Resources and publications

This report, conducted for the Department of Regional Development, addresses the question of how effective agreements arising from native title determinations are at meeting the needs and aspirations of Aboriginal peoples who have achieved, or are pursuing (through registered native title claims), legal recognition as native title holders. The report research is based on a review of relevant academic and ‘grey’ literature as well as case studies of the experiences of three Western Australian Aboriginal native title groups in their efforts to leverage agreements with government and industry to enhance their wellbeing and pursue their aspirations.

Webpage from the National Native Title Tribunal detailing basic information about future acts. 

Landing page on the National Native Title Tribunal website providing information on Indigenous Land Use Agreements (IULAs). 

Native title involves an interface between the Australian legal system and Indigenous legal, cultural and political systems. The assertion and management of native title rights involves collective action by sometimes large and disparate groups of Indigenous people. Contentious politics makes such collective action difficult and the courts will often be asked to decide whether group decisions have been validly made. In the last two decades a vast and complex body of law and practice has developed to address this challenge.

Authorisation law is a set of principles about how the views and intentions of native title claimants or holders are translated into legally effective decisions. This book sets out the legal rules and their application in various situations: native title claims, native title agreement-making, decision-making by native title corporations, and compensation applications. It also addresses key practical, ethical and political dimensions of native title decision-making.

This book will be useful for native title practitioners including lawyers, judges and native title holders. It will also be relevant to academic research into the ethical, political and anthropological dimensions of Indigenous governance.

This guide is designed to help corporation auditors and accountants (or bookkeepers) prepare reports

Factsheet about reporting requirements for Indigenous Corporations registered under the CATSI Act.

An Ethics Workshop will be held for PBCs and Traditional Owners to be aware of best practice ethical research standards that should be used by researchers when working with Traditional Owners.

The workshop will introduce you to the themes and principles outlined in AIATSIS’s Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies (GERAIS). Examples and case studies will help you understand how and why the GERAIS principles should be the minimum standards applied to any research on your land and sea country.

There is a concern that the PBCs and Traditional Owners are not as familiar with ethical standards as the researchers are and how they should be applied to any research. This seems to be a one-sided conversation. GERAIS will educate and inform PBCs and TOs about ethical standards in research taking place across Indigenous estates – IPAs, Ranger work including compliance and enforcement issues, Indigenous engagement in Government processes and other research as well as Native Title and PBC research. It is so critically important that PBCs and TOs know what to expect from both the researcher and the participants so that they are well informed before they enter into a research agreement.

An emerging bibliography on free prior and informed consent, engagement and consultation.

Information about Future Acts for PBCs. 

The topic 'Getting started' from the Indigenous Governance Toolkit has four sections,

1. Getting started on building your governance
2. Assessing your governance
3. Mapping your community for governance
4. Case studies

This revised comprehensive review of AIATSIS sets the highest standards of ethics and support for human rights in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. While the principles in the 2012 edition are largely retained, they have been reorganised into a new framework and augmented to reflect emerging standards and developments.

This report is based on the workshop, Implementing native title: Indigenous leadership in land and water livelihoods, held at the 2015 National Native Title Conference, 16-18 June, Port Douglas, Queensland. It details the ways several Indigenous communities from around Australia are implementing their rights and interests following the restitution of their land and sea territories.

This factsheet details the roles and requirements of PBCs entering into Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs). This factsheet provides an overview of the various types of ILUAs as well as some of the legal requirements and processes needed for the future act(s). Please note some of this information may be outdated. 

Policy and procedure guide for Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC

Much of the attention paid to native title in Australia has focused on court proceedings and other legalities, but what does it actually mean to live with native title? This book presents the experiences of native title holders and the corporations they have established to look after their native title interests.

The influence of the renowned High Court Mabo case is such that there are already more than 100 Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate (RNTBCs) across Australia with responsibilities for about 18 per cent of the continent. RNTBCs operate in a profoundly intercultural context where ‘western’ and Indigenous laws are constantly interpreted and negotiated as part of a new suite of landholding and land management practices for contemporary Australia.

Through seven case studies from the Torres Strait, Far North Queensland, the Kimberley and Central Australia, Living with native title documents the experiences of RNTBCs, including those that are parties to large mining agreements. Each case study is accompanied by a short update written immediately prior to publication.

Living with native title is a product of the AIATSIS research project Prescribed Bodies Corporate: Research Action Partnerships.

Under the Native Title Act 1993, the Social Justice Commissioner is required to prepare a Native Title Report each year for federal Parliament. Through these reports the Commissioner gives a human rights perspective on native title issues and advocates for practical co-existence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups in using land.

The Native Title Report 2001 looks at the right to negotiate and human rights, resourcing in the Native Title System and negotiating co-existence through framework agreements.

Under the Native Title Act 1993, the Social Justice Commissioner is required to prepare a Native Title Report each year for federal Parliament. Through these reports the Commissioner gives a human rights perspective on native title issues and advocates for practical co-existence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups in using land.

Under the Native Title Act 1993, the Social Justice Commissioner is required to prepare a Native Title Report each year for federal Parliament. Through these reports the Commissioner gives a human rights perspective on native title issues and advocates for practical co-existence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups in using land.