A person is considered to be a qualifying farmer if they have:
- held a [glossary:qualifying interest:585] in the [glossary:farm:68] for a continuous period of 15 years; or
- acquired a qualifying interest in the farm before 15 September 1997 and been actively involved in farming in Australia for any period of 20 years.
During either period the person or their partner must have derived a [glossary:significant part of their income:672] and contributed a [glossary:significant part of their labour:687] to the development of a farm.
Refer to subsection 5P(3) and subsection 5P(4) of the VEA for the full definition.