EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 244

 

Issued by the authority of the Attorney‑General

 

Native Title Act 1993

 

Native Title (Tribunal) Amendment
Regulations 2006 (No. 1)

 

Subsection 215(1) of the Native Title Act 1993 (the Act) provides that the Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Subparagraph 215(2)(b)(ia) of the Act provides that regulations may make provision prescribing fees to be paid in relation to applications to the Registrar of the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT).

 

Section 76 of the Act requires that right to negotiate applications (defined in section 75 of the Act), which are made to the NNTT comply with certain requirements, including being accompanied by any prescribed fee. The Native Title (Tribunal) Regulations 1993 (the Principal Regulations) currently prescribe the fee payable and further provide grounds when the fee is not payable.

 

These Regulations extend the grounds for when a fee is not payable for right to negotiate applications made to the NNTT to persons or bodies who are assisted by bodies recognised as representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander bodies (known as Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs)) or by bodies performing NTRB functions.

 

Prior to the amendment, persons who were assisted by NTRBs in making right to negotiate applications to the NNTT were exempt from paying the prescribed fee by an instrument made by the Attorney-General under paragraph 8(a) of the Principal Regulations, designating individual NTRBs as ‘legal aid services’. The Regulations provide a standing fee exemption to persons who are assisted by a body recognised as an NTRB or performing NTRB functions. The Regulations increase transparency and ensure more flexible application of the fee exemption in such instances by avoiding the need to remake an instrument to cover any variations to bodies recognised as NTRBs. Application of the fee exemption is considered appropriate as the assistance these representative bodies provide is funded by the Australian Government.

 

In addition, these Regulations make a minor amendment to paragraph 8(a) is and make clear that a body, in addition to a person, may be eligible for a fee exemption where that provision applies.

 

The Attorney-General revoked the instrument approving certain NTRBs as legal aid services which took effect from the date of the commencement of these Regulations.

 

 

 

 

The NNTT and the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination in the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs were consulted about these Regulations.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulations commence the day after they are registered in the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.