Councils are invited to participate in the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) inquiry into the future acts regime, under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), which is the main native title law in Australia.
The ALRC will investigate how the future acts regime works, and how it can be improved to make it work effectively equally and fairly.
The ALRC will:
- publish a background paper in late 2024. This will include more information about the inquiry.
- publish a consultation paper in 2025. This will explain some of their ideas for reform and call for formal submissions in response.
- consult with stakeholders later in 2024 and in 2025.
Ways to participate:
- The ALRC wants to hear from a wide range of people, including native title holders and future acts proponents. The ALRC respect the custodianship First Nations people have over their stories and knowledge about country and culture.
- There are three main ways to participate in the inquiry:
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- The ALRC will be holding consultations and meetings with different stakeholders.
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- The ALRC will call for formal submissions in 2025. Anyone is welcome to make a submission.
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- You can get in contact with them at any time during the Inquiry.
More information: https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/review-of-the-future-acts-regime/
ALGA has been contacted about making sure quality engagement occurs with LGAs. To assist councils with the consultation, ALGA has developed the four fact sheets on Native Title:
- https://alga.com.au/app/uploads/Fact-Sheet-1-Native-Title-timeline.pdf
- https://alga.com.au/app/uploads/Fact-Sheet-2-Land-Councils-and-PBCs.pdf
- https://alga.com.au/app/uploads/Fact-Sheet-3-Future-Acts.pdf
- https://alga.com.au/app/uploads/Fact-Sheet-4-Indigenous-Land-Use-Agreements-ILUA.pdf
The ALRC has been asked to provide its final report to the Attorney-General by 8 December 2025.
Posted 2 September, 2024