New Regulations under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) which commence on 1 October 2024 herald several small but significant changes in the ‘future acts’ space.
Importantly for native title holders and registered claimants, application fees for objections to the expedited procedure have been abolished.
The expedited procedure is regularly used by governments proposing to grant an exploration tenement (such as an exploration permit in Queensland). If the government includes a statement that the ‘expedited procedure’ applies, this in an alternative to the full ‘right to negotiate’ process. Registered Native Title Claimants (RNTC) and Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate (RNTBC) have the opportunity to lodge an objection with the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) to the inclusion of the statement, which often prompts the parties to negotiate. Alternatively, the NNTT can decide whether the expedited procedure should apply to the grant.
While the application fees were often waived, their abolition further reduces the barriers for native title parties in objecting to the expedited procedure.
The new Regulations can be found here: Federal Register of Legislation – Native Title (Tribunal) Regulations 2024
Another useful amendment was made to the Native Title (Indigenous Land Use Agreements) Regulation 2024. These are minor changes but useful for anyone seeking registration of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA).
It’s still necessary to provide a ‘complete description’ of the ILUA area, but the Regulations no longer provide that a map of the area with geographic coordinates is required. A map showing the boundaries of the area will now suffice. In addition, where the ILUA is wholly or partly covered by a native title determination, it’s not necessary to provide a copy of the determination. This is handy as determinations can run to hundreds of pages and be difficult to upload. It’s now possible to include just an extract of the determination from the NNTT Register.
The new Regulations are available here: Federal Register of Legislation – Native Title (Indigenous Land Use Agreements) Regulations 2024
The NNNT has also published a useful summary of the changes: Native Title regulations change on 1 October 2024 (nntt.gov.au)