National Native Title Tribunal

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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.

Contents

Description

The National Native Title Tribunal comprises a President and Members appointed by the Governor-General of Australia under the Act to make decisions, conduct inquiries, reviews and mediations, and assist various parties with native title applications in Australia, and Indigenous land use agreements (ILUAs). [1]

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. [1]

It is a Commonwealth Government agency, which helps people reach native title outcomes by agreement. The Federal Court of Australia 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. [2] 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. [2]

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:

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:

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, Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

PBCs, RNTBCs, RATSIBs, NTRBs and NTSPs

When an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 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 (ORIC) under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cwth). [3] [4]

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". [5] [6] 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. [7] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 "Tribunal's role". National Native Title Tribunal. Retrieved 22 July 2020. CC-BY icon.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (as per this page).
  2. 1 2 "Planning, service and satisfaction". National Native Title Tribunal. Retrieved 22 July 2020. CC-BY icon.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (as per this page).
  3. "RNTBCs". Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations. 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  4. "Land and Housing". National Indigenous Australians Agency . Retrieved 14 May 2021. Published under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (as per this page)
  5. "RATSIB Areas". data.gov.au. Australian Government. Retrieved 14 May 2021. CC-BY icon.svg Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) licence. See here.
  6. 1 2 Map of NTRBs and NTSPs around Australia (PDF) (Map). NNTT.
  7. "Native title representative bodies and service providers". National Indigenous Australians Agency . Retrieved 14 May 2021. CC-BY icon.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).