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About Us

The NLC is an independent statutory authority of the Commonwealth.

It is responsible for assisting Aboriginal peoples in the Top End of the Northern Territory to acquire and manage their traditional lands and seas.

Aboriginal land councils were set up in the early 1970s during the federal Government’s Aboriginal land Rights Commission (the Woodward Inquiry).


Land Councils are important bodies as they give Aboriginal peoples a voice on issues affecting their lands, seas and communities.


Key constituents of the NLC are traditional owners and the residents on Aboriginal lands. About 51,000 Aboriginal people live in the NLC region. The large majority of the NLC's constituents (some 75 per cent or 38,500 people) are residents in regional and remote locations.


The majority of Aboriginal people living within our region speak an Aboriginal language as their first language. Traditional Aboriginal law is practiced in many communities within our region.


Many major resource developments are taking place on Aboriginal land, land subject to Native Title rights and interests, or land and waters over which Aboriginal peoples assert interests. These developments include mining and exploration projects, the construction of railways, gas pipelines, army training areas, national parks, and pastoral activities. The challenge for the NLC is to ensure that social, economic and cultural benefits flow to Aboriginal people from these developments.


Aboriginal people are increasingly looking to participate in planning and development activities, while at the same time seeking to protect their culture and integrity.


The most important responsibility of the NLC is to consult with traditional landowners and other Aboriginal people with an interest in affected land. Landowners must give informed consent before any action is taken to affect their lands and seas. Achieving informed consent also ensures affected Aboriginal communities and groups have the chance to express their views.

Our Logo

The NLC logo is derived from a painting by deceased Kunwinjku artist Curly Bardkadubbu from Marrkolidjban on the Liverpool River. He passed away in 1987. The painting is a western Kunwinjku depiction of the Rainbow Serpent, which is widespread in Aboriginal beliefs. 

Our land and people

The NLC constituency has about 51,000 Aboriginal residents, 75 per cent of them living in regional and remote areas in about 200 communities ranging in size from small family outstations to communities with populations of about 3,000.

The majority of these people speak an Aboriginal language as their first language. Many are multi-lingual, and English is often a secondary language. Customary law constitutes the primary rules by which people continue to conduct their lives.


Traditional land and sea ownership is based on customary law, passed from generation to generation. This sacred trust involves defined groups or people, their ancestors and descendants.


In many areas, a system of 'managers' and 'owners' operates. Land managers generally have maternal links to land while landowners generally have paternal links to land. Aboriginal landowners and managers have specific and complementary rights and obligations to ensure the spiritual and physical health of defined areas of land.


Aboriginal land is private property owned under special freehold title. It is inalienable – in other words, it cannot be bought, acquired or forfeited.


The Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976 (ALRA) has enabled Aboriginal peoples to gain inalienable freehold title to 50 per cent of the NT and, through the High Court's 2008 Blue Mud Bay decision, about 85 per cent of the NT coastline.


For the most part, Aboriginal landowners with inalienable Aboriginal freehold have the exclusive power to control the direction and pace of development on their lands. The public, in the form of government at various levels, has only limited rights to impose external development or conservation direction or constraints.


Aboriginal land is not owned by individuals. It is granted as a communal title. Land is formally held by land trusts - groups of Aboriginal people who hold the title for the benefit of all the Traditional Owners and Aboriginal people with an interest in the land.


Under ALRA, decisions over the use of Aboriginal land must have the consent of the Traditional Owners as a group and ratified by the Land Council. Aboriginal land in the NLC region is held as inalienable Aboriginal freehold – the strongest form of title in Australia.


The nature of Aboriginal inalienable tenure differs from mainstream definition of private land inasmuch as such land cannot be bought or sold. It can however be leased from the Aboriginal Land Trusts (which hold title) to Aboriginal corporations or to non-Aboriginal interests with the informed consent of Traditional Owners.

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Our History

Since they were first established, Aboriginal land councils have won back almost half of the land mass of the Northern Territory and 85 percent of the coastline of traditional Aboriginal landowners. Significant areas of Aboriginal land have been opened up for development through agreements with Aboriginal peoples.

Scientific evidence dates Aboriginal presence in northern Australia to 60,000 years and southern Australia to 40,000 years. European settlement of the Australian continent began in 1788 when a British penal settlement was founded at Sydney Cove.


Colonisation spread across the continent and its islands. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations resisted the occupation of their lands by pastoralists and the destruction of their way of life.


Following unsuccessful attempts to establish settlements in northern Australia, colonial officials, pastoralists, prospectors and missionaries began to arrive in what is now the Northern Territory in the latter part of the 19th Century.


Traditional hunting grounds and fertile lands were taken by pastoralists. Many groups were left to live on unproductive land. Despite receiving unjust compensation for their labour, many worked on cattle stations and were able to maintain their historic cultural links to their land.


In the 1960s the land rights movement began to gain momentum. In 1973 the Woodward Commission of Inquiry into the appropriate way to recognise Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory was announced. The Northern and Central Land Councils were formed in the same year to assist with the work of the Commission.

“I have ... felt very strongly the lack of any cohesive organisation linking these various people to whom I have spoken. There is no body or council which can speak for the Aborigines of the Territory as a whole. ... They have no means by which they can formulate a generally supported claim or make their voices heard in a way likely to influence ultimate decisions.”
— Justice Woodward

The Aboriginal Land Rights Act was intended to be a model for national land rights legislation. Opposition from State Governments and the mining industry, however, defeated this objective.


Since the introduction of Aboriginal Land Rights Act (Northern Territory) in 1976 the Act has been the subject of continual attacks and attempts to reduce the rights that Aboriginal people had reclaimed to manage their land.


Previous Northern Territory Governments’ policy of extensive legal challenges to land claims has continued over the life of ALRA. Such challenges have ignored the obvious strength of claimants’ cases, the efficacy of the Land Councils’ approach and the failure of nearly all of the government challenges.


Whilst wasting millions of taxpayer dollars, this policy has delayed the outcomes of land claims and delayed or denied Aboriginal people their rights to reclaimed land. Many claimants have died before their claims have been successfully resolved.


Despite the challenges, Land Councils have won back almost half of the land mass of the Northern Territory and 85 percent of the coastline of traditional Aboriginal land owners. Significant areas of Aboriginal land have been opened up for development through agreements with Aboriginal peoples.


Aboriginal landowners continue to rely on the natural environment for spiritual, social and economic well-being. Governments are increasingly recognising the critical role that traditional Aboriginal landowners have in caring for the land, waters, seas and flora and fauna in the Northern Territory.


As the ability of Aboriginal peoples to succeed in further land claims diminishes, the role of Land Councils is shifting to focus more on land management and development.

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TIMELINE

THE BARK PETITIONS

Yolgnu peoples from northeast Arnhem Land present the Commonwealth government with a petition of bark paintings protesting a bauxite mine lease granted on their land.

THE WAVE HILL WALK-OFF

Gurindji stockmen and their families walk off Wave Hill Station, demanding fair wages and the return of some traditional lands.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE

Ninety-one percent of Australians vote in a referendum to give the Commonwealth power to make laws with respect to Aboriginal people and count them in the census.

THE GOVE LAND RIGHTS CASE

Yolgnu peoples of Yirrkala unsuccessfully seek a court order restraining the Nabalco mining company’s operations.

TENT EMBASSY

Aboriginal peoples set up a tent embassy on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra to protest the lack of land rights and other issues.

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY

The Federal Government appointed Justice Woodward to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into the appropriate way to recognise Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory. The Commission’s first report recommended the establishment of land councils in the Central and Northern regions of the NT to represent the views of Aboriginal people.

THE NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL COMMENCES OPERATIONS


GURINDJI SUCCESSG

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam returns land to the Gurindji people almost a decade after they walked off Wave Hill Station.

LAND RIGHTS

Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act (ALRA) passed by Parliament of Australia with bipartisan support.

ALRA COME INTO EFFECT

Most Aboriginal reserves become Aboriginal land with freehold title held by local Aboriginal people.

YOLGNU JUSTICE

Fifteen years after the Bark Petitions were delivered to the Commonwealth Parliament, Yolgnu people receive title to their land through ALRA.

MABO

The High Court of Australia ruling in the Mabo v Queensland case grants Native Title rights.

BLUE MUD BAY DECISION

On 30 July the High Court of Australia granted Aboriginal peoples sea rights to approximately 85 percent of the NT coastline, heralding a new era in the fight for land and sea rights.

    • Our Role

    The most important responsibility of the NLC is to consult with traditional landowners and other Aboriginal peoples with an interest in affected land. Landowners must give informed consent before any action is taken to affect their lands and seas.

    The Northern Land Council’s statutory obligations under Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 (ALRA) include:


    • To ascertain and express the wishes of Aboriginal peoples about the management of their land and legislation about their land.
    • To protect the interests of traditional owners of, and other Aboriginal people interested in, Aboriginal land.
    • To assist Aboriginal peoples to protect sacred sites, whether or not they are on Aboriginal land.
    • To consult traditional owners and other Aboriginal peoples interested in Aboriginal land and land under claim.
    • To negotiate on behalf of traditional owners with peoples interested in using Aboriginal land or land under claim.
    • To assist Aboriginal peoples to carry out commercial activities.
    • To assist Aboriginal peoples claiming land and, in particular, arrange and pay for assistance for them.
    • To keep a register of Land Council members and members of Aboriginal Land Trusts and description s of Aboriginal land.
    • To supervise and assist Aboriginal Land Trusts.
    • Attempt to conciliate disputes between Aboriginal peoples regarding land matters.
    • Hold in trust and distribute to Aboriginal associations statutory payments from the Aboriginals Benefits Account to communities affected by mining operations and income received on behalf of landowners under negotiated agreements.
    • Process applications for permits to enter Aboriginal land.
    • Any other functions as prescribed.

    The NLC is also the Native Title Representative Body for the northern region – including the Tiwi Islands and Groote Eylandt. This includes land that does not fall under ALRA, such as crown land or other lands in towns, national parks, and land vested in the Northern Territory Land Corporation, pastoral leases and offshore areas.


    Functions prescribed under the Native Title Act 1993 include: 


    • To facilitate the researching, preparation and making of applications, by individuals or groups for determinations of Native Title or for compensation for acts affecting Native Title.
    • To assist in the resolution of disagreements among such individuals or groups about the making of such applications.
    • To assist such individuals o groups by representing them, if requested to do so, in negotiations and proceeding relating to:
    • the doing of acts affecting Native Title;
    • the provision of compensation in relation to such acts;
    • Indigenous Land Use Agreements or other agreements in relation to Native Title rights of access conferred under the Act or other acts; and
    • any other matter relevant to the operation of the Act.
    • To certify in writing applications for determinations of Native Title and applications for registration of Indigenous Land Use Agreements relating to areas of land wholly or partly within the region of the representative body.
    • To become a party to Indigenous Land Use Agreements after consultation with the Native Title holders of the land or waters subject to the agreement.


    The NLC is also authorised to perform functions under Northern Territory law, including:


    • Aboriginal Land Act
    • Cobourg Peninsular Aboriginal Land, Sanctuary and Marine Act
    • Lands and Mining Tribunal Act
    • Mining Act
    • Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park Act
    • Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act
    • Pastoral Land Act
    • Special Purpose Leases Act
    • Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act

    The NLC provides services in the following areas:


    • Land, sea and natural resource management
    • Land claims and land acquisitions
    • Economic development and commercial services
    • Advocacy
    • Administration and support services
    • Native Title services


    The NLC has a long-term policy of supporting regional decision making. To this end, significant resources are directed each year towards maintaining fully-staffed and resourced regional offices. The NLC has regional offices in the seven administrative regions.

    NLC ORganisational Structure

    The NLC’s operations are managed by four divisions:

    

    Deputy CEO 

    Land & Law

    Land & Sea Management

    Corporate Services

    The Deputy CEO manages a range of NLC branches including Regional Development, Permits, Agreements and Compliance, Economic Development, Policy Advice, ICT and Project Management and Media and Communications. The Regional Development branch is responsible for managing the NLC’s network of regional offices beyond Darwin and performs a number of services in our remote communities. It coordinates funding allocations for ceremonies and funerals, processes permit applications and facilitates the Section 19 proposal and assessment approval process across the region. The division also leads a number of priority projects including regionalisation.

    The Land & Law division comprises the Legal, Anthropology, Resources & Energy and Community Planning and Development branches. The division identifies and consults with Traditional Owners to secure and protect their rights and interests in land and sea. The team provides legal advice to the NLC and Traditional Owners, conducts land rights and native title claims, negotiates agreements and pursues litigation where appropriate. It also provides advice and oversight of the NLC’s obligations regarding mineral and petroleum exploration, production and associated activities as they relate to the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act and the Native Title Act. The Community Planning and Development branch supports Aboriginal land-owning groups to use payments from land use agreements to drive their own development and secure lasting benefits from their land, waters and seas.

    The Land and Sea Management division is made up of the Sea Country, Caring for Country, Learning on Country and Partnerships and Enterprise Development branches. The Sea Country branch provide support and advice to Traditional Owners on the use of their sea country, and facilitates the sea country access requirements for commercial and recreational fishing, as well as fishing tour operators across the Top End of the Northern Territory. The Caring for Country branch hosts and provides administrative support to land and sea ranger groups across the NLC region, provides policy support and advice on land and sea management issues and supports joint management of national parks. The Learning on Country (LoC) Program is a joint initiative between Aboriginal ranger groups and local schools across remote Top End communities, with a focus on integrating ‘both ways’ learning into school curriculums. The program is both an incubator and succession planning solution for various industry sectors involved in the sustainable use of land, sea and conservation management.

    The Corporate Services division provides financial, governance, HR, WHS expertise and more. It is also responsible for assets, fleet, infrastructure and facility management throughout our region and benefits distribution. The People & Culture division supports the NLC’s diverse and growing workforce. It is responsible for the entire suite of human resources, including recruitment, industrial relations, payroll, learning and development and work health safety. The division is also responsible for information management, which includes archiving, records management and library services.

    Download 2023 Organisational Structure

    Our governing laws

    The NLC remains the paramount body through which the Aboriginal people of the Top End make their voices heard on issues which impact upon their land, seas and communities. ALRA continues to be the strongest foundation on which to build social, cultural and economic growth for Traditional Owners.


    The NLC is a body corporate established under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act and a Native Title Representative Body recognised under the Native Title Act 1993.

    • Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cwh) also referred to as the Land Rights Act and ALRA
    • Native Title Act 1993
    • Aboriginal Land Act (NT)
    • Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2015 also referred to as the PGPA Act
    • Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013

    The Land Rights Act is Commonwealth law and any changes must be passed by both Houses of the Australian Parliament. The Land Councils are usually consulted before any changes are made to the Act.


    The Land Rights Act also set up and gave functions to Land Councils.


    The main parts of the Land Rights Act cover:

    • Granting of land to Aboriginal Land Trusts
    • Setting up Aboriginal Land Councils
    • Aboriginals Benefit Account
    • Mining
    • Processes for making decisions about land
    • Dealing with income from land use agreements
    • Negotiating leases for development on Aboriginal land

    Laws to do with the protection of sacred sites and permits and access to Aboriginal land are made by the Northern Territory Government, but they have to conform to the Commonwealth Land Rights Act.


    Aboriginal Land Rights Act legislation

    The Native Title Act is also Commonwealth law that was passed through Parliament in 1993. It recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have rights to land, water and sea including exclusive possession in some cases, but does not provide ownership like the Land Rights Act. The Native Title Act allows governments, companies and native title holders to negotiate agreements, including Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs), about future developments on the land, waters and sea. It does not provide for a veto over developments like the Land Rights Act.


    The NLC has many native title claims especially in towns and over pastoral leases that require careful management and negotiating by NLC staff. The NLC is also preparing new sea claims.


    In addition to the above, the NLC is also required to:


    Consult with and represent the views of the Aboriginal people within our region


    Advocate on behalf of Aboriginal people in relation to laws, policies and procedures that affect them


    Develop innovative land and sea management, employment, training and other programs that enhance Aboriginal self-determination and cultural survival


    Native Title Act legislation

    The NLC is bound by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, or PGPA Act.


    Under the PGPA Act, the NLC must meet high standards of governance, performance and accountability; provide meaningful information to the Parliament and the public; use and manage public resources properly; and work cooperatively with others to achieve common objectives, where practicable.


    Under the PGPA Act, the Chair and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) are called the Accountable Authority. Among their legal duties, they have to govern the NLC, establish and maintain systems relating to risk and control, and keep the Ministers of Indigenous Affairs and Finance informed.


    Also under this legislation members of the NLC are defined as ‘officials’, and they have five general duties:

    1. Duty of care and diligence
    2. Duty to act honestly, in good faith and for a proper purpose
    3. Duty in relation to use of position
    4. Duty in relation to use of information
    5. Duty to disclose interests.

    PGPA legislation

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    The NLC Full Council at the 124th Full Council Meeting at Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre in Katherine, December 2022.

    Our Council

    The NLC's Full Council is the major decision-making body of the organisation.

    The NLC’s Full Council has 78 elected members, plus five co-opted women, making a total of 83 members. Nominations for the Full Council are held every three years. Full Council meetings are held twice each year, when Councillors determine policies and directions, approve land use agreements and mining and exploration tenements for which Traditional Owners have given their consent.


    The NLC Chair, Deputy Chair and Executive members representing each of the NLC’s seven regions are elected at the first meeting of the new Full Council.


    The roles and powers of the Full Council, Executive Council and Regional Councils are separate from the Chief Executive Officer and NLC staff. The Full Council is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the NLC with advice from the CEO. It can delegate its powers to the Executive and Regional Councils. The CEO is responsible for managing the NLC’s regular operations, implementing Full Council decisions and reporting back to the Full Council. 


    In accordance with the land rights act Aboriginal peoples living in the NLC region can request to inspect the NLC’s meeting rules and minutes of NLC Full, Executive and Regional Council meetings. To arrange an inspection contact councilservices@nlc.org.au.


    The NLC’s constituency is a representation of the Traditional Owners within its jurisdiction. There are seven regions within the NLC’s jurisdiction: Darwin/Daly/Wagait; West Arnhem; East Arnhem; Katherine; Victoria River District (VRD); South East Arnhem; and Borroloola/Barkly.

    16th Full Council of the NLC 2022-2025

    • BORROLOOLA BARKLY

      • Brian Limerick - Alexandria
      • David Harvey - Borroloola
      • Shaun Evans - Borroloola
      • Maria Pyro - Borroloola, Homelands
      • John Finlay - Brunette Downs
      • Chris Neade - Elliott
      • Jason Bill - Muckaty
      • Jeremy Jackson - Murranji
      • Maxine Wallace - Nicholson River
      • Joy Priest - North Barkly
      • Tony Jack - Robinson River
      • Gordon Noonan - Rockhampton Downs
      • Jack Green - Wombaya 

    • DARWIN/DALY/WAGAIT

      • Joy Cardona - Daly River
      • Matthew Shields - Daly River North (Woolianna)
      • Norman Miller - Daly River South (Upper Daly)
      • John Sullivan - Daly River West (Woodycupildiya)
      • Bill Danks - Darwin
      • Bill Risk - Darwin
      • Phillip Goodman - Darwin South (Adelaide River)
      • Graham Kenyon - Darwin East (Humpty Doo)
      • Calvin Deveraux - Darwin South West (Litchfield)
      • Rex Edmunds - Darwin West (Belyuen)
      • Roger Wodidj - Palumpa
      • John Wilson - Peppimenarti
      • Mona Liddy - Pine Creek
      • Steven Pultchen - Wadeye
      • Mark Tunmack-Smith - Wadeye (North)

    • EAST ARNHEM

      • Bandarr (Michael) Wirrpanda - Blue Mud Bay, Homelands
      • Makugun (Brendan) Marika - Blue Mud Bay, Homelands
      • Peter Yawunydjurr - Galiwin'ku
      • Jason Guyula - Galiwin'ku
      • Kenny Guyula - Galiwin'ku, Homelands
      • Vacant - Galiwin'ku, Homelands 
      • Bobby Wunungmurra - Gapuwiyak
      • Vacant - Gapuwiyak
      • George Milapuma - Milingimbi
      • Michael Ali - Milingimbi
      • David Warraya - Ramingining
      • Peter Gambung - Ramingining
      • Djawa Yunupingu - Ski Beach
      • Djawa Murrmurrna Burarrwanga - Yirrkala
      • Yananymul Mununggurr - Yirrkala
      • Ishmael Marika - Yirrkala

    • KATHERINE

      • Helen Lee - Barunga
      • Conway Wirrapanda-Blanasi - Wugularr
      • Lisa Mumbin - Katherine
      • Adrian McDonald - Katherine
      • Timothy Baker Jr - Mataranka/Djimbra (Jilkminggan)
      • John Dalywater - Weemol

    • SOUTH EAST ARNHEM

      • Darryn Farrell - Minyerri
      • Walter Rogers - Ngukurr, Homelands
      • Grace Daniels - Ngukurr, Homelands
      • Bobby Nunggumajbarr - Ngukurr, Homelands
      • Hubert Nunggumajbarr - Numbulwar, Homelands
      • Virginia Nundhirribala - Numbulwar, Homelands
      • David Murrungun - Numbulwar, Homelands
      • Peter Lansen - Nutwood/Cox River
      • Clifford Duncan - Urapunga

    • VICTORIA RIVER DISTRICT

      • Anthea Anthony - Amanbidji
      • Shadrack Retchford - Bulla
      • Raymond Hector - Pigeon Hole
      • Lorraine Jones - Timber Creek
      • Wesley Campbell - Yarralin
      • Shauna King - Yingawunari

    • WEST ARNHEM

      • June Fejo - Cobourg
      • Otto Dann - Gunbalanya
      • Timothy Nabegeyo - Gunbalanya, Homelands
      • Wayne Wauchope - Gunbalanya, Homelands
      • Joanne Christophersen - Kakadu
      • Jaqueline Phillips - Maningrida
      • Reggie Wurdijal - Maningrida
      • Matthew Ryan - Maningrida, Homelands
      • Julius Kernan - Maningrida, Homelands 
      • Matthew Nagarlbin - Minjilang
      • Bunug Galaminda - Warruwi, Homelands
      • Jenny Inmulugulu - Warrawi, Homelands 

    Executive Council

    • CHAIR

      Mr Matthew Ryan

    • DEPUTY CHAIR

      Calvin Deveraux (Darwin/Daly/Wagait region)

    • SOUTH EAST ARNHEM REGION

      • Peter Lansen 
      • Virginia Nundhirribala 

    • EAST ARNHEM REGION

      • Djawa Yunupingu
      • Yananymul Munungurr 

    • VICTORIA RIVER DISTRICT REGION

      • Lorraine Jones
      • Raymond Hector 

    • KATHERINE REGION

      Helen Lee

      Conway Wirrapanda-Blanasi

    • DARWIN/DALY/WAGAIT REGION

      Bill Danks

    • WEST ARNHEM REGION

      Julius (Clint) Kernan

    • BORROLOOLA/BARKLY REGION

      Chris Neade 

      Joy Priest 

    Five Co-Opted Women

    The NLC Chair appoints up to five co-opted women to the full council in order to boost women's representation.

    • Represented Women of the NLC

      • Caroline Dhamarrandji - East Arnhem
      • Judy Gapugurawuy - East Arnhem
      • Dela Mununggurr - East Arnhem
      • Charlane Bulumbara - Katherine
      • Melinda Thompson - South East Arnhem

    Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Committee

    The Full Council of the NLC nominates two members to sit on the board of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Committee (NTAIC) and the NTAIC Grants Committee. The following members were nominated during the 124th Full Council Meeting.

    • NTAIC Board

      • Joy Cardon
      • Grahame Kenyon

    • NTAIC Grants Committee

      • Bobby Nunggumajbarr
      • Wayne Wauchope

    Aboriginal Sea Company

    The Full Council of the NLC nominates three members to the board of the Aboriginal Sea Company. The following members were nominated to the Aboriginal Sea Company during the 124th Full Council Meeting:

    • Board Members

      • Calvin Deveraux
      • Djawa Yunupingu
      • Julius (Clint) Kernan
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    NLC CHAIR

    Mr Matthew Ryan

    At the 126th NLC Full Council Meeting on March 11th, 2024, Matthew Ryan garnered the support of his fellow councillors from across the NLC’s seven regions to be elected as the ninth NLC Chairperson.


    Of Barabarra, Wurrpann, and Gurindiji descent, Mr Ryan resides in Maningrida. He was first elected to the NLC in 2004 and had been serving a second non-consecutive term as a NLC Executive Council member (West Arnhem region) since 2022.


    Through the Council and his various community leadership roles Mr Ryan has called for improvements to education, telecommunications, and health services. A staunch advocate for constitutional recognition, he has also consistently campaigned for greater electoral participation.


    Mr Ryan previously worked as an Aboriginal Community Police Officer in the Northern Territory Police Force and as a Djelk Community Ranger with Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC). He was elected to the board of BAC before serving as Chairperson for two terms. He is a long-serving councillor for the West Arnhem Regional Council and is currently serving his second term as Council Mayor. He also holds positions on the boards of the BAC, Homelands School Company, and Aboriginal Housing NT.


    Mr Ryan will lead the NLC as Chair until December 2025, when Aboriginal communities from across the Top End will once again appoint representatives to the Council. 

    NLC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

    Mrs Jessie Schaecken

    Jessie Schaecken was appointed to the position of Interim CEO by the NLC’s Executive Council on March 15, 2024.


    In her role as Interim CEO she supports the strategic direction of the NLC and oversees its operations to ensure goals are met for the betterment of Aboriginal people across the Top End.


    Mrs Schaecken brings a diverse wealth of experience in local government and governance to the role, along with a strong commitment to the NLC’s values of respect, consultation, responsiveness, and social justice.


    A mother of four residing in Noonamah, Mrs Schaecken is the former acting CEO of West Arnhem Regional Council. She has also worked at the City of Palmerston, Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation, and held leadership positions in the superannuation sector.

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    FAQs

    • Does the NLC own Aboriginal land?

      No. Traditional Owners are the owners and make decisions about the use of their land. Aboriginal land is private property owned under special freehold title. It is inalienable – in other words, it cannot be bought, acquired or forfeited. This communal form of title is vested with Aboriginal land trusts. For the most part, Aboriginal landowners with inalienable Aboriginal freehold have the exclusive power to control the direction and pace of development on their lands. Governments have only limited rights to impose external development or conservation direction or constraints. Under the Land Rights Act, decisions over the use of Aboriginal land must have the consent of the Traditional Owners as a group and be ratified by the Land Council. When someone wants to use Aboriginal land for an activity such as mining or tourism the NLC has a legal responsibility to identify and consult with the Traditional Owners about that proposal. Traditional owners then make a decision to grant or not grant an interest or licence to a third party to conduct an activity on their land. Where informed consent is given, the NLC may direct the appropriate Aboriginal Land Trust to enter into a S19 Land Use Agreement with the proponent.

    • What happens to royalty and rent payments to Aboriginal people?

      The Aboriginal Land Rights Act says that the NLC must hold royalty and rent money in a trust for the beneficiaries, and pay it to them or “for their benefit”. The NLC deposits all income from the use of Aboriginal land – for example, from mining, pastoralism and community leasing, as well as compensation and other payments – in the Land Use Trust Account and distributes it to Aboriginal associations. The NLC is not allowed to use any money from this account for its operations – in other words, land councils do not take a cut of the monies owed to traditional owners.


      After the NLC transfers money from the Land Use Trust Account to Aboriginal associations it no longer controls the money. However, it continues to play an important support role. It administers many associations and helps them to distribute their money to individuals or to invest it in community driven projects.


      Sometimes Aboriginal people ask the NLC to help them solve a disagreement between association members about the use of its money, eligibility for membership or to explain or change its rules.

    • How is the NLC funded?

      The NLC is primarily funded through the Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA), an account into which the Australian Government pays an amount of money equal to the royalties paid to the NT Government from mining on Aboriginal land. These payments are made on an estimates and justification basis.


      The NLC is also a Native Title Representative Body under the Native Title Act 1993, and receives funding for its extensive work on native title matters.


      In addition to its core funding under the ABA and the Native Title Act, the NLC receives funding under a number of separate programs. The NLC is required to prepare audited financial statements for two separate accounting entities under two Acts of the Commonwealth Parliament – the ALRA and the Native Title Act. The NLC auditor is the Australian National Audit Office. NLC receives additional grant based funding from a number of sources. The major external funding sources include:

      • Working on Country funding for ranger groups (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet)
      • Real Jobs funding for ranger groups (Indigenous Land Corporation).

    • Does the NLC control Aboriginal land?

      No. Under Land Rights legislation, Traditional Owners are the owners and make decisions about the use of their land. When someone wants to use Aboriginal land for an activity such as mining or tourism, the Land Council must be satisfied that the relevant traditional Aboriginal landowners understand the nature and content of any land use agreement which is entered on their behalf and that they agree to it.


      The NLC carries out consultations and negotiations on behalf of Traditional Owners with those interested in carrying out commercial activities on Aboriginal land and waters. The NLC must ensure that any land use proposal is fair and equitable. Traditional owners then make a decision to grant or not grant an interest or licence to a third party to conduct an activity on their land.

    • How does the NLC spend its money?

      The NLC’s annual report to the Australian Parliament details how it has spent its money and how well it has performed during the financial year. Before the annual report is tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament, the Australian National Audit Office carries out a strict check of the NLC’s finances. The NLC also annually reviews its corporate plan.


      Advocacy and community development continues to be an important area of operations. Since 2016, the NLC’s Community Planning and Development program has been helping communities to drive their own development with their own income.

    • How does the NLC determine traditional ownership?

      The Land Rights Act defines traditional Aboriginal land owners as a local descent group of Aboriginal people whose shared spiritual affiliations to sites on the land places them under a primary spiritual responsibility for those sites, and who are entitled by their traditions to use the land.


      The NLC works with Aboriginal people in its region to ensure that traditional owners are properly identified according to this definition. Senior Aboriginal people associated with an area, and those from surrounding areas, have contributed to more than four decades worth of research that has been tested in Land Rights and native title claims in the NLC region and they frequently corroborate or update this research ahead of consultations for major developments and land issues.

    • How does the NLC deal with disputes about land ownership?

      Relations within a landowning group and between groups may be diverse and complex, reflecting the richness and complexity of Aboriginal tradition and Aboriginal peoples' relationship with their land. The NLC has a duty to help Aboriginal people to resolve their disputes over land. It empowers and supports Aboriginal groups to manage their own disputes and reduce their reliance on mediation by external parties.

    • Do I need a permit to enter Aboriginal Land?

      Yes. Commonwealth and Northern Territory law says that entry to Aboriginal land requires a written permit. Aboriginal land is privately owned. It is not Crown land, nor public land. Permission must be obtained in accordance with the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 before going onto Aboriginal Land. This includes access to tidal waters over Aboriginal land. That is, access to the water and land between the high and low tide watermarks requires permission by the land owner.


      Unauthorised entry to Aboriginal land and waters in the Northern Territory can result in a fine of up to $1000. The Northern Land Council is responsible for administering the permit system for traditional owners in the Top End. Depending on your purpose, you will require either: a Work, transit, recreational fishing and tourist permit; a Research Permit; a Media Permit; or a Commercial Filming Permit.

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