Aboriginal land and tenure reform

Since around 2005, several Australian governments have been actively engaged in the making of reforms to Aboriginal land ownership. The main focus of reform has been the Northern Territory, but they are also being implemented to varying degrees in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales.

The reforms arose out of debate about communal and individual land ownership and enabling economic development and home ownership on Aboriginal land. During their implementation, the focus has instead been on enabling leases to government departments and NGOs in a manner that complies with the Australian Government’s new ‘secure tenure’ funding rules.

The aim of this project is to improve understandings of land reform, both as they are currently being implemented and more generally. The project draws on international research on land reform, and considers the relationship between tenure and economic development, governance and service delivery.

Publications

Leon Terrill, 'Five years on: Confusion, illusion and township leasing on Aboriginal land' (2011) 1 Property Law Review 160.

Leon Terrill, 'Indigenous Land Reform: An Economic or Bureaucratic Reform?' (2010) 7(17) Indigenous Law Bulletin 3.

Leon Terrill, 'The Days of the Failed Collective: Communal Ownership, Individual Ownership and Township Leasing in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory' (2009) 32(3) University of New South Wales Law Journal 814.

Leon Terrill, Aboriginal land rights – is there a new consensus? (2010) 4 Court of Conscience 8.

Leon Terrill, Indigenous land reform: what is the real aim of the reforms? (2010) Paper accompanying presentation at Native Title Conference 2010.