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Native Title

1992 - The Mabo Case 1993 - The Native Title Act 1996 - The Wik Case
1998 - Amendment Bill View Legislation

1993 - The Native Title Act

Following the High Court's Mabo decision in 1992 which recognised the existence of native title rights, Land Councils and other Aboriginal organisations throughout Australia lobbied the Federal Government to legislate to protect any native title that had survived 200 years of colonisation.

We also wanted a more flexible and appropriate system than the one offered through the courts for claiming and recognising native title. In addition, we argued for benefits for the vast majority of Aboriginal people whose native title was long extinguished.

In the same period, sections of the mining and pastoral industries and conservative politicians lobbied the Commonwealth Government to overturn the Mabo decision.

In December 1993, the Native Title Act passed through the Federal Parliament.

The Act put into law what the Mabo decision had said and made native title claims possible.

The Act established a National Native Title Tribunal and set out processes for the determination of native title rights and dealings on native title land. The Northern Land Council is a Native Title representative body and has roles and responsibilities towards Aboriginal people in the Top End of the Northern Territory, including conducting native title cases (case studies) and negotiating commercial agreements. Extensive research, including comprehensive anthropological research to identify traditional owning groups, is conducted before any native title applications are made.

The Native Title Act delivered important gains to non-Indigenous Australians.
It has protected peoples' homes and businesses by validating titles granted after 1975 which were invalid because of the Racial Discrimination Act.

This was an historic gift to Australia from its Indigenous people - who had once owned all of the Australian land mass. It was a generous compromise by Indigenous people who conceded not to contest such leases in negotiations over the framing of the Act. As a trade-off, Indigenous people won the right to negotiate, but not veto, developments on native title lands.

The empowering of State and Territory governments to remove this right in the amended Native Title Act passed in 1998 has been a major set back for Aboriginal people.

Two major issues were left unresolved by the Mabo decision and the subsequent Native Title Act - native title on pastoral leases and native title to the seas. The pastoral lease issue was decided by the High Court in its 1996 Wik decision (which was running at the time of the framing of the Native Title Act) and the Croker Seas claim is testing native title sea rights.

To view the Native Title Act: click here