The Department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW) is responsible for coordinating the state's response to native title claims and litigation, and carries out tenure, historical and anthropological assessments of native title claims. 

It aims to resolve these claims through negotiation, rather than pursuing them through the courts.

The state bases its negotiations on the mediation processes set out in the Native Title Act 1993. The National Native Title Tribunal can facilitate these negotiations if required.

• Determining native title
• Establishing evidence of connection 
• Native title representative bodies including boundary maps
• Map of Aboriginal representative areas in Queensland (PDF, 183 kB)*

Determining native title

Only the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia can make an approved determination of native title, as the National Native Title Tribunal is not a court and cannot make decisions on whether native title does or does not exist.

The three kinds of native title determination are:

• unopposed (if the application is uncontested)
• consent (if the parties involved in mediation reach an agreement)
• litigated (if an application is contested in court, and the parties have to argue their cases before a judge).

Determinations are published on the National Native Title Tribunal’s web site.

Establishing evidence of connection

By lodging a native title claim in the Federal Court, the native title party commences a legal proceeding that involves the Queensland Government and other respondent parties. A consent determination of native title can be made only if all the parties involved agree about issues relating to connection.

Connection report

The Queensland Government agrees to a consent determination only if the native title party can provide evidence of their connection to the lands and waters claimed under their traditional laws and customs in accordance with section 223 of the Native Title Act 1993. The state receives this body of evidence and argument in a connection report, which gives the native title claim group an opportunity to demonstrate the fact and nature of their relationship to traditional land and sea country. The state then uses this information to decide whether or not it is prepared to proceed towards a consent determination.  

Guides to compiling connection reports

The Guide to compiling a connection report for native title claims in Queensland (PDF 185 kB)* and the Guide to compiling a connection report for native title claims in the Torres Strait (PDF 194 kB)* reflect the Queensland Government’s understanding, at the time of writing, of the legal requirements for the recognition of native title. Other parties to a claim may have a different understanding, and it is important that native title applicants consider this, especially when their goal is to obtain the agreement of these parties to a consent determination of native title.

The guides define the kind of information that should be included, and the issues that should be addressed. They are not templates, but reference documents to help consultant anthropologists prepare connection reports.

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