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Native Title Act 1993
The 1992 Mabo decision dealt only with the rights of the native title-holders of Murray Island and could not resolve all the questions raised by the broader application of native title in the rest of Australia. The Native Title Act 1993 (NTA) responded to the need to resolve some of these questions and to create a framework for the recognition of native title.
The NTA endorsed the principle of native title established in the Mabo decision. The Act also validated past acts of government granting interests in land that extinguished native title. It established that native title holders whose native title was thus validly extinguished after the enactment of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975 were entitled to compensation. The NTA created a procedure for the determination of native title claims, including the establishment of the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT). The NNTT mediates native title claims, and if the mediation is not successful, claims may be decided by the Federal Court.
The NTA came into operation on 1 January 1994. In July 1998 amendments were made to the Act that wound back the rights of native title holders significantly. These amendments override much of the existing protection for native title holders under the Racial Discrimination Act, and cannot be challenged on grounds of inconsistency with this Act. The original NNTT provided a framework for future dealings affecting native title. Native title claimants were given the procedural 'right to negotiate' over future uses of land potentially subject to native title. Some of the changes involve:
weakening the right to negotiate; confirming and validating the extinguishment of native title on a range of leases; limiting native title holders' access to pastoral leases; and increasing the difficulty of registration of native title claims.
One of the more positive amendments involved the capacity to make 'Indigenous land use agreements' (ILUAs) as an alternative to settling claims through formal determination procedures.
The United Nations International Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has found that some of the amendments to the Native Title Act are discriminatory as they prefer the rights of non-Indigenous title holders.
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