:

• under the Petroleum Act, these are known as petroleum reserved blocks
• under the Geothermal Energy Act, these are known as geothermal reserved blocks
• under the Mineral Titles Act, these are known as reserved land.

In some areas, all 3 reservations may apply.

An application for a title may be made over any land in the NT by following the relevant procedures set out in the legislation. In some cases, there may be a valid reason for an application to be refused over certain areas.