Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

(both

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

and

Torres Strait Islander people Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

) who occupied their particular region before the arrival of European settlers. They have historically advocated for recognition of traditional

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

, and also for the rights of Indigenous people in other areas such as equal wages and adequate housing. Land councils are self-supporting, and not funded by state or federal taxes. The first land councils were created in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

under the ''

Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on traditi ...

'', with the states later creating their own legislation and system of land councils.

Aboriginal land trust In Australia, an Aboriginal land trust (ALT) is a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal Australians. The land has been legally granted to a community by the governme ...

s (ALTs) were also set up under the Act, which hold the

freehold title In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., per ...

to the land granted under the Act. There are 151 Aboriginal land trusts, holding nearly 50 percent of the land in the NT, which is administered by one of four land councils in the Territory, depending on location. Land councils must ensure that they act on the advice and with the consent of the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

; control over Aboriginal-owned land thus lies with the traditional owners, represented by the land council. Each state has a different system relating to Aboriginal-owned land, with the representative bodies given varying names. In

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, there is also a network of

local Aboriginal land council The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in New ...

s (LALCs), which form a network of organisations close to their communities and support the larger land council, but these bodies do not administer land owned freehold by Aboriginal people.

Background and description

The ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976'', a piece of federal government legislation, was the first law by any Australian government that legally recognised the Aboriginal system of land ownership, legislating the concept of

inalienable ''InAlienable'' is a 2007 science fiction film with horror and comic elements, written and executive produced by Walter Koenig, and directed by Robert Dyke. It was the first collaboration of Koenig and Dyke since their 1989 production of ''Moont ...

freehold title, and thus the first of all

Aboriginal land rights legislation in Australia Commonwealth, State, and Territory Parliaments of Australia have passed Aboriginal land rights legislation. ''Pitjantjatjara Lands Act 1956'' (SA) The South Australian '' Pitjantjatjara Lands Act 1956'' granted land to the Pitjantjatjara people, ...

. Title to the freehold land thus granted is held by Aboriginal land trusts, also created by the Act. While it applied only to the

, this law provided the basis on which Aboriginal peoples could claim land rights based on traditional occupation, and it set a precedent which was followed by the

other states Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

. The Lands Right Act also created Aboriginal land trusts (ALTs), which hold the

to the land granted under the Act. Land councils must ensure that they act on the advice and with the consent of the traditional owners; control over Aboriginal-owned land thus lies with the traditional owners, represented by the land councils. The various state laws "effectively confer collective title to or for the benefit of traditional owners", with rights that frequently enable the pursuit of economic development opportunities for the

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

s. Land councils are not the same as

Registered Native Title Body Corporate A Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC) is a corporation nominated by a group of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people for the purposes of native title in Australia, to represent their native title rights and interests, once tha ...

s (RNTBCs), which are funded by the federal government.

Native title in Australia Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

includes rights and interests that relate to land and waters held by Indigenous people under traditional laws and customs, recognised by the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

in accordance with the ''

Native Title Act 1993 The ''Native Title Act 1993'' (Cth) is a law passed by the Australian Parliament, the purpose of which is "to provide a national system for the recognition and protection of native title and for its co-existence with the national land managemen ...

'' (Cth). These bodies (also known as Prescribed Bodies Corporate or PBCs), hold, manage and protect native title on behalf of traditional owners, but do not own land. CC-BY icon

Text has been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence. (Se
here
) The states' land councils (or equivalents) also have responsibilities under the ederal''Native Title Act''. Land councils are not funded by state or federal taxes, but finance themselves.

In the states and territories

The ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976'' created the

Central Land Council The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern Te ...

and the

Northern Land Council The Northern Land Council (NLC) is a land council representing the Aboriginal peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia, with its head office in Darwin. While the NLC was established in 1974, its origins began in the strugg ...

in the Northern Territory; two others (

Tiwi Land Council The Tiwi Land Council is a land council in the Northern Territory of Australia established in 1978 to represent Aboriginal Australians living on the Tiwi Islands. It was established following requests by the Tiwi people for recognition of thei ...

and

Anindilyakwa Land Council Anindilyakwa may refer to: * Anindilyakwa people, an ethnic group of Australia * Anindilyakwa language, an Australian language * Anindilyakwa Indigenous Protected Area, a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia * Anindilyakwa Land C ...

) were created later. It also created 151 Aboriginal land trusts, holding nearly 50 percent of the land in the NT, which is administered by one of four land councils, depending on location. Under the Act, traditional owners hold decision-making powers over the use of Aboriginal land. Land Councils assist traditional owners to acquire and manage their land. Royalty equivalents for mining activity on Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory are paid to the Aboriginals Benefit Account, administered by the federal government. In

, a network of local land councils (LALCs) and a state land council were set up by the ''

Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW) is an Act of the Parliament of New South Wales which was enacted to return land to Aboriginal peoples through a process of lodging claims for certain Crown lands and the establishment of Aboriginal La ...

''. but these bodies do not administer land owned freehold by Aboriginal people. In

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, there is both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander freehold land, governed by the ''

Aboriginal Land Act 1991 Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

'' (Qld) and the ''

Torres Strait Islander Land Act 1991 Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname *Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott ** ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas * Torres, Colorado, an unincorporated c ...

'' (Qld), although this only makes up 5 percent of the land in the state. This type of land is held by either a

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

established under one of the Acts, or a corporation termed a "CATSIA body" (because they are created under the Commonwealth ''

Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 The Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) assists the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations in administering the ''Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006'' ("CATSI Act") and in supporting and regulating ...

'' or "CATSI Act"), which may be a

(RNTBC). Another type of land tenure peculiar to Queensland is the land (mostly former

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...

s) created under a

Deed of Grant in Trust A Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former Aboriginal reserves and missions. They came about through the enactment by the Queensland Government of the '' ...

(DOGIT). DOGIT land is held in collective title rather than individual titles; it is held for future generations and cannot be sold. DOGITs are in the process of converting parts of the collective title to freehold title, but only for land in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

s. In

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, the three Aboriginal landholding authorities are the (South Australian) Aboriginal Lands Trust,

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...

(APY) and

Maralinga Tjarutja The Maralinga Tjarutja, or Maralinga Tjarutja Council, is the corporation representing the traditional Anangu owners of the remote western areas of South Australia known as the Maralinga Tjarutja lands. The council was established by the ''Mara ...

, all statutory bodies. CC-BY icon

Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)
licence. The ALT was created under the ''

Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966 The ''Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966'' is the short title of an Act of the Parliament of South Australia, assented to on 8 December 1966, with the long title "An Act to establish an Aboriginal Lands Trust, to define the powers and functions ...

'', but since 1 July 2014 has been governed by the ''

Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 2013 Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

''. The

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

provides land rights administration funding to the ALT and works with the Trust on a range of economic, community development and landcare projects across the state. CC-BY icon

Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)
licence. APY was created by the '' APY Land Rights Act 1981'', as amended in 2016–2017, and has an elected Executive Board. CC-BY icon

Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)
licence. The government is also able to transfer other

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

to the control of the Trust.Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966
South Australian Acts (Point-in-Time). Retrieved on 29 January 2012. In

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, ownership of several areas was transferred to a land council, in trust for

Aboriginal Tasmanians The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and ...

, via the ''

Aboriginal Lands Act 1995 The ''Aboriginal Lands Act 1995'' is a statute passed by the Parliament of Tasmania The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consi ...

''. In

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, various pieces of legislation between 1970 and 1991 transferred specific land to Aboriginal communities. Victorian laws provide for organisations called

Registered Aboriginal Parties A Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) is a recognised representative body of an Aboriginal Australian people per the ''Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006'' (Vic.), whose function is to protect and manage the Aboriginal cultural heritage in the state o ...

, which may provide functions in relation to Aboriginal people similar to those provided by land councils. Most of these are also

(RNTBCs). In

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, the ''

Aborigines Act 1889 Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

'' allowed Crown lands to be reserved for, but not transferred to, Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal Lands Trust (ALT) was created under the ''Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972'', and has responsibility for about , the equivalent of around 10% of the state's land. There are many regional and remote communities living on 44 reserves situated on this land, represented by a number of land councils.

List of land councils by state

New South Wales

NSW Aboriginal Land Council The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in New ...

(oversees 120 local land councils) *

Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MetroLALC) is a Sydney-based organisation which works on issues surrounding Indigenous land rights. Formerly known as the Redfern Land Council, the organisation was established to facilitate developmen ...

Northern Territory

covering the southern part of mainland Northern Territory *

covering the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

, the northern part of mainland Northern Territory * the

covering

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...

north of Darwin * the

covering

Groote Eylandt Groote Eylandt ( Anindilyakwa: ''Ayangkidarrba'' meaning "island" ) is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the fourth largest island in Australia. It was named by the explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 and is Dutch for "Large Island" in ...

in the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

Queensland

* North Queensland Land Council * Central Queensland Land Council *

Torres Strait Regional Authority The Torres Strait Regional Authority is an Australian Government body established in 1994 to administer the Torres Strait Islands. It consists of 20 elected representatives. The primary function of the authority is to strengthen the economic, s ...

Cape York Land Council A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

South Australia

South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust In Australia, an Aboriginal land trust (ALT) is a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal Australians. The land has been legally granted to a community by the governme ...

Tasmania

* Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council

Victoria

, the 11

(RAPs) cover around 66% of the state. They are: *

Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation The Barengi Gadjin Land Council was formed in 2005 to represent the Wotjobaluk, Jardwadjali (also known as Jaadwa), Wergaia and Jupagalk peoples. The Council manages native title rights across Western Victoria in an area "roughly described as ...

Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation The Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation is a Registered Aboriginal Party and incorporated association representing the Bunurong (Boon wurrung) community in the state of Victoria, Australia, particularly in matters relating to the Victori ...

* Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation *

Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation The Eastern Maar people are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of state of Victoria, Australia. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar, incl ...

First people of the Millewa Mallee Aboriginal Corporation First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

* Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation *

Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of southwestern Victoria. They are the traditional owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. Their ...

(GMTOAC) * Taungurung Land and Waters Council Aboriginal Corporation *

Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation The Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation, a Registered Aboriginal Party since 21 May 2009, represents the Aboriginal Australian people for the Geelong and Ballarat areas. Their responsibility includes ensuring that the Aboriginal culture is maintain ...

(trading as Wadawurrung) *

Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, previously the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council, is a Registered Aboriginal Party representing the Wurundjeri people, an Aboriginal Australian ...

Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales ...

(YYNAC)

Western Australia

* South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council * Yamatji Bana Baaba Marlpa Land and Sea Council *

Goldfields Land and Sea Aboriginal Council Corporation Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United Stat ...

Kimberley Land Council Kimberley Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, known as Kimberley Land Council (KLC), is an association of Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The land council was formed at a meeting at Noonkanbah Station in May 197 ...

* Ngaanyatjarra Council (Aboriginal Corporation)

References

External links

* * * * * - Annual reports of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner on social justice matters since 1993 * - Annual reports of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner on native title matters since 1994 {{Indigenous Australians Native title in Australia Aboriginal land councils