Proposed amendments to regulations for prescribed bodies corporate (PBC) under the Native Title Act are now available for public comment.

Interested people or organisations have until 30 April 2010 to make written submissions to the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) on the Native Title (Prescribed Bodies Corporate) Amendment Regulations 2010.

The recommendations concern the structures and processes of prescribed bodies corporate and originate from a 2005 review of the native title system.

The Act was amended in 2007 to include some regulation-making powers which will allow for the implementation of some of the proposed regulations.

The Native Title (Prescribed Bodies Corporate) Regulations 1999 have to be amended for these and some other recommendations to come into force.

The 2010 amendment regulations, among other things, aim to improve the flexibility of prescribed bodies corporate governance by:
• enabling an existing prescribed bodies corporate to be the prescribed bodies corporate for subsequent determinations of native title
• removing the need for all members of a prescribed bodies corporate to also be the native title holders
• clarifying that standing authorisations in relation to particular activities of a prescribed bodies corporate need only be issued once.

The amendments also allow, in some circumstances, for:
• prescribed bodies corporate functions to be transferred if a PBC hasn’t been nominated
• prescribed bodies corporate to charge fees for providing some services
• the Indigenous Land Corporation to be the default PBC for native title holders if they haven’t nominated a functioning PBC.

Use the links on the right of this page to access FaHCSIA information about the consultation, the full draft amendment regulations and how to make a submission, and to read a Tribunal fact sheet: What is a prescribed body corporate?