Posted on November 8, 2019 by Megan Hawley

UPDATE- Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2019

The Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2019  (‘Bill‘) was reintroduced into Parliament on 17 October 2019. The Bill introduces a number of reforms to the native title system under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

A previous iteration of the Bill was introduced into Parliament in February 2019 (‘February Bill‘) and lapsed at dissolution in the House of Representatives on 11 April 2019.

On our review of the Bill, it appears to be almost exactly the same as the February Bill, with the exception of a minor deletion of a proposed amendment to the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act) 2006, which is in relation to registered native title bodies corporate.

The explanatory memorandum does not address the comments made on the February Bill by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bill and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.

The Bill has been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee and a report is due on 28 February 2020.

We will provide a further update on the Bill in due course.

To read our previous blogs on the amendments introduced in the February Bill, click here and here.

If you would like to discuss the proposed amendments in the Bill, or if you have further comments, please contact Megan Hawley on 02 8235 9703, or Elaine Yeo on 02 8235 9712.