Assessing native title and economic development

Abstract

This paper focuses on the actual and potential economic implications of native title for Indigenous Australians. Generally speaking, the procedural rights under the Act that could enable some groups to obtain economic opportunities and benefits are only enjoyed by those who have been legally recognised as native title holders or who have registered native title claims. Accordingly, the paper describes the process by which legal recognition is sought and given in relation to the native title rights and interests of groups of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders in different parts of the country. It discusses various ways in which native title holders and registered native title claimants can use their procedural rights under native title laws to negotiate agreements that can have economic benefits to them, and gives examples of those agreements