Farmers fear a shift from the one-off stamp duty property charge to an annual land tax

Although stamp duty is collected by state and territory governments, it is on the agenda of a meeting of state treasurers with new federal treasurer Jim Chalmers in Brisbane on July 22.

Mr Chalmers says tax reform should be considered as a tool to improve housing affordability.

The National Farmers' Federation has long feared the move away from stamp duty to a replacement land tax was "a concept that clearly has risks for Australian farmers who manage over 60 per cent of the Australian landscape".

The NSW government has already legislated to remove agricultural land from its proposed move to an annual property tax.

Farm groups want other states to do the same if they plan tinkering with stamp duty.

But most states don't plan to interfere with one of their biggest revenue sources.

The ACT is moving from stamp duty to a land tax regime over a 20-year period.

Stamp duty is a state tax on the purchase or transfer of property - calculated on the value of the property.

The rates and rules differ between the states and territories.

The single stamp duty payment made by the purchaser of a property has been seen as a road block to the push for home-owners to downsize and free up inventory for others.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria wants its state's stamp duty "obliterated".

REIV chief executive Quentin Kilian this week said after years of advocating for change, property sector tax reform is finally on the radar of political leaders.

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Mr Kilian said the stamp duty was a tax which hinders market participation for millions of Victorians.

"For too long here in Victoria, our government has been reliant on stamp duty, a tax which is hugely prohibitive for first homebuyers looking to get into the market, not to mention new investors and even downsizers," he said.

"REIV will be representing the interests of more than 2000 real estate businesses and another 7000 individual members, who have long been calling for change."

The Victorian government has already been criticised over its windfall gains tax which will apply from July 1 next year.

This new tax applies to land which benefits from a rezoning change resulting in a value uplift to the land of more than $100,000.

So farmland rezoned from rural to residential faces a big tax grab of up to 62.5 per cent.

Commercial property sales in South Australia do not attract stamp duty however farmland is not classed as commercial.

The Queensland government applies a concession for stamp duty fees to help first homeowners for homes valued at under $550,000, or, a block of land valued at under $400,000.

Similarly, the Western Australia government offers a full stamp duty exemption if you're a first-time buyer and the house you want to buy is under $430,000.

The WA government has already ruled out following the NSW's move to a land tax.

It is NSW which has broken the ice by removing "family-owned farming businesses" from its land tax plans.

Today only a member of the family is exempt from stamp duty when buying the land.

The new laws extend this exemption to family farms which are structured using a trust or company in addition to those owned by individuals.

The transferee would need to maintain control of the entity for a period of at least three years after purchase.

Deputy Premier Paul Toole said the move would help future-proof farms for generations.

"Farmers are the backbone of bush communities and the state's economy, and they have worked tirelessly to keep our supermarket shelves stocked despite every possible challenge thrown at them over the past few years," Mr Toole said.

"NSW is home to a diverse range of primary industries, and this move makes it easier for the next generation to follow in their families' footsteps, whether it be in beef, dairy, poultry, wool or cropping operations."

There are almost 240,000 rural properties in NSW worth an estimated $203 billion.

NSW Farmers president James Jackson said farmers purchase properties looking decades ahead, so the prospect of a recurring annual tax on farmland "was something our membership has been deeply opposed to".