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Queensland Government - Queensland Revenue Office
Queensland Government - Queensland Revenue Office

How to apply for farm-in agreement concessions

Find out how to lodge a farm-in agreement and apply for a transfer (stamp) duty concession.

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    You will need to lodge the signed farm-in agreement with a dutiable transaction statement (Form D2.2) for assessment to claim the concessions. You may also need to submit other documents for assessment at a later time if further interests are transferred or when exploration amounts are spent.

    Instructions

    The following instructions explain how to apply for farm-in agreement concessions for particular transactions.

    Who needs to notify QRO

    The farmor or farmee

    Notification or lodgement due

    30 days after farm-in agreement is entered into

    What to lodge

    How duty will be assessed

    Where the concessions apply, transfer duty will be assessed on any consideration for entering into the agreement.

    Where the concessions do not apply, transfer duty will be assessed on the greater of the consideration for the agreement or the unencumbered value of the dutiable property.

    Who needs to notify QRO

    The farmor or farmee

    Notification or lodgement due

    30 days after the transfer is signed by the farmor

    What to lodge

    How duty will be assessed

    No duty will apply to the transfer. The transfer will be stamped with ‘nil duty’ so that it can be lodged for registration.

    Requirements

    The following requirements apply to each interest under the agreement.

    Who needs to notify QRO

    The farmee

    Notification or lodgement due

    14 days after spending the exploration amount for the interest

    What to lodge

    • Written notice
    • Original stamped upfront farm-in agreement

    How duty will be assessed

    The farm-in agreement will be reassessed for transfer duty.

    Where a farm-in agreement involves transfers of interests across multiple stages, duty will be reassessed on all of the consideration paid or payable up to the lodgement date for the relevant stage.

    Exploration amounts will be excluded from the reassessment of duty. A credit will apply to transfer duty previously paid for the agreement.

    Who needs to notify QRO

    The farmee

    Notification or lodgement due

    30 days after the expenditure completion date

    The farmor and farmee may agree to change the expenditure completion date. If this occurs, the farmee must notify the Commissioner of State Revenue by lodging the required documents. Notification is required within 30 days of the expenditure completion date last given to the Commissioner.

    What to lodge

    • Written notice
    • Original stamped upfront farm-in agreement

    How duty will be assessed

    If the farmee transfers the interest in the exploration authority back to the farmor within 30 days of the expenditure completion date (or date as varied and notified to the Commissioner), the retransfer of the interest from the farmee to the farmor will be exempt from transfer duty.

    If the farmee does not retransfer the interest in the exploration authority back to the farmor within 30 days of the expenditure completion date (or date as varied and notified to the Commissioner):

    • the agreement will be reassessed as if it were not a farm-in agreement.
    • transfer duty will apply to the greater of the consideration for the agreement (including exploration amounts) or the unencumbered value of the dutiable property agreed to be transferred.

    Who needs to notify QRO

    The farmor or farmee

    Notification or lodgement due

    30 days after the transfer is signed by the farmor

    What to lodge

    How duty will be assessed

    The farm-in agreement will be reassessed for transfer duty.

    Where a farm-in agreement involves transfers of interests across multiple stages, duty will be reassessed on all of the consideration paid or payable up to the lodgement date of the relevant stage.

    Exploration amounts will be excluded from the reassessment of duty. A credit will apply to transfer duty previously paid for the agreement.

    Also consider…

    Last updated: 5 November 2024