Authorisation meetings

Since the 1998 amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), in order to make a native title or compensation application, section 62 requires the person/s to demonstrate that they are authorised to make the application by all the members of the native title claim group.

The courts have taken a close interest in the way that decisions have been made at authorisation meetings in other regions, to the effect that there are now some base requirements for the way that these meetings are convened. As such, claimants and NTRBs need to comply with the legal requirements for these meetings in order to facilitate sustainable outcomes.

While a number of Federal Court decisions related to authorisation meetings focus on the removal and replacement of native title applicants, some cases have taken a wider view, and the collection of these decisions provide direction on the nature of authorisation meetings, whether they address new native title applications, the nature of the claim group, removal of applicants, or amendments to claims.