What is government land?

Government land is an important asset for all Victorians. It supports the delivery of essential government services, protects sites of environmental and cultural value and provides opportunities for community and recreational uses.

What is government land?

Government land refers to all land held by the Victorian Government, including by departments and agencies.

The Victorian Government currently holds approximately 8.8 million hectares of land across Victoria. This represents almost 40% of the total land area in the state.

Of the total government land in Victoria, approximately:

• 7.7 million hectares is reserved Crown land
• 300,000 hectares is unreserved Crown land
• 200,000 hectares is freehold land
• 600,000 hectares is roads (mix of Crown and freehold land)

What is Crown land?

Crown land is held by the Crown (the King or Queen) in right of the State of Victoria. Crown land can be reserved for a particular public use, or unreserved. Unreserved Crown Land has not been set aside for a particular public use.

When Crown land is transferred to the public, it is said to be alienated from the Crown and a Crown Grant is issued in the name of the purchaser. A Crown Grant is the first freehold title to a piece of land granted by, or alienated from, the Crown.

Most of the land held by the Victorian Government is Crown land reserved for national parks and state forests.

For more information about how the Victorian Government manages Crown land, see Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DEWLP) Land Management.

What is freehold land?

Freehold land can be general law land or Torrens land, read more about types of land in Victoria.

Freehold land owned by the Victorian government may be used to provide essential government services such as education, health, transport infrastructure and housing.

Only a very small amount of land (less than 5%) held by the Victorian Government is freehold land.

Does government buy and sell land?

The Victorian Government has legislation and policies that determine when and how government land can be acquired and sold.

There is a rigorous process in place to ensure that government land transactions are accountable, transparent and follow legislation and policies.

The Victorian Government Land Monitor (VGLM) independently reviews government land transactions to give the government confidence that the right processes have been followed.

Read more about VGLM.

Page last updated: 24/11/20