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Land and Property
There are three kinds of land in Papua New Guinea: customary land, which is the great majority of the country and is held under custom; State land, which the State grants as a lease; and a small amount of freehold. Which kind you are dealing with decides what you can do with it, how title is proved, and which court hears a dispute about it. This series answers 115 questions across the Land Act 1996, the Land Registration Act and the Acts governing freehold and the conversion of customary tenure.
About 97 per cent of the land in Papua New Guinea is customary land, held by clans and kinship groups rather than by individuals with title deeds. The remaining few per cent — government land, held under State leases and recorded on a Torrens register — is where nearly all of the written law operates. Understanding which kind of land you are dealing with is the first question in every land problem, and getting it wrong is the most expensive mistake made in this country.
Jump to a subject
83 questions and answers, grouped by subject.
- The Land Act 1996: how land works — 5 questions
- Acquisition of land by the State — 6 questions
- Compensation — 6 questions
- Reservation, the Land Board and alienation — 2 questions
- The types of State lease — 8 questions
- Lease conditions and improvements — 3 questions
- Forfeiture, surrender and licences — 1 question
- Dealings, subdivision and unlawful occupation — 3 questions
- The register and how it works — 7 questions
- Title, indefeasibility and fraud — 5 questions
- Registration of customary land — 4 questions
- Transfers and State leases on the register — 5 questions
- Leases and subleases — 3 questions
- Mortgages and charges — 3 questions
- Caveats — 5 questions
- Transmission: death, insolvency and trusts — 4 questions
- Remedies, the Assurance Fund and the Registrar's powers — 3 questions
- Freehold ownership and the Constitution — 6 questions
- Converting customary tenure — 4 questions
The Land Act 1996: how land works
What the Act covers, the difference between customary and government land, who administers land, and what a State lease actually is.
What Is the Difference Between Customary Land and Government Land?
Customary land and State land in Papua New Guinea compared: section 4 of the Land Act 1996, what customary land means, how land is declared State land, and why the distinction decides everything.
Read the answer → No. 3What Is a State Lease?
State leases in Papua New Guinea explained: what a State lease is, how it is granted, the implied reservation of minerals and petroleum, and why the purpose clause matters.
Read the answer → No. 4Who Administers Land in Papua New Guinea?
Who does what in PNG land administration: the Minister, the Departmental Head, the Land Board, the Registrar of Titles, the Custodian for Trust Land, and the Land Titles Commission.
Read the answer → No. 5Can Customary Land Be Bought or Sold?
Section 132 of the Land Act 1996: why customary land cannot be sold, what “void” means for money already paid, and the lawful routes for dealing with customary land.
Read the answer → No. 24How Are Customary Land Disputes Decided?
How customary land disputes are resolved in PNG: the Land Disputes Settlement Act (Chapter 45), land mediators, Local and Provincial Land Courts, and the Land Titles Commission.
Read the answer →Acquisition of land by the State
How the State gets land - by agreement, by lease-leaseback, and by compulsory process - and what protections apply.
How Does the State Acquire Customary Land?
How the State acquires customary land in PNG under the Land Act 1996: acquisition by agreement, the “not required” test, determination of ownership, and the appointment of an agent.
Read the answer → No. 7What Is Lease-Leaseback, and What Is an SABL?
Lease-leaseback and special agricultural and business leases (SABLs) in PNG: section 11 of the Land Act 1996, the suspension of customary rights, and the section 66 protection.
Read the answer → No. 8When Can the State Compulsorily Acquire Land?
Compulsory acquisition under section 12 of the PNG Land Act 1996: the three triggers, what vesting means, conversion of interests into compensation claims, and the constitutional limits.
Read the answer → No. 10What Happens to a Mortgage When the State Takes the Land?
Division 7 of Part III of the PNG Land Act 1996: what happens to a mortgage on compulsory acquisition, the mortgagee's election, deemed waiver, and the effect on the mortgagor.
Read the answer → No. 12What Happens to Land the State No Longer Needs?
Division 9 of Part III of the PNG Land Act 1996: disposal of resumed land, the seven-year rule for former customary land, the substantial improvements exception, and protection of purchasers.
Read the answer → No. 13What Is Reserved Land?
Part V of the PNG Land Act 1996: reservation of land from lease or further lease, what it means for existing lessees, and how reservations are made and revoked.
Read the answer →Compensation
Who can claim, how a claim is made, the principles of assessment, agreement, arbitration, the courts, and when payment and interest fall due.
Who Can Claim Compensation When Land Is Taken?
Section 21 of the PNG Land Act 1996: who may claim compensation for compulsorily acquired land, the one-year limit, acceptance and rejection, and the three-month deeming rule.
Read the answer → No. 15How Is Compensation for Acquired Land Assessed?
Division 3 of Part IV of the PNG Land Act 1996: the principles of compensation, the no-scheme rule, severance, set-off for enhancement, and the special defence and navigation rule.
Read the answer → No. 16How Do I Actually Make a Compensation Claim?
The practical mechanics of a compensation claim under Part IV of the PNG Land Act 1996: what to include, the deadlines, prima facie evidence, and what to do if the claim is rejected.
Read the answer → No. 18Can a Court Decide My Compensation?
Division 6 of Part IV of the PNG Land Act 1996: when you can sue for compensation, which court, how the proceedings run, joinder of other claimants, and the costs trap.
Read the answer → No. 19When Is Compensation Paid, and Is Interest Payable?
Division 8 of Part IV of the PNG Land Act 1996: the conditions of payment, proving title to the Attorney-General, payment into court, deduction of rates and taxes, and interest.
Read the answer → No. 20Who Decides Compensation for Customary Land?
Section 19 of the PNG Land Act 1996: the Land Titles Commission's jurisdiction over compensation for customary land, how it differs from the National Court route, and the practical steps for a landowner group.
Read the answer →Reservation, the Land Board and alienation
Reserved land, how the Land Board works, applying for a State lease, and appealing a Land Board decision.
What Is the Land Board and What Does It Do?
The PNG Land Board under sections 55 to 58 of the Land Act 1996: its composition, functions, meeting procedure, quorum, notice requirements and the right to object.
Read the answer → No. 22How Do I Apply for a State Lease?
Applying for a State lease in PNG under sections 68 to 79 of the Land Act 1996: advertisement, exemptions, tenders, the Letter of Grant, the 28-day acceptance and extinguishment.
Read the answer →The types of State lease
Agricultural, pastoral, business and residence, mission, special purposes, special agricultural and business, and urban development leases.
What Types of State Lease Are There?
The eight kinds of State lease under Part X of the PNG Land Act 1996 compared: purpose, maximum term, rent, key conditions, and which Division governs each.
Read the answer → No. 26What Is an Agricultural Lease?
Agricultural leases under Division 3 of Part X of the PNG Land Act 1996: the grant, the 99-year maximum, minimum improvement conditions, and what happens if they are not met.
Read the answer → No. 27What Is a Pastoral Lease?
Pastoral leases under Division 4 of Part X of the PNG Land Act 1996: the grant, minimum stocking conditions, inquiry into depasturing, and destocking notices.
Read the answer → No. 28What Is a Business or Residence Lease?
Business and residence leases under Division 5 of Part X of the PNG Land Act 1996: the grant, the 99-year term, specifying classes of business, and the tender requirement.
Read the answer → No. 29What Is a Mission Lease?
Mission leases under Division 6 of Part X of the PNG Land Act 1996: who may hold one, the permitted purposes including aerodromes, the 99-year term, and why no rent is payable.
Read the answer → No. 30What Is a Lease of a Government-Owned Building?
Section 99 of the PNG Land Act 1996: leases of government-owned buildings, why most of the Act does not apply, periodic tenancies, and the absence of Torrens title.
Read the answer → No. 31What Is a Special Purposes Lease?
Special purposes leases under Division 8 of Part X of the PNG Land Act 1996: when they are used, the residence restriction, royalties, re-appraisal of rent, and the tender requirement.
Read the answer → No. 32What Is a Special Agricultural and Business Lease?
Special agricultural and business leases (SABLs) under Division 9 of Part X of the PNG Land Act 1996: who may hold one, the conclusive-evidence rule in section 102(3), no rent, and backdated commencement.
Read the answer →Lease conditions and improvements
Improvement conditions, rent and its review, changing the purpose of a lease, relaxation of conditions, and payment for improvements on expiry.
What Conditions Are in Every State Lease?
Section 82 of the PNG Land Act 1996: the reservations and conditions implied into every State lease, the bona fide purpose condition, and what the Minister may add.
Read the answer → No. 35What Rent Is Payable on a State Lease?
Section 83 of the PNG Land Act 1996: how State lease rent is set, the ten-year re-assessment of unimproved value, remission and postponement, payment dates, and the gazetted arrears list.
Read the answer → No. 36Can I Change the Purpose of My State Lease?
Part XII of the PNG Land Act 1996: varying the purpose of a State lease, the two statutory limits, relaxation of covenants for special hardship, and how to apply.
Read the answer →Forfeiture, surrender and licences
When the State can forfeit a lease, the show-cause procedure, fines instead of forfeiture, surrender, and licences over State land.
Dealings, subdivision and unlawful occupation
Approval of dealings, what happens without it, subdividing and consolidating leases, and the offences around unlawful occupation.
Do I Need Approval to Sell or Transfer My State Lease?
Part XVII of the PNG Land Act 1996: controlled dealings, which leases are caught, why approval is withheld for unpaid rent or unmet improvement conditions, and the 28-day lodgement offence.
Read the answer → No. 47What Happens If I Deal With a Lease Without Approval?
The consequences of an unapproved dealing under sections 128 and 129 of the PNG Land Act 1996: voidness, the K10,000 and K50,000 penalties, the share-dealing rule, and how to fix a void transaction.
Read the answer → No. 50What Are the Offences for Occupying or Damaging Land Unlawfully?
Part XXIV of the PNG Land Act 1996: trespass and unlawful occupation of government and customary land, the penalties, the removal of the claim-of-right defence, and forcible ejection.
Read the answer →The register and how it works
The Torrens system in PNG, the Registrar, certificates of title, the register, and how instruments are registered.
What Is the Torrens System, and How Does It Work in PNG?
The Torrens system of title by registration in Papua New Guinea: the Land Registration Act (Chapter 191), the Register, certificates of title, and the three principles behind it.
Read the answer → No. 62What Powers Does the Registrar of Titles Have?
Part XVII of the PNG Land Registration Act: the Registrar's powers to refuse, requisition, summon, dispense with production, register informal documents, and correct the Register.
Read the answer → No. 63What Is a Certificate of Title, and What Does the Register Look Like?
Part III Division 1 of the PNG Land Registration Act: preparation of certificates of title, the Register and its folios, registration, and the certificate as conclusive evidence.
Read the answer → No. 64How Are Instruments Registered, and Who Gets Priority?
Part III Division 4 of the PNG Land Registration Act: registration of instruments, the priority rule in section 24, the memorial, and what happens if you cannot produce the title.
Read the answer → No. 65What Happens If I Lose My Certificate of Title?
Section 162 of the PNG Land Registration Act: replacing a lost, destroyed or defaced instrument of title, the evidence required, the 14-day advertisement, and the validity of the replacement.
Read the answer → No. 66How Are State Leases Recorded on the Register?
Part IV of the PNG Land Registration Act: the Register of State Leases, the State lease as a folio, the section 35(4) bar on registering dealings, and notifying variations.
Read the answer → No. 67How Do I Search a Title, and What Should I Look For?
How to search a land title in Papua New Guinea: what the folio shows, the interests that bind without appearing on it, the Land Act searches, and a due diligence checklist.
Read the answer →Title, indefeasibility and fraud
What registration gives you, the indefeasibility principle, the fraud exception, and the limits the courts have set.
What Is the Fraud Exception to Indefeasibility?
The fraud exception in section 33(1)(a) of the PNG Land Registration Act: what counts as fraud, whose fraud matters, why notice is not fraud, and how it must be pleaded and proved.
Read the answer → No. 70What If There Are Two Titles Over the Same Land?
Section 33(1)(c) of the PNG Land Registration Act: overlapping and duplicate titles, why the prior instrument prevails, how duplicate titles arise, and what the later proprietor can recover.
Read the answer → No. 71What If the Boundaries or Description on My Title Are Wrong?
Sections 33(1)(d) and (e) and Part XVI of the PNG Land Registration Act: omitted easements, wrong descriptions and boundaries, and how to apply to amend a certificate of title.
Read the answer → No. 72Can a Registered Title Be Challenged?
How and when a registered title can be attacked in PNG: the nine section 33 exceptions, why Mudge closed the door on grant irregularities, the practical routes, and the compensation alternative.
Read the answer → No. 73If I Know About Someone Else’s Unregistered Interest, Am I Bound by It?
Notice and unregistered interests in PNG land law: sections 24(1)(b) and 45 of the Land Registration Act, why notice is not fraud, the section 28 occupation qualification, and how to protect an unregistered interest.
Read the answer →Registration of customary land
Part IIIA, incorporated land groups, and what registering customary land does and does not do.
What Is an Incorporated Land Group?
Incorporated Land Groups in PNG: what the Land Groups Incorporation Act does, why ILGs matter for customary land dealings, registration and resource projects, and the common problems.
Read the answer → No. 74Who Can Object to a Customary Land Registration Plan?
Sections 34G to 34J of the PNG Land Registration Act: publication of a customary land Registration Plan, the objection period, what an objection must contain, and the Final Registration Plan.
Read the answer → No. 75What Are Derivative Interests in Customary Land?
Derivative interests in PNG customary land: what they are, how section 34F of the Land Registration Act records them on a Registration Plan, and why they matter in acquisitions and SABLs.
Read the answer → No. 76Does Registering Customary Land Let the Group Sell It?
What customary land registration under Part IIIA of the PNG Land Registration Act does and does not permit: section 132 of the Land Act, the lawful dealing routes, and the difference from tenure conversion.
Read the answer →Transfers and State leases on the register
How land is transferred, State leases on the register, and what the Registrar checks.
How Is Registered Land Transferred?
Part V of the PNG Land Registration Act: the requirements for a transfer, stating the consideration, the offence of misstating it, partial transfers, no vendor's lien, and the notice rule in section 45.
Read the answer → No. 77Can Someone Else Deal With My Land for Me?
Part XIII of the PNG Land Registration Act: powers of attorney over land, depositing with the Registrar, the memorial, evidentiary effect, and why the Registrar may presume the power unrevoked.
Read the answer → No. 78What Happens Between Signing the Contract and Being Registered?
The gap between contract and registration in PNG land transactions: why priority runs from production, the section 24(2) duplicate-title rule, caveats, and a settlement checklist.
Read the answer → No. 79How Do I Transfer Only Part of My Land?
Transferring part of a parcel in PNG: section 42(6)(b) and section 13 of the Land Registration Act, the survey requirement, new certificates of title, and the Land Act subdivision step.
Read the answer → No. 81Can a Company Hold and Transfer Land?
Companies as registered proprietors of land in PNG: execution, the citizenship limits on freehold and customary land, the section 129(3) share-dealing rule, and due diligence on a company vendor.
Read the answer →Leases and subleases
Registering a lease, the covenants implied into it, surrender, and what a tenant gets from registration.
How Is a Lease Registered, and What Terms Are Implied?
Part VI of the PNG Land Registration Act: when a lease must be registered, the mortgagee consent requirement, the implied powers of the lessor, re-entry, and covenants implied against the lessee.
Read the answer → No. 83What Is an Easement, and How Is It Registered?
Part IX of the PNG Land Registration Act: registering easements over dominant and servient land, the short-form right of carriage-way, incorporeal rights, and customary rights registered through the Custodian.
Read the answer → No. 85How Does a Registered Lease End?
How a registered lease ends in PNG: expiry, surrender, the section 50 implied power of re-entry, determination of the head lease, and the effect on subleases under section 54(6).
Read the answer →Mortgages and charges
How a mortgage over registered land works, the mortgagee's remedies, sale, foreclosure, and discharge.
How Does a Mortgagee Sale Work?
Section 68 and 69 of the PNG Land Registration Act: the mortgagee's power of sale, how the land may be sold, the order of application of proceeds, and the protection of the purchaser.
Read the answer → No. 89How Is a Mortgage Discharged?
Section 77 of the PNG Land Registration Act: discharging a mortgage or charge, partial discharges, why registration is essential, and transferring a mortgage under section 66.
Read the answer → No. 90What Is a Charge, and How Does It Differ From a Mortgage?
Charges under Part VII of the PNG Land Registration Act: how a charge differs from a mortgage, the creditor and debtor terminology, instalment securities, and the shared remedies.
Read the answer →Caveats
What a caveat does, who may lodge one, how it lapses, how it is removed, and the liability for lodging one wrongly.
What Is a Caveat, and What Does It Do?
Part VIII of the PNG Land Registration Act: who may lodge a caveat, what it forbids, the three-month lapse, cancellation by the Registrar, and liability for lodging without reasonable cause.
Read the answer → No. 91Who Can Lodge a Caveat, and What Interest Do You Need?
Section 82 of the PNG Land Registration Act: who may lodge a caveat, what counts as a caveatable interest, what does not, the form requirements, and acceptance by the Registrar.
Read the answer → No. 92A Caveat Is Blocking My Sale. How Do I Remove It?
Removing a caveat in PNG: withdrawal under section 93, consent under section 86(2), cancellation by the Registrar under section 89, and the section 88 summons to show cause.
Read the answer → No. 93What Happens When a Caveat Lapses?
Section 91 of the PNG Land Registration Act: the three-month lapse of a caveat, the two exceptions, the section 92 bar on re-lodging, and what to do before time runs out.
Read the answer → No. 94Can I Be Sued for Lodging a Caveat?
Section 90 of the PNG Land Registration Act: liability in damages for lodging a caveat without reasonable cause, what “reasonable cause” means, who can sue, and how to protect yourself.
Read the answer →Transmission: death, insolvency and trusts
What happens to registered land when the proprietor dies or becomes insolvent, and how trusts are dealt with.
What Happens to Registered Land When the Owner Dies?
Part XII Division 2 of the PNG Land Registration Act: transmission of registered land on death, who counts as a personal representative, the application to the Registrar, and how it differs from a transfer.
Read the answer → No. 95How Are Trusts Dealt With on the Register?
Part XI of the PNG Land Registration Act: the curtain principle, the prohibition on entering trusts in the Register, instruments of nomination, separate declarations of trust, and how a beneficiary protects an interest.
Read the answer → No. 97How Does an Estate Transfer Land to the Beneficiaries?
Getting registered land from a deceased estate to the beneficiaries in PNG: transmission then transfer, why the second step is a controlled dealing, keeping a State lease alive, and customary land.
Read the answer → No. 98What If There Is No Will, or No One Willing to Administer the Estate?
Intestacy and unadministered estates in PNG: letters of administration, an order to administer by the Public Trustee, how the Land Registration Act treats each, and the risks of doing nothing.
Read the answer →Remedies, the Assurance Fund and the Registrar's powers
Refusal by the Registrar, ejectment, damages, the Assurance Fund, and correcting the register.
What Is the Assurance Fund?
Part XIV of the PNG Land Registration Act: the Assurance Fund, how it is funded, payments out, the Consolidated Revenue Fund backstop, and the breach-of-trust exclusion.
Read the answer → No. 61What Can I Do If the Registrar Refuses to Register My Dealing?
Section 145 of the PNG Land Registration Act: summoning the Registrar to show cause, the six-day notice, who bears the costs, and the Assurance Fund certificate.
Read the answer → No. 99Can I Bring an Ejectment Action Against a Registered Proprietor?
Division 2 of Part XV of the PNG Land Registration Act: ejectment against a registered proprietor, the eight exceptions in section 146(2), and the protection of a good faith purchaser.
Read the answer →Freehold ownership and the Constitution
Why only citizens may hold freehold, what counts as freehold, which corporations count as citizens, and conversion to State lease.
Who Can Hold Freehold Land in Papua New Guinea?
Section 56(1)(b) of the PNG Constitution and the Land (Ownership of Freeholds) Act (Chapter 359): who may acquire freehold land, what the Act does, and why the restriction exists.
Read the answer → No. 104How Is Freehold Converted Into a State Lease?
Part IV of the PNG Land (Ownership of Freeholds) Act: converting freehold interests and frustrated rights into substitute State leases, the application, objections to the National Court, and the grant.
Read the answer → No. 105Can a Dual Citizen Acquire Freehold Land?
Dual citizenship and freehold land in PNG: how section 56 of the Constitution frames the restriction, what it means in practice, and the alternatives available.
Read the answer → No. 106What Happens If a Non-Citizen Acquires Freehold?
The consequences of a non-citizen acquiring freehold land in PNG: the constitutional prohibition, indirect interests under section 4, the registration position, and the lawful alternatives.
Read the answer → No. 107What Is a Substitute Lease, and What Are Its Terms?
Sections 22 to 26 of the PNG Land (Ownership of Freeholds) Act: the terms of a substitute lease, its effect on ownership, the section 53 constitutional protection, and stamp duty relief.
Read the answer → No. 108Why Does Papua New Guinea Restrict Freehold Land?
The policy behind PNG's freehold restriction: the Fourth and Fifth National Goals, section 56(1)(b), the customary land prohibition, and how leasehold became the working commercial tenure.
Read the answer →Converting customary tenure
Adjudication areas, applications for registration, conversion orders, and the rules against fragmentation.
What Is Customary Tenure Conversion?
The PNG Land (Tenure Conversion) Act 1963: what conversion does, who may apply, the conversion plan and objection period, and how it differs from customary land registration.
Read the answer → No. 110What Are the Rules Against Fragmentation of Converted Land?
Part III of the PNG Land (Tenure Conversion) Act 1963: the minimum area and frontage rule, the six-owner limit, restrictions on later dealings, and the 25-year consent and mortgage limits.
Read the answer → No. 112How Do I Apply for Tenure Conversion?
Applying for tenure conversion in PNG: the application under section 7, the conversion plan, the notice and 30-day objection period, boundary inspection, and what the Commission must be satisfied of.
Read the answer → No. 114What Can You Do With Converted Land Afterwards?
Dealing with land after tenure conversion in PNG: section 26 of the 1963 Act, the endorsed limitations, mortgaging converted land, and the interaction with the Land Registration Act.
Read the answer →Acts are amended, and figures and time limits change. Every article names the sections it relies on so you can read them. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.