YMAC FACT SHEET
What rights do I get from native title? This information sheet is intended to provide a quick overview of what native title rights Traditional Owners gain following recognition of native title. How is native title different to land rights? The main difference is that native title recognises the rights and interests of Traditional Owners that already existed and have existed before Australia was colonised. Native title does not create new or additional rights. On the other hand, land rights are rights created by Australian, State or Territory governments. Land rights usually involve a grant of freehold or perpetual lease title to Traditional Owners, native title on its own does not.
What does a native title determination get you? A native title determination is a decision about native title under Australian Federal law. A positive native title determination is when the Court recognises that a group of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people are the Traditional Owners of particular lands and waters and that they had a system of law and ownership of their land before European settlement, and that system of law and ownership has continued to the present day. Native title sits at the bridge between traditional/ customary rights and Australian law. A native title determination does not give ownership of the land. It can only recognise the rights that already existed under traditional law and custom before colonisation. Every native title claim group must list the rights they are claiming and provide evidence of them. This means that each determination is different. The existing rights of other people, companies or governments and the history of the area affect what is included. In some areas, the Native Title Holders (also referred to as Common Law Holders) may have exclusive rights, while in other areas, rights to the land are shared with others, such as leaseholders, miners, pastoralists, or the State Government. Native title rights fall into two categories – substantive native title rights and procedural native title rights.