Many NSW not-for-profit community clubs located on Crown Land have recently been subject to massive increases in annual rent based on the "market value" determination of the land on which they sit. 

Some of the affected clubs include: 

• Bondi Bowling Club - whose rent will increase from $22,000 to $95,000 a year - an increase of 420%.
• Penrith Bowling Club - whose rent will increase from $5,400 a year to $65,000 a year - an increase of more than 1,000%. 
• Lambton Bowling Club - whose rent will increase from $12,000 a year to $95,000 a year - an increase of nearly 800%.
• Seaforth Bowling Club - whose rent will increase from $25,500 to $65,000 - an increase of over 200%.
• Mayfield Bowling Club - whose rent will increase from $17,615 to $52,000 - an increase of nearly 300%.
• Lismore City Bowling Club (a club that was literally underwater and unable to trade due to the 2022 floods) - whose rent will increase from $8,296 to $18,441 - an increase of over 220%.
• Stockton Bowling Club - whose rent will increase from $17,536 to $27,000.

This latest round of rent increases represents an unreasonable and untenable burden on not-for-profit, volunteer-run clubs, which are not set up as profit-generating enterprises. This decision will prevent affected clubs from delivering essential local community services, and will likely force the eventual closure of some of them. 

The affected clubs will have less than two years to prepare for the increase in rental payments, which has left many of them facing uncertainty about their viability as not-for-profit organisations, and their ability to provide vital services for their local communities. 

The NSW Government, led by Premier Chris Minns has been unrepentant about the impact that this rental increase will have on not-for-profit community clubs and has been unwilling to concede that this massive increase may force the closure of some clubs. 

Clubs in NSW that are Crown Land leaseholders are subject to period reviews of their rental payments and are already subject to annual CPI increases on their rental amounts. Clubs are able to seek concessions on their annual rental payments if their annual revenue is under a) $500K, or b) $1M.

The valuable contributions that community clubs provide to their local areas are not taken into consideration when determining relief from Crown Land rental fees, which include considerable benefits in terms of: 

• Health, wellness and the provision of sporting facilities 
• Community connection, particularly for the elderly
• Green space
• Affordable food and hospitality offering 
• Access and inclusion for all ages, genders, and abilities

The fact that some of these clubs are poker-machine and gaming-free venues has also not been considered in terms of their community value and local contributions. 

 

What are we asking the NSW Government to do about this?

1. We are requesting that the Chris Minns State Government, and the Minister responsible for Crown Lands, Steve Kamper, review this decision and apply a more reasonable uplift in costs that is commensurate with the ability of not-for-profit clubs to pay, and which also takes into consideration a) the substantial community services that they provide, and b) the fact that some clubs choose to forgo gaming machine revenue.
2. We are requesting that the State Government provide a more transparent explanation and process for the determination of "market value" costs, which includes a dialogue with clubs and local communities.
3. We are requesting that the State Government reconsider the statutory application of the current revenue threshold when determining the ability of a not-for-profit club to afford rental payments. The current statutory provisions do not consider the profit (or lack thereof) that community clubs make, and the $500K/$1M concession thresholds have not grown proportionately with the rise in inflation, market values, or rental costs in several years. 

For more information, see:

• Today Show segment Friday September 29th
• 2GB interview Thursday September 28th (from 32:50)
• 2GB follow up interview with Premier Chris Minns (from 24:45)
• News.com.au article Friday September 29th