Military orders

On Friday 21 February the full bench of the Federal Court handed down its decision in Congoo v Qld, relating to whether orders issued under regulations made during the WWII years pursuant to the National Security Act extinguished native title rights. It was a two- to-one majority, with the majority and minority views being diametrically opposed.

The majority said that they did not create extinguishment. Evidence filed in court indicates that there are in excess of 13,500 such orders Australia wide, so potentially many claims affected.