Community Living Area Land Reform in the Northern Territory

The Australian Government has made a 10-year commitment to work with Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory to build strong, independent lives where communities, families and children are safe and healthy.

In 2011, Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory consultations reported on specific barriers to economic development that needed to be overcome, including through continued land reform.

The Australian Government is committed to reforming land tenure arrangements for community-titled Indigenous held land across Australia, including providing land owners with the opportunity to voluntarily develop and consider options for economic development and home ownership.

There are more than 100 Aboriginal communities on community living area land in the Northern Territory. A community living area is a small portion of land granted out of a pastoral lease as conditional freehold to an Aboriginal community or family for residential purposes, where Aboriginal people did not benefit from land granted under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.

Consultations

We would like your views on community living area land reform in the Northern Territory to inform the Australian Government’s work on any immediate reforms as well as proposed models for longer term reform.

The Australian Government wants to work in partnership with community living area land owners, community members, the Northern Territory Government, the Northern Territory Land Councils, the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association and other relevant and interested stakeholders to achieve comprehensive and sustainable reforms for community living area land.

A discussion paper has been prepared on community living area land reform in the Northern Territory to mark the start of consultation by the Australian Government.

The purpose of the paper is to encourage discussions, through written feedback and in-community meetings in the Northern Territory. The Australian Government would like to hear views on dealing with community living area land and how it should be used in the future to benefit community living area communities.

Australian Government officials will be visiting selected community living area communities to talk about these reforms. Advance notice of the date and time of these meetings will be provided to each community and, where possible, any nearby community living area communities.

A summary of these discussions and written feedback will be presented in an outcomes paper that the Australian Government will release publicly.

How to provide feedback

The Australian Government invites written feedback to the discussion paper by 12 April 2013. It is intended that written feedback will inform discussions at in-community meetings.

Feedback can be submitted by post:
Land and Economic Development Branch
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
PO Box 7576
Canberra Business Centre
ACT 2610

By email:
CLAlandreform@fahcsia.gov.au

All written feedback will be made public at this web address.

Find out more

For more information on community living area land reform in the Northern Territory, email: CLAlandreform@fahcsia.gov.au