Aboriginal land rights and hunting and fishing 1983-present
In 1983, The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) (ALRA) () created Aboriginal Land Councils in NSW to own and manage land. The ALRA also introduced a mechanism for Aboriginal people, through Aboriginal Land Councils to make agreements to access private land for hunting and fishing.
The ALRA provides that Aboriginal land councils can reach agreement with private land owners to access their land for the purpose of hunting and fishing. Where no agreement can be reached, the land council can apply to Court for an access permit (). There are some examples of landowners reaching agreement with land councils and there are no instances of this going to Court ().
In 1996, amendments to the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW) () created a process that allows Aboriginal land councils to regain ownership of certain lands and parks on behalf of Aboriginal owners. These lands are then leased back to the government and jointly managed by a Board of Management. The Board of Management has a majority Aboriginal owners, with one representative from the Local Aboriginal Land Council, alongside representatives from the local council, conservation interests, adjacent landowners and a representative from the National Parks & Wildlife Service.
The lease must acknowledge that Aboriginal owners and other Aboriginal people as agreed to are entitled to use the land for hunting and fishing (). The Board of Management has the function of considering proposals for Aboriginal people to carry out hunting and fishing activity on the lands (). See SUB0064 Conservation areas for examples of leaseback arrangements.
In 2014, the Aboriginal Land Rights Amendment Act 2014 (NSW) () introduced Aboriginal Land Agreements. These Agreements allow the Government and Aboriginal land councils to negotiate agreements about the exchange, transfer or lease of land or about Aboriginal land claims. These agreements can also include any other matter, such as joint access to and management of land, which may provide access to lands for hunting and fishing.
The law and policy in this subject is accurate as of 1 April 2024.