INTRODUCTION The Australian Government has released exposure draft legislation proposing reforms to the native title system for public consultation. The Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 and the Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate Legislation Amendment Regulations 2018 would amend the Native Title Act 1993, and other related legislation and regulations. This will implement recommendations from a number of independent reviews and improve the native title system for all parties. This fact sheet is a quick guide to key proposed changes. A more detailed public consultation paper outlining the draft amendments is available on the website. ROLE OF THE APPLICANT What is changing? The is the person or group of people authorised by a native title claim group to make and manage a ‘applicant’ claim on their behalf. The can also enter into native title agreements (such as Indigenous Land Use ‘applicant’ Agreements) on behalf of the group where authorised to do so. The government proposes to amend the Native Title Act to give native title groups greater flexibility around setting their internal processes, including to: allow the claim group to place conditions on the authorisation of the applicant (for example, a condition to require the applicant to get approval from the claim group before agreeing to a consent determination or discontinuing a claim) allow a majority of the applicant to make decisions or sign native title agreements, rather than requiring all members of the applicant to act together, if this is something the claim group wants, and making it simpler for the claim group to replace individual members of the applicant if the member becomes too ill to perform their duties, or has passed away, including through pre-agreed arrangements. These amendments are contained in Schedule 1 of the Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2018, and would implement recommendations made by the Australian Law Reform Commission in its Connection to Country: Review of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) report. These amendments would not take effect immediately there would be a six month period for claim groups – to decide if and how to make use of the changes, including whether to hold an authorisation meeting to place any conditions on the applicant’s authority.
INTRODUCTION The Australian Government has released exposure draft legislation proposing reforms to the native title system for public consultation. The Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 and the Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate Legislation Amendment Regulations 2018 would amend the Native Title Act 1993, and other related legislation and regulations. This will implement recommendations from a number of independent reviews and improve the native title system for all parties. This fact sheet is a quick guide to key proposed changes. A more detailed public consultation paper outlining the draft amendments is available on the website. ROLE OF THE APPLICANT What is changing? The ‘applicant’ is the person or group of people authorised by a native title claim group to make and manage a claim on their behalf. The ‘applicant’ can also enter into native title agreements (such as Indigenous Land Use Agreements) on behalf of the group where authorised to do so. The government proposes to amend the Native Title Act to give native title groups greater flexibility around setting their internal processes, including to: allow the claim group to place conditions on the authorisation of the applicant (for example, a condition to require the applicant to get approval from the claim group before agreeing to a consent determination or discontinuing a claim) allow a majority of the applicant to make decisions or sign native title agreements, rather than requiring all members of the applicant to act together, if this is something the claim group wants, and making it simpler for the claim group to replace individual members of the applicant if the member becomes too ill to perform their duties, or has passed away, including through pre-agreed arrangements. These amendments are contained in Schedule 1 of the Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2018, and would implement recommendations made by the Australian Law Reform Commission in its Connection to Country: Review of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) report. These amendments would not take effect immediately – there would be a six month period for claim groups to decide if and how to make use of the changes, including whether to hold an authorisation meeting to place any conditions on the applicant’s authority.
native-title-reforms-factsheet-1.docx