The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Amendment Bill 2008 was introduced into Parliament on 14 April 2008. Following debate of the Bill, Parliament passed the Bill on 13 May 2008. The amendments in the Bill provides for key changes to the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 (ALA) and the Torres Strait Islander Land Act 1991 (TSILA).

• Key provisions  
• Introduction of long-term leases  
• Non-transferability provisions  
• Compulsory acquisition powers  
• Exceptions to the Bill—Aurukun and Mornington shires  
• Background to the Indigenous Land Acts Review
• Review of the TSILA
• Further information

Key provisions  

The key provisions of the Bill are:

• introduction of long-term leases (up to 99 years) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land for residential purposes, public housing, commercial development or community infrastructure
• introduction of compulsory acquisition powers for public infrastructure, enabling ordinary aquisition processes to be followed when no other practical alternatives are available  
• removal of the requirement under the ALA and the TSILA to transfer to a land trust, certain Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) land that:
  • has been compulsorily acquired
  • is subject to a ‘long-term commercial purpose’ lease
  • has been gazetted as not transferable  

Introduction of long-term leases

• Leases for residential purposes—the Bill provides for long-term leases of 99 years for residential purposes. All leasing is currently limited to 30 years on DOGIT land and Indigenous reserves. Longer term leases will also be available to non-Indigenous people, subject to strict criteria e.g. a person must be a spouse of an Indigenous person, or have a connection to a commercial lease on the land.
• Leases for commercial development—the Bill provides for long-term leases of up to 99 years for commercial development. These will be available only in specific circumstances, provided certain criteria are met.
• Leases for public infrastructure and social housing—new provisions in the Bill will permit the State to hold long-term leases of up to 99 years for public infrastructure purposes or for a purpose under the Housing Act 2003. The Australian Government and the local authority can also be granted long-term leases to provide public infrastructure.
• Generally—all long-term leases can be renewed and can be granted over Indigenous reserves. All leases will require the consent of the owner of the land and, in some instances, the consent of the Minister as well.

Compulsory acquisition powers

This amendment means that Indigenous land will now be subject to the same compulsory acquisition process as native title and ordinary freehold properties in Queensland.

Essential infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, police stations, community housing and hospitals can be more readily provided to Indigenous communities through amendments allowing compulsory acquisition of land as one alternative for providing the necessary land. The provisions to compulsorily acquire land using the ordinary aquisition process are intended to apply only when there are no other practical alternatives available.

Non-transferability provisions

The Bill provides for land that has been compulsorily acquired or is subject to a long-term commercial lease (longer than 30 years) to be not transferable. In addition the Minister can declare land to be ‘not-transferable’ land if one of the following criteria is met:

• housing or other infrastructure is situated on the land
• the land is being used as a town site or part of a town site by the Indigenous people on the land
• the land is being used as a road
• having regard to the nature or use of the land, it is not appropriate or practicable in the circumstances for the land to be granted in fee simple under this Act.

These provisions are aimed at providing greater certainty over the governance of townships and their related community or public infrastructure.

Exceptions to the Bill—Aurukun and Mornington shires

At this time, it has not been possible to apply the provisions regarding long-term leasing in Aurukun and Mornington shires lease land, due to the nature of these tenures. This will need further consideration and amendments will be considered for early 2009.

Background to the Indigenous Land Acts Review

The ALA and TSILA provide a scheme under which Indigenous people can obtain secure title to certain categories of land, including:

• Indigenous reserves
• Indigenous Deeds of Grant in Trust  
• Aurukun and Mornington shire lease lands
• unallocated State land that has been made available for transfer or claim.

Though the fundamental principles of the ALA and TSILA have not changed, since they were enacted in 1991, the social and legislative environment in which they operate has evolved. For example, the Australian Government recently identified land tenure reform—including long-term leases for public housing bodies—as a precondition for additional funding for housing on Indigenous DOGIT communities.

Amendments to the Acts that will better align them to the current environment, and deal with necessary technical and administrative adjustments have therefore been proposed.

Review of the TSILA

The review of the TSILA is continuing, and is expected to be completed early in 2009. However, some outcomes of the ALA review are applicable to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and have therefore been included in the Bill. For example, new leasing opportunities have been extended to all Indigenous DOGIT land, not just Aboriginal DOGIT land.

Further information

Fact sheet: Aboriginal Land and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (PDF, 115 kB)*

*Requires Acrobat Reader.