NATIVE TITLE ACT 1993 No. 110, 1993 - LONG TITLE

NATIVE TITLE ACT 1993 No. 110, 1993 - LONG TITLE

An Act about native title in relation to land or waters,
and for related purposes 

This preamble sets out considerations taken into account by the Parliament of
Australia in enacting the law that follows.
The people whose descendants are now known as Aboriginal peoples and Torres
Strait Islanders were the inhabitants of Australia before European settlement.
They have been progressively dispossessed of their lands. This dispossession
occurred largely without compensation, and successive governments have failed
to reach a lasting and equitable agreement with Aboriginal peoples and Torres
Strait Islanders concerning the use of their lands.
As a consequence, Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders have become,
as a group, the most disadvantaged in Australian society.
The people of Australia voted overwhelmingly to amend the Constitution so that
the Parliament of Australia would be able to make special laws for peoples of
the aboriginal race.
The Australian Government has acted to protect the rights of all of its
citizens, and in particular its indigenous peoples, by recognising
international standards for the protection of universal human rights and
fundamental freedoms through:

   (a)  the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of
        All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other standard-setting
        instruments such as the International Covenants on Economic, Social
        and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights; and

   (b)  the acceptance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and

   (c)  the enactment of legislation such as the
        Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and the
        Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986.
The High Court has:

   (a)  rejected the doctrine that Australia was terra nullius (land belonging
        to no-one) at the time of European settlement; and

   (b)  held that the common law of Australia recognises a form of
        native title that reflects the entitlement of the indigenous
        inhabitants of Australia, in accordance with their laws and customs,
        to their traditional lands; and

   (c)  held that native title is extinguished by valid government acts that
        are inconsistent with the continued existence of native title rights
        and interests, such as the grant of freehold or leasehold estates.
The people of Australia intend:

   (a)  to rectify the consequences of past injustices by the special measures
        contained in this Act, announced at the time of introduction of this
        Act into the Parliament, or agreed on by the Parliament from time to
        time, for securing the adequate advancement and protection of
        Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders; and

   (b)  to ensure that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders receive
        the full recognition and status within the Australian nation to which
        history, their prior rights and interests, and their rich and diverse
        culture, fully entitle them to aspire.
The needs of the broader Australian community require certainty and the
enforceability of acts potentially made invalid because of the existence of
native title. It is important to provide for the validation of those acts.
Justice requires that, if acts that extinguish native title are to be
validated or to be allowed, compensation on just terms, and with a special
right to negotiate its form, must be provided to the holders of the native
title. However, where appropriate, the native title should not be extinguished
but revive after a validated act ceases to have effect.
It is particularly important to ensure that native title holders are now able
to enjoy fully their rights and interests. Their rights and interests under
the common law of Australia need to be significantly supplemented. In future,
acts that affect native title should only be able to be validly done if,
typically, they can also be done to freehold land and if, whenever
appropriate, every reasonable effort has been made to secure the agreement of
the native title holders through a special right to negotiate. It is also
important that the broader Australian community be provided with certainty
that such acts may be validly done.
A special procedure needs to be available for the just and proper
ascertainment of native title rights and interests which will ensure that, if
possible, this is done by conciliation and, if not, in a manner that has due
regard to their unique character.
Governments should, where appropriate, facilitate negotiation on a regional
basis between the parties concerned in relation to:

   (a)  claims to land, or aspirations in relation to land, by Aboriginal
        peoples and Torres Strait Islanders; and

   (b)  proposals for the use of such land for economic purposes.
It is important that appropriate bodies be recognised and funded to represent
Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders and to assist them to pursue
their claims to native title or compensation.
It is also important to recognise that many Aboriginal peoples and Torres
Strait Islanders, because they have been dispossessed of their traditional
lands, will be unable to assert native title rights and interests and that a
special fund needs to be established to assist them to acquire land.
The Parliament of Australia intends that the following law will take effect
according to its terms and be a special law for the descendants of the
original inhabitants of Australia.
The law, together with initiatives announced at the time of its introduction
and others agreed on by the Parliament from time to time, is intended, for the
purposes of paragraph 4 of Article 1 of the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Racial 
Discrimination Act 1975 , to be a special measure for the advancement and
protection of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders, and is intended
to further advance the process of reconciliation among all Australians.
The Parliament of Australia therefore enacts: