To encourage landowners to adopt land care practices, tax incentives may be available for primary producers and other rural businesses under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997(Cth). You may be able to claim rebates or deductions on expenditure for the treatment and prevention of land degradation, including certain types of fencing.

Two types of fencing qualify: where the fence helps to repair or control existing land degradation by excluding livestock or vermin; and where the fence separates different classes of land.

You can claim a deduction or rebate for both of these (in the year of construction) under the Income Tax Assessment Act. (The booklet A guide to tax incentives for land care practices outlines the incentives available and the eligible land care practices. It is available from Country Link Australia, 1800 026 222.)

However, if you want to make a claim for expenditure on the fences for separating classes of land, then you must have a supporting 'approved' land management plan to justify it. A land management plan consists of a property map and supporting documentation.

A property map is a plan of the whole farm or that part where the new fence is located. The plan should be based on a drawing, aerial photograph, satellite image or other available map at a scale suitable for farm planning. It will show different land classes and the location of proposed fencing.

A land class is a category of land with fairly uniform characteristics (soil type, geology, slope, etc.) that allow it to be put to distinctive types of uses. A land class requires a specific set of management practices to sustain those uses without permanent degradation to the land.

Supporting documentation should be included with the plan, briefly describing: the different land classes being separated; the type of fences to be erected; and how the fences will prevent land degradation.

To view a web page containing further information go to the ATO website -www.ato.gov.au.