This paper sets out a history of mineral and petroleum ownership and royalties in NSW as a background to the debate concerning recent changes to State royalties and Federal mining tax regimes. The timelines provided start at 1906, the point at which the first consolidated mining legislation was introduced.

While the majority of the paper focuses on the changes in royalty rates that have occurred between 1906 and 2012, where possible, the paper identifies the reasons why changes to the NSW royalty regime were made.