PBCs (Prescribed Body / Bodies Corporate)

Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) are a group of people chosen by native title applicants to manage their rights and interests before a decision is made by the court. After a native title decision is made, the PBC becomes a Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate (RNTBC). Whilst officially known as RNTBCs, these groups are still called PBCs. These groups have a job under the Native Title Act 1993 (NTA) to hold, protect and manage native title in their specific area. PBCs look after country and culture according to the wished of the members and native title group.

Gender and generation in native title: Director demographics and the future of prescribed bodies corporate

While gender and age are often noted as being important dimensions of Indigenous leadership and governance, they have rarely been examined in detail. This paper focuses specifically on the gender and age of directors on the boards of prescribed bodies corporate (PBCs), the corporations established to hold and/or manage native title rights and interests.

AIATSIS Submission – Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) Support Strategy

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) recommends that the Commonwealth recognise the changing roles of Native Title Representative Bodies and Service Providers (NTRB/SP) and the infrastructure and support they provide to the PBC sector while offering flexible policies and processes that allow for PBC autonomy and local decision-making.

More specifically, this brief responds to the following main points identified in the Terms of Reference (TOR):

Wearing two hats: The conflicting governance roles of native title corporations and community/shire councils in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community governance can be greatly impacted by the nature of the land tenure held or managed by the community. The fragmented system of national and state regimes which provide grants or titles of land to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people has enabled a governance landscape where there are often overlapping rights to land. This creates a situation where relationships within an Indigenous community – and even within a traditional owner group – are competing for power and control.

National PBC Funding and Training Guide

The NTRU has compiled toolkits for Prescibed Bodies Corporate (PBCs). These toolkits have been created to assist native title holders to access information and resources regarding funding and training opportunities that may be relevant to their PBCs.

The need for such toolkits was highlighted in the 2007 Australian Government report ‘Structures and Processes of Prescribed Bodies Corporate’ (Recommendation 2). 

National PBC Funding & Training Guide 2017

The national toolkit provides information and access to resources about:

Distribution of wealth and growth of PBCs by size

The Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) Native Title Policy Paper series has been developed to share findings from AIATSIS’ native title research projects and the impact of those findings on current policy conversations.

This policy paper examines the distribution of wealth and growth of PBCs by size between the years 2010-11 and 2015-16 calculated in terms of net totals and growth rates in the areas of income, assets, equity and staff.