Most land in Papua New Guinea is not for sale. It is customary land, owned by clans and lineages, and widely estimated at around 97% of the country. If you want to build, farm, or run a business on it, you lease access rather than buy the title. This guide explains how that works, where deals go wrong, and the concrete steps that protect your money and your relationship with the landowners.
Why customary land is different
Customary land is held collectively, usually by a clan or a smaller lineage group. Ownership passes through descent, not through a paper title on a shelf. There is often no single owner who can sign it away. Decisions belong to the group, and boundaries live in memory and oral history rather than a surveyed plan.
This is the root cause of most disputes. A person may genuinely believe they control a block, while other clan members disagree. If you deal with the wrong person, your lease can collapse years later when a rival group asserts its claim.
The legal routes to a valid lease
Incorporated Land Groups (ILGs)
The main tool for turning a fluid clan into a body you can contract with is the Incorporated Land Group. Under the Land Groups Incorporation Act, a clan can register as an ILG, list its members and leaders, and gain legal standing to hold and deal with land. A properly formed ILG gives you a named counterparty and a paper trail.
Lease-leaseback and the SABL warning
One common structure is lease-leaseback: landowners lease their land to the State, and the State leases it back to a developer. The Special Agriculture and Business Lease (SABL) used this model. It became notorious. A Commission of Inquiry in the early 2010s found that many SABLs were issued without genuine landowner consent, and the government moved to cancel large numbers of them. Treat any lease-leaseback deal with extra caution and verify consent yourself.
Voluntary customary land registration
PNG has reforms that let clans voluntarily register their customary land and record boundaries and membership. Where this has been done, your due diligence is far easier, because the group and its area are documented.
A real scenario
A small agribusiness wanted 50 hectares near a Highlands town. The founder signed with an articulate man who called himself the clan chairman. Planting started. Eighteen months later, a second family blocked the road and claimed half the block was theirs. The chairman had authority over only part of the land. Because there was no ILG resolution and no boundary walk with neighbours, the developer had no defence. Work stopped for a year while elders mediated. The fix would have cost a fraction of the loss: form the ILG first, walk the boundary with adjoining clans, and get signatures from all leaders.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Dealing with one confident individual. Fix: require a documented group decision and multiple leader signatures, not one person’s word.
- Skipping the boundary walk. Fix: physically walk the perimeter with the landowners and every neighbouring group, and record agreement.
- No written benefit terms. Fix: put rent, royalties, jobs, and review dates in plain language, with a Tok Pisin version read aloud.
- Assuming a lease is permanent. Fix: expect to maintain the relationship for the whole term, not just at signing.
- Ignoring women and youth. Fix: include them in consultation, since exclusion breeds later objections.
Action checklist
- Confirm the land is customary and identify the exact owning group.
- Check whether an ILG already exists, or help form one properly.
- Walk the boundary with owners and all neighbours; record it.
- Verify consent through a genuine group meeting, minuted and witnessed.
- Engage a PNG lawyer experienced in land, and confirm any lease at the Department of Lands and Physical Planning.
- Agree clear benefits, review points, and a dispute process before spending capital.
- Keep records of every payment and meeting.
Conclusion and next step
Customary land can be a sound base for a project, but only if you treat consent and boundaries as the foundation rather than a formality. Your next step is simple: before any money changes hands, confirm the owning group and whether an ILG exists. Start there, and build the deal on solid ground.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy customary land outright?
Generally no. Customary land is held collectively and is not freely sold like a freehold title. You obtain rights through a lease or agreement with the owning group, often via an ILG.
What is an ILG and why does it matter?
An Incorporated Land Group is a clan registered under the Land Groups Incorporation Act. It gives the group legal standing to deal with land, so you have a documented counterparty instead of an individual’s claim.
Why are SABLs controversial?
Special Agriculture and Business Leases were widely misused. A Commission of Inquiry found many were granted without real landowner consent, and the State later moved to cancel many. Verify consent independently before relying on one.
What is the single biggest risk?
Dealing with someone who does not truly represent the whole group. It is the most common cause of leases unravelling after you have invested.
References
- Land Groups Incorporation Act (Papua New Guinea).
- Land Act 1996 (Papua New Guinea).
- Commission of Inquiry into the Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABL).
- Papua New Guinea Department of Lands and Physical Planning.