State & Territory Government Native Title Functions
Land administration and management is a State or Territory function.
The Commonwealth does not have any responsibility for land administration,
except for land that it owns.
As a consequence of the Mabo (No. 2) decision by the High Court,
the States and Territories are required to take account of native
title rights and interests in their land administration and management
functions.
Under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), States and Territories are
able to do a number of things. All the States and Territories have
passed their own native title legislation to:
- Make sure all activities in relation to land and waters that
occurred before 23 December 1996 are lawful and valid in terms
of their effect on native title.
- Confirm the effect of State and Territory previous exclusive
possession acts and previous non-exclusive possession acts on
native title that occurred before 23 December 1996.
- Confirm the ownership of natural resources; the Crown's right
to the use, control and regulation of water; existing fishing
access rights; access to waterways, beds, banks, foreshores, beaches,
stock-routes and areas that were public places as at the end of
31 December 1993 (s212).
Subject to the approval of the Commonwealth and to the agreement
of both Houses of Federal Parliament, the States and Territories
are also able to do other things in relation to establishing their
own agencies for handling native title matters as alternative bodies
to the Federal Court and the National Native Title Tribunal. Only
South Australia has established its own Supreme Court and its Environment,
Resources and Development Court as its alternative to the Federal
Court. However, no native title applications have been lodged with
the State's court.
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