Definition of qualifying interest in a farm
For the purposes of RAFS, a farmer held a qualifying interest in a farm if they:
- had legal ownership of the farm land;
- held a pastoral lease over the farm land;
- held an equitable interest in general law land that is mortgaged; or
- were a sharefarmer in a private company that owned or held a pastoral lease over the farm land.
Sharefarmers who did not own real land
Sharefarmers who did not own real land and did not have a qualifying interest were unable to participate in RAFS.
Occupation of property on short-term lease
Farmers who occupied property on a short-term lease rather than a pastoral lease were unable to participate in RAFS because they did not have a qualifying interest in the farm.
Trustee of trust
A trustee of a trust has a legal interest in the trust's assets. Accordingly, where a farm was owned by a trust and the farmer was the trustee of that trust, he or she had a qualifying interest in the farm. This included situations where the farmer was the trustee of an estate, for example where a widow/widower was trustee of the deceased partner's will.
Shareholders in private trustee companies
Shareholders in private trustee companies that owned a farm had a qualifying interest.