Land and Culture

Land dealings amendment Bill

The Aboriginal Land Rights Amendment Bill 2009 was introduced to the NSW parliament on 25 June 2009 following recommendations by a working group convened by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and chaired by the Registrar of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983. The Bill was also informed by submissions invited by the Minister on an exposure draft of the Bill which was first made public in March 2009. The Bill was passed by the NSW Parliament with bi-partisan support and without amendment on 8 September 2009. The amendments gained the Governor’s assent on 16 September 2009. It is expected that the amendments will commence on 31 March 2010.

The amendments will improve the land dealing provisions of the ALRA by providing a clearer process for Local Aboriginal Land Councils when applying to the NSW Aboriginal Land Council for approval to deal with their land by:

• Providing clearer processes and roles for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Local Aboriginal Land Councils in the land dealing approval process,
• Requiring all dealings with land (other than acquisition of land) by the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council to be consistent with its community, land and business plan and any applicable policies of the Council,
• Requiring all dealings with land (other than acquisition of land) by a Local Aboriginal Land Council to be consistent with its community, land and business plan and any applicable policies of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and to be approved by that Council,
• Specifying procedures and requirements for applications by Land Councils, and approvals by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council for land dealings, including power to impose conditions on approvals,
• Providing for assessment of land dealings by expert advisory panels before approval,

Providing two new kinds of NSW Aboriginal Land Council land dealing approval certificates (replacing the old s40B and 40D certificates):




a dealing approval certificate, which will be required before a LALC can deal with land, or enter an agreement to deal with land, or lodge development applications with local government authorities, and
a registration approval certificate which must be obtained by Aboriginal Land Councils to be able to register any dealings on title to land under the Real Property Act 1900 (the Land Titles Office will prohibit registration of land dealings by Aboriginal Land Councils under the Real Property Act 1900 unless the registration application is accompanied by a registration approval certificate)

• Requiring Land Councils to pay the fees of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and, if applicable, expert advisory panels, in assessing applications (some Local Aboriginal Land Councils may be exempt),
• Providing for a system of registration prohibition notices to enforce agreements under which a Local Aboriginal Land Council has undertaken to comply with conditions placed on land dealing approvals,
• Requiring Land Councils to pay a community development levy on certain land dealings which will be paid into a Community Development Fund to be used for acquiring further land, and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council must pay matching amounts into the Fund. The purpose of the Community Development Fund is to promote the more even distribution of wealth across the state.

The amendments represent the second and final phase of the NSW Government Task Force recommendations that extensively reviewed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 in 2004/2005. The land dealings amendments build on the significant amendments to the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 that have improved the governance and representation of land councils which commenced in July 2007.