Leased land in Mildura funds local schools — ABC News Australia
Mildura, in the Australian state of Victoria, has a special land-leasing system: 184 land plots are not sold into full ownership but are leased to individuals and organizations. Revenue from these agreements is used to fund schools in the Sunraysia region, ABC News Australia reports.
Under this model, people can own houses and other structures on a plot but not the land itself. Formally, the land belongs to Victoria's minister for education. According to a Department of Education spokesperson, the Mildura Schools Land Trust distributes about A$1.95 million annually among 27 primary and secondary schools. More than 9,000 students receive additional funding.
A legacy of the city's founders
The system is associated with Canadian engineers George and William Chaffey, who founded the settlement of Mildura. In 1886, the Victorian government made an agreement with the brothers to establish an irrigation settlement. According to historian and former primary school principal Bob Walton, the Chaffeys set aside one-fifteenth of the available land to finance an agricultural college.
The college was never built, but the local secondary school became the first to receive lease revenue. Walton said the brothers were inspired by a similar system in California, where they lived before moving to Australia.
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Cheaper housing and social projects
Houses on leased land are often sold considerably cheaper than comparable properties with full ownership rights to the plot. According to the outlet, one house on Lemon Avenue in Mildura was sold for A$300,000, while a similar house across the road on land in full ownership had sold for nearly A$550,000 two months earlier.
Ray White Mildura managing director Damian Portaro said such offers attract first-home buyers, but they often find it difficult to obtain financing because of the lease terms. According to him, such properties are most often bought by investors who take into account the costs of local charges, insurance and lease payments.
The Mallee Accommodation and Support Program, with support from Homes Victoria, built social housing on five plots operating under this scheme. The organization's executive director, Charmaine Callis, said the model makes it possible to support schools while also developing social and affordable housing.
