Crown lands

Crown land, also known as royal domain or demesne, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realms such as Canada and Australia, crown land is considered public land and is apart from the monarch's private estate.

In Britain, the hereditary revenues of Crown lands provided income for the monarch until the start of the reign of George III, when the profits from the Crown Estate were surrendered to the Parliament of Great Britain in return for a fixed civil list payment. The monarch retains the income from the Duchy of Lancaster.

In Australia, public lands are referred to as Crown land. Public lands includes land set aside for nature conservation and various government or public purposes, as well as vacant land. Public lands comprise around 23% of Australian land, of which the largest single category is vacant land, comprising 12.5% of the land.

Crown land is held in the 'right of the Crown' of either an individual State or the Commonwealth of Australia; there is not a single 'Crown' (as a legal governmental entity) in Australia (see The Crown). Various States have differing policies towards the sale and use of Crown lands within the State; for instance, New South Wales passed a controversial reform in 2005 requiring Crown lands to be rated at market value. In New South Wales, over half of all land is Crown land.

Crown land is used for such things as airports (Commonwealth) and public utilities (usually State).

In Tasmania, Crown land is managed under the . In South Australia, the relevant Act is the Crown Land Management Act 2009. In Victoria, it is the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 and the Land Act 1958.

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