15 September 2026
The move to deliver 30-year lease tenure for oyster farmers has been welcomed by NSW Farmers as a significant and long-awaited step forward for the oyster industry.
The proposed changes will benefit 235 oyster businesses operating 2,421 aquaculture leases across 18 Local Government Areas along the NSW coast, with the greatest number of leases in the Mid North Coast, followed by Bega, Eurobodalla, Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Central Coast and Shoalhaven.
Port Stephens-based oyster farmer, and Chair of the NSW Farmers Oyster Committee, Robert Redmayne, said doubling aquaculture lease terms from 15 to 30 years would provide greater certainty for oyster farmers to invest, grow their businesses and better plan for the future.
“This is a significant outcome for our industry,” Mr Redmayne said.
“Security of tenure has been a longstanding priority for oyster farmers. These are businesses that require significant long-term investment, so recognising the need for stable, long-term access is an important and welcome step.
“However, it is worth noting that this applies to tenure for water-based aquaculture leases administered by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development – and does not include land base sites administered by crown lands, where tenure remains a significant challenge, particularly in areas such as the Georges River and Shoalhaven.”
NSW Farmers has been advocating for greater security of tenure for oyster growers and provided detailed feedback on the implementation of the NSW Aquaculture Vision Statement, which aims to double the aquaculture sector’s farm gate value to $300 million by 2030.
Throughout the process, NSW Farmers identified standardised 30-year tenure as a critical priority and advocated directly to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Crown Lands, Ministers and local MPs. Lease security issues were also raised through formal submissions, the Vision Statement consultation process, member surveys and ongoing engagement on behalf of growers.
Mr Redmayne said while the proposed changes represented important progress, ongoing challenges with lease administration remained.
“Across NSW, oyster farmers continue to face lengthy delays, inconsistent processes and uncertainty when dealing with lease administration. In some cases, lease renewals have taken years to resolve, limiting investment and creating significant business risk,” Mr Redmayne said.
“We look forward to working with the NSW Government to tackle the remaining barriers so our oyster industry has the confidence and certainty it needs to grow.”
