The National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) is an independent body established under the '' Native Title Act 1993'' in Australia as a special measure for the advancement and protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (Indigenous Australians). It manages applications for and administration of native title in Australia.

Description

The National Native Title Tribunal comprises a President and Members appointed by the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Indigenous land use agreements (ILUAs). CC-BY icon

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. The NNTT is supported by the Native Title Registrar, also appointed by the Governor-General. The statutory office-holders of the Tribunal each have separate and specific functions and responsibilities to perform under the Act. It is a Commonwealth Government agency, which helps people reach native title outcomes by agreement. The

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

makes determinations on whether native title exists, or not. Since July 2012 the Federal Court has had responsibility for the corporate administration of the NNTT. The President and Members of the Tribunal, assisted by the Registrar, under delegation from the Registrar of the Federal Court of Australia (the Court) are responsible for managing the administrative affairs of the NNTT.

Organisational structure

The President is responsible for managing the Tribunal's administrative affairs. The Governor-General appoints the President and Tribunal Members for specific terms of not longer than five years. Members are involved in: *providing assistance and information *helping people to understand native title and its processes * Indigenous land use agreement negotiations and future act hearings and processes. The Registrar has specific responsibilities under the ''Native Title Act 1993'' and is responsible for the management of employees.

Role and functions

The Tribunal's role is to: *Assist parties to come to agreements over some proposed activities or developments, called future acts, and makes arbitral decisions about these matters. *Apply the registration test to all new native title claimant applications. All new claims must satisfy this set of conditions to be given certain procedural rights over the area claimed. *Notify the public when native title applications have been registered. Notification involves placing advertisements in newspapers as well as sending letters directly to people and organisations with a registered interest in the specific area. *Maintain three registers which hold detailed information about native title in Australia: the Register of Native Title Claims, the National Native Title Register and the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements. *Negotiate other types of agreements, such as Indigenous Land Use Agreements. On request, the Tribunal can also provide assistance and information to people involved in the native title process.

Locations

The Tribunal has offices in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, Cairns,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Sydney and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

PBCs, RNTBCs, RATSIBs, NTRBs and NTSPs

When an

Aboriginal 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 ...

Torres Strait Islander 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 grou ...

body registers a claim with the NNTT, they are referred to as a prescribed body corporate (PBC) until such time as a determination is made, when they become a Registered Native Title Body Corporate, or RNTBC, registered with the

Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations 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 ...

(ORIC) under the ''Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006'' (Cwth). A "representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander body", or RATSIB, is a body recognised by the Commonwealth under s 203AD of the ''Native Title Act'' "to represent native title holders and persons who may hold native title, and to consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons within a specified area". There is a network of native title representative bodies (NTRBs) and native title service providers (NTSPs) to assist native title claimants and holders, of which the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) funds 14. These include land councils and RNTBCs. CC-BY icon

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References

External links

* (Latest version as of July 2020) * {{Authority control Australian property law Australian constitutional law Native title in Australia Organisations serving Indigenous Australians 1993 establishments in Australia Courts and tribunals established in 1993