Native Title

The Law Council is a strong supporter of the native title system and the benefits it can bestow on traditional owners. The Law Council has supported sensible native title reforms, to speed up the native title claim process and remove obstacles to traditional owners asserting their native title rights.

The Law Council recently resolved to support the proposal by High Court Chief Justice, Robert French, to reform the Native Title Act 1993 to include a "presumption of continuity". The presumption would make native title determinations easier for native title claim groups to achieve, by creating a rebuttable presumption that they have maintained an unbroken connection with their traditional lands.

The Law Council has made the following submissions and other statements on native title reform in recent years:

•  Native Title Claims Resolution Review - December 2005
  Submission to the Attorney-General’s Department
•  Technical amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) - February 2006
  Submission to the Legal Services and Native Title Division, Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department
•  Technical Amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 (No.2) - January 2007
  Submission to the Attorney-General’s Department
•  Optimising Benefits from Native Title Agreements - February 2009
  Submission to the Attorney-General’s Department and Department of Families, Housing, Community Services & Indigenous Affairs

Useful Links

High Court Chief Justice Robert French, Lifting the burden of native title: Some modest proposals for improvement , speech presented to the Native Title Users Group, Adelaide, July 2008

Australian Human Rights Commission, Native Title Reports

Australian Law Reform Commission, Reform Journal Issue 93, Native Title, 2009