Foreword

Welcome to Ashurst's annual review of native title legal developments.

We are once again delighted to publish our seventh annual Native Title Year in Review.

As we come to draft our review each year, we are always surprised by the sheer number of developments over the previous 12 months in relation to this important area of law.  

This year, significant legislative, policy, political and judicial developments have included: 

• the publication of the Commonwealth's Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia's Way Forward Report – responding to the Juukan Gorge incident - with key themes around minimum standards for heritage protection, co-design and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC);
• the WA Government passing its new Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation;
• the Federal Court resolving a number of connection disputes in cases in which 'traditional connection' was put to the evidential test;
• a busy year in the native title compensation space, although there has been no new law on the assessment of native title compensation; 
• as predicted by us last year, an increase in the number of protection applications sought under the Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act; and
• continued momentum for Treaty negotiations in six States.

Our national Ashurst team has remained at the forefront of these developments. Over the last 12 months, our highlights have included: 

• being recognised as Band 1 in Native Title (Proponents) in Chambers Asia-Pacific, a ranking which we have maintained since 2007.  We could not have achieved this recognition without the opportunities and trust our clients place in us; and
• continuing to assist clients to navigate the gap between current laws and community expectations in relation to Indigenous cultural heritage and FPIC.

We are also proud to have increased the size of our national team, with six new senior associates appointed in the last 12 months, most of whom started with us as graduates.

Looking to the year ahead, it was telling that the first words from Prime Minister elect Albanese on election night 2022 were to commit his government to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart  – Voice, Treaty and Truth – in full. 

With an ongoing focus on State and Commonwealth law reform across native title, Indigenous heritage and environmental matters, 2022/2023 will be another busy year for legal developments in this space. 

We look forward to working with our commercial, government and Indigenous clients to find practical and respectful ways to address native title and cultural heritage matters, both across the table and in person (and not entirely by video conference!).

The articles in this 2021-2022 publication are current as at 1 June 2022.  

We encourage you to contact us if you would like to discuss any aspect of this publication.

In the meantime, our best wishes for the next 12 months.