The Native Title Act was enacted as a result of the decision made by the High Court of Australia in
Mabo v Queensland (No.2) 1992. The Act is available in both electronic and print formats. It sets out the native title process and establishes the framework for the management of that process.
The Federal Court of Australia is responsible for the management of all applications made under the Native Title Act for a determination of native title or for compensation for the loss or impairment of native title.
These applications must be made to the Court.
The Court has wide powers to manage native title cases. It can:
- make directions about how the application is to be progressed decide whether or not the application should be referred to the National Native Title Tribunal for mediation
- determine who are the ‘parties’ to the application (the people involved in a case) adjourn the proceedings to allow time for the parties to negotiate make orders to ensure that native title applications which cover the same area are dealt in one proceeding
- strike out or dismiss an application, which brings the case to an end; set an application down for trial; make a determination recognising that native title does, or does not, exist; decide whether compensation for the loss or impairment of native title should be paid.
The Commonwealth Attorney-General is responsible for Commonwealth courts and tribunals. The Attorney-General also approves the state and territory alternative native title regimes.
The Attorney-General department of the Australian Government administers a legal aid fund for non-Indigenous parties responding to native title claims.
As managers of Crown lands and waters, state and territory governments are involved in every native title application within that state or territory. State and territory governments also provide the land tenure information the Tribunal requires for public notification and deal with most of the future act process.
The National Native Title Tribunal is an Australian Government agency set up under the Native Title Act 1993. It has offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
The Tribunal assists people to facilitate timely and effective native title outcomes. It mediates native title determination and compensation applications under the direction of the Federal Court. During mediation, the parties meet to discuss the claim and try to reach agreement about the appropriate outcome. The Tribunal in an independent source of information and assistance for everyone involved in native title and the wider public.
The Tribunal also administers part of the future act process - that is, generally, the process that deals with future acts relating to mining and some compulsory acquisitions. The Tribunal's role includes mediating between parties, conducting inquiries and making decisions (called ' future act determinations') where parties can't reach agreements.
The Tribunal is not a court and does not decide whether native title exists or not.
Under the Native Title Act, Native Title Representative Bodies are organisations with the primary role of representing Indigenous Australians within their designated region by providing support for native title determination and compensation applications, responding to proposed future acts and negotiating indigenous land use agreements.
Please see the Native Title Representative Bodies map for the location and details of these organisations.
Not all claimants are represented by native title representative bodies or service delivery agencies. Some claimants choose private solicitors or other people to represent them or are unrepresented.