3rd Feb 2021, 10:04 AM – Senate Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 - in Committee - Keep sections unchanged

The majority voted in favour of the following sections of the bill remaining as they are: schedules 1 and 2 and 4 to 9 and division 2 of schedule 3.

What is the bill's main idea?

According to the bills digest:

The Bill ... contains nine schedules.

• Schedule 1 creates options for a native title applicant and group to change their internal decision making structures including allowing the group to place conditions on the applicant, allowing applicants to act by majority decision-making rather than unanimously as the default position, enabling removal of deceased or unable-to-act applicant members and creating succession planning.
• Schedule 2 enables Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) to encompass areas where native title has been extinguished, increases flexibility of the processes to notify, register, and make minor amendments to ILUAs (including potentially more wide-ranging amendments permitted by a legislative instrument), and validates actions taken under ILUAs removed from the Register of ILUAs.
• Schedule 3 allows historical extinguishment of native title on land by national, state or territory parks, and pastoral leases owned/controlled by native title corporations to be disregarded. In the case of parks this is subject to agreement by the relevant government parties.
• Schedule 4 allows registered native title bodies corporate (RNTBCs) to be the claimant for compensation from extinguishment in most circumstances, instead of individual claimants undertaking a separate compensation process.
• Schedules 5 and 6 change the ways in which the Commonwealth Minister or government party can be a party to, or intervene in, native title proceedings. Schedule 6 also clarifies procedures to be followed if a native title holder or applicant objects to a future act, and requires the Native Title Registrar to maintain a record of section 31 agreements.
• Schedule 7 enables the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) to provide assistance to common law native title holders and RNTBCs to promote agreement about native title and the operation of the Act. The NNTT may charge a fee for this service. Schedule 7 also enables acting appointments to the NNTT during vacancy, absence or incapacity.
• Schedule 8 amends the CATSI Act provisions dealing with governance of RNTBCs. It includes requiring dispute resolution mechanisms, ensuring RNTBCs represent all common law native title holders, limiting the circumstances under which membership of an RNTBC can be cancelled, and enabling the Registrar to place an RNTBC under special administration if it has repeatedly or seriously failed to comply with its obligations under Native Title legislation. This Schedule creates a strict liability offence for failing to notify a former member of their membership cancellation as soon as practicable.
• Schedule 9 retrospectively confirms the validity of certain Native Title Act section 31 agreements (which chiefly pertain to mining and exploration on land under, or claimed as, native title) which may be affected by the McGlade decision if they were not signed by all members of the relevant native title body. Schedule 9 also provides for ‘just terms’ compensation for any acquisition of property, as required by section 51(xxxi) of the Constitution.