Native Title Report 2008 - Appendix 2
Find definitions of key Native Title Act terms, including claimant applications made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples seeking native title
Summary
Claimant application means an application made by Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders under the Native Title Act for a determination that native title exists over a particular area of land or waters (s 61(1) Native Title Act).
Native Title Report 2008
Appendix 2 Native Title Statistics 2007-08
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1. Native Title Applications
1.1 Native Title applications made between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [1]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total | |
| Claimant | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Non-claimant | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Total | 0 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25 |
1.2 Native Title applications finalised between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [2]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total | |
| Claimant | 0 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 41 |
| Non-claimant | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Compensation | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 0 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 57 |
1.3 Claims awaiting resolution at 30 June 2008 [3]
| Claimant | 504 |
| Non-claimant | 30 |
| Compensation | 10 |
| Total | 544 |
1.4 Registration test decisions made between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [4]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total | |
| Accepted | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Accepted – section 190A(6A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Not accepted | 1 | 9 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 81 |
| Total | 1 | 11 | 22 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 104 |
2. Determinations
2.1 Native Title determinations made between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [5]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total | |
| Determination by consent | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Determination by litigation | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Determination unopposed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
2.2 Native Title claimant applications determined in full or in part since the Act began, up to 30 June 2008 [6]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total |
| 0 | 4 | 34 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 27 | 112 |
2.3 Native title claims resolved since the Act began, up to 30 June 2008 [7]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total |
| 5 | 146 | 56 | 296 | 22 | 4 | 55 | 379 | 963 |
2.4 Average time to resolve a native title application [8]
| Determination by consent | 69 months (5 years and 9 months) |
| Determination by litigation | 84 months (7 years) |
| Determination unopposed | 12 months (1 year) |
3. Agreements
3.1 Indigenous Land Use Agreements made between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [9]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total | |
| Fully concluded ILUA and use and access agreement negotiations | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Milestone agreements in ILUA negotiation outside native title determination applications | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 106 |
| Milestone agreements in ILUA negotiation within native title determination applications | 0 | 6 | 3 | 36 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 119 |
| Total | 0 | 6 | 4 | 51 | 184 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 246 |
3.2 Future Act agreements made between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [10]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total | |
| Agreements that fully resolve Future Act applications | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 71 | 72 |
| Milestones in Future Act mediations | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 42 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 98 | 114 |
3.3 Determination application agreements made between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [11]
| ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA | Total | |
| Agreements that fully resolve native title determination applications | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 |
| Agreements on issues, leading towards the resolution of native title determination applications | 0 | 9 | 2 | 69 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 166 |
| Process/ framework agreements | 0 | 19 | 4 | 140 | 30 | 0 | 18 | 123 | 334 |
| Total | 0 | 31 | 9 | 214 | 65 | 0 | 20 | 178 | 517 |
4. Future Acts
4.1 Future Act notices advertised between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 [12]
| Those that asserted the expedited procedure under the Act | 11,253 |
| Those that did not assert the expedited procedure | 1,927 |
| Total | 13,180 |
4.2. Future Act objections lodged and finalised during the reporting period [13]
| Tenement outcome | NT | Qld | WA | Total |
| Determination – expedited procedure applies | 0 | 0 | 17 | 17 |
| Determination – expedited procedure does not apply | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Dismissed – s 148(a) no jurisdiction | 0 | 2 | 27 | 29 |
| Dismissed – s 148(a) tenement withdrawn | 0 | 8 | 70 | 78 |
| Dismissed – s 148(b) | 0 | 0 | 222 | 222 |
| Expedited procedure statement withdrawn | 0 | 18 | 10 | 28 |
| Expedited procedure statement withdrawn – s 31 agreement lodged | 0 | 103 | 0 | 103 |
| Objection not accepted | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Objection withdrawn - agreement | 3 | 27 | 702 | 732 |
| Objection withdrawn – external factors | 0 | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Objection withdrawn – no agreement | 0 | 14 | 66 | 80 |
| Objection withdrawn prior to acceptance | 0 | 0 | 65 | 65 |
| Tenement withdrawn | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Tenement withdrawn prior to objection acceptance | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Total | 3 | 187 | 1,204 | 1,394 |
Glossary of terms [14]
Claimant application means an application made by Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders under the Native Title Act for a determination that native title exists over a particular area of land or waters (s 61(1) Native Title Act).
Non-claimant application means an application made by a person, who holds a non-native title interest in relation to an area, and is seeking a determination that native title does not exist in that area.
Compensation application means an application made by Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders seeking compensation for loss or impairment of their native title (s 61 Native Title Act).
Determination by consent means an approved determination of native title by the Federal Court or the High Courts of Australia or a recognised body that native title does or does not exist in relation to a particular area of land and/or waters, which is made after the parties have reached agreement in relation to those issues.
Determination by litigation means a decision by the Federal Court or the High Court of Australia or a recognised body that native title does or does not exist in relation to a particular area or land or waters, which is made following a trial process.
Unopposed determination means a decision by the Federal Court or High Court of Australia or a recognised body that native title does or does not exist as a result of a native title application that is not contested by another party.
Expedited procedure means the fast-tracking process for future acts that might have minimal impact on native title, such as the grant of some exploration and prospecting licenses. If this procedure is used, and no objection is lodged, the future act can be done without the normal negotiations with the registered native title parties required by the Native Title Act.
[1] G Neate, President, National Native Title Tribunal, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 15 August 2008. [2] G Neate, President, National Native Title Tribunal, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 15 August 2008. [3] National Native Title Tribunal, National Report: Native Title, June 2008 (2008), p 1. [4] G Neate, President, National Native Title Tribunal, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 15 August 2008. [5] J Eaton, Native Title Registrar, Federal Court of Australia, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 21 August 2008. See appendix 1 for more information. See appendix 1 for more information. [6] National Native Title Tribunal, National Report: Native Title, June 2008 (2008), p 1. [7] National Native Title Tribunal, National Report: Native Title, June 2008 (2008), p 4. [8] National Native Title Tribunal, National Report: Native Title, June 2008 (2008), pp 1-2. [9] G Neate, President, National Native Title Tribunal, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 15 August 2008. [10] G Neate, President, National Native Title Tribunal, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 15 August 2008. [11] G Neate, President, National Native Title Tribunal, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 15 August 2008. [12] National Native Title Tribunal, National Report: Native Title, June 2008 (2008), p 5. [13] G Neate, President, National Native Title Tribunal, Correspondence to T Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 15 August 2008. [14] The definitions in this glossary are sourced from National Native Title Tribunal, Glossary, http://www.nntt.gov.au/Pages/Glossary.aspx , (viewed 17 September 2008).