Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Consultation with State and Territory Governments

Why is it necessary to improve communication and transparency by governments?

While the Australian Government is responsible for the native title system as a whole, the success of the native title system is also heavily influenced by cooperation, coordination and communication between the Australian Government and the State and Territory governments. State and Territory governments are important stakeholders in the system and have a pivotal role due to their obligations to the wider communities they represent and day-to-day responsibility for land management. The Australian Government believes that improved communication and transparency will have flow-on benefits for the system as a whole and will lead to faster, more affordable and more effective native title outcomes.

What actions has the Australian Government taken to seek to improve transparency?

The Attorney-General convenes a meeting of all State and Territory ministers with native title responsibilities. The Native Title Ministers' Meeting provides an opportunity for the Australian Government to promote the benefits of positive and transparent behaviours by other jurisdictions. Through these meetings Ministers renew their commitment for jurisdictions to work together to achieve better outcomes for all stakeholders in the native title system.

Native Title Ministers’ Meetings

Native Title Ministers' Meetings have been held on 16 September 2005, 15 December 2006, 18 July 2008 and 28 August 2009. There was no meeting held in 2007.

A key outcome of the 2006 Native Title Ministers' Meeting was the engagement of State and Territories in the Australian Government's proposed reforms to the native title system. Ministers agreed to continue working together to secure better outcomes from the system.

At the 2008 Meeting, Ministers agreed to establish a Joint Working Group on Indigenous Land Settlements (JWILS) to develop innovative policy options for progressing broader and regional land settlements. Ministers also discussed the broad principles of Commonwealth financial assistance and how it can facilitate State and Territory settlement of native title claims. Ministers agreed to negotiate in good faith about the Commonwealth offer of financial assistance to States and Territories for certain native title costs.

The Commonwealth has held ongoing discussions about a revised offer through the Joint Working Group and significant progress had been made towards the final form of a native title National Partnership Agreement. The Commonwealth will continue to engage with the States and Territories through the Joint Working Group to explore funding options to underpin a draft Agreement in the future.

At the 2009 Meeting, Ministers:

  • endorsed the Guidelines for Best Practice in Flexible and Sustainable Agreement Making developed by JWILS providing practical guidance for governments in negotiating agreements,
  • noted progress made by JWILS in developing the Guidelines and negotiating the draft Native Title National Partnership Agreement, and
  • endorsed JWILS 2009-10 Terms of Reference which focus on the implementation of negotiated settlements, including management of practical benefits. 

As agreed at the 2009 Meeting, the Attorney-General and Minister Macklin reported out-of-session on 29 October 2009, informing State Ministers of the steps the Commonwealth is taking to ensure a coordinated approach to identifying existing Commonwealth programs and resources that may support native title settlements. The Commonwealth has appointed a Director of Native Title Settlements to identify and coordinate access to relevant Commonwealth programs and resources.

The Australian Government will continue to play a leadership role in native title by promoting its objectives of resolving native title by agreement and achieving outcomes for all parties affected by native title as quickly as possible.

Joint Working Group on Indigenous Land Settlements

The Joint Working Group on Indigenous Land Settlements (JWILS) is a working group with members from:

The objective of the Joint Working Group on Indigenous Land Settlements is to develop innovative policy options for progressing broader and/or regional land settlements that complement the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) and the work of the Federal Court of Australia.

At the 2009 Native Title Ministers' Meeting, Ministers noted that significant progress has been made by the Joint Working Group over the last year, demonstrating the commitment of all governments to work together to improve the overall operation of the native title system. Ministers endorsed the Joint Working Group's 2009-2010 Terms of Reference, which set out key initiatives to be progressed by the Group. One major project involves identifying best practice approaches to the implementation of negotiated settlements, including the effective long-term management of practical and sustainable benefits for traditional owners.

The most recent JWILS meeting took place on 9 December 2009. JWILS is currently working to progress its 2009-10 Terms of Reference seeking to develop recommendations for Ministers on strengthening governance arrangements to support the management and implementation of native title agreements.

Guidelines for Best Practice in Flexible and Sustainable Agreement Making

At the 2009 Native Title Ministers’ Meeting, Commonwealth, State and Territory Native Title Ministers endorsed new, ‘best practice’ national guidelines to enable Governments to take a more proactive role in settling native title claims.

The Guidelines provide practical guidance for governments on the behaviours, attitudes and practices that can achieve the efficient resolution of native title, from the early stages of negotiations through to implementation.

The endorsement of the Best Practice Guidelines represents the first time governments have made a joint commitment to facilitate broader regional native title settlements, providing a range of practical benefits to Indigenous people.

The Guidelines identify a range of factors which can lead to a successfully negotiated outcome. These include:

  • engaging proactively to resolve overlapping claims
  • providing claimants with access to relevant tenure material and connection material where possible
  • considering engaging in a regional settlement, and
  • considering what benefits can possibly be provided as part of an agreement.

The Guidelines are one of the key initiatives of the Joint Working Group on Indigenous Land Settlements, which was established at the 2008 Native Title Ministers’ Meeting.

If you have any issues downloading any of the documents on this page, please contact:

Native Title Unit
Social Inclusion Division
Attorney-General's Department
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
Email: native.title@ag.gov.au