LALC LAND DEALINGS

As Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs) are aware, amendments to the land dealing provisions of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 and the Aboriginal Land Rights Regulation 2002 came into force on 31 March 2010.

The new provisions make fundamental changes to the way LALCs are required to go about land dealing proposals and subsequent approval processes required from NSWALC.

The NSWALC Policy on the Assessment and Approval of Local Aboriginal Land Council Land Dealings  (Land Dealings Policy) has been developed to provide guidance to LALCs and persons dealing with LALCs about NSWALC's assessment and approval of land dealings.

LALCs were provided with the draft Land Dealings Policy on 19 December 2009 and workshops on the Policy were held in each region in February 2010.  Changes were made to the draft Land Dealings Policy following these workshops.  The Council of the NSWALC approved the amended Land Dealings Policy on 1 March 2010.  The Policy came into effect on 31 March 2010, following approval by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and notification in the NSW Government Gazette, as required by section 114 of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.

Do the new Land Dealing provisions apply to your LALC dealing?

 If your Land Council was issued with a section 40B or section 40D approval by NSWALC (under the old provisions) and had registered the land dealing at the Land and Property Management Authority (Land Titles Office) before 31 March 2010, the relevant dealing is not subject to the new provisions of the ALRA.

If your Land Council was issued with a section 40B or section 40D approval by NSWALC (under the old provisions) and had not registered the dealing at the Land Titles Office before 31 March 2010, your Land Council must be issued with a Registration Approval Certificate by NSWALC (under the new provisions) to enable your Land Council to go to settlement and register the relevant dealing at the Land Titles Office.  

If your Land Council made an application for a land dealing approval that was not considered and approved by the Council of the NSWALC by 31 March 2010, your Land Council may be subject to all the new land dealings provisions in the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.

Application Forms

 If your Land Council wishes to seek approval for a land dealing, your Land Council must complete and submit an Application for Approval of a Dealing with Land to the NSWALC Commercial Unit.  The Application must be made using the following Application Form, and an application fee of $250 applies (unless the land dealing consists of a development application).

Application for Approval of a Dealing with Land

An application for a Registration Approval Certificate should be made to the NSWALC Commercial Unit using the following form:

Application for a Registration Approval Certificate

NSWALC Register of Members for Expert Advisory Panels

In accordance with Clause 108 of the Aboriginal Land Rights Regulation 2002 (ALRR), NSWALC has established a register of members for expert advisory panels (The Register).

The purpose of the register is to source suitably qualified organisations accross a broad range of disciplines and regional areas to assist both LALCs and NSWALC with the preparation and assessment of land dealings.

The current edition of the Register is listed below.

NSWALC Register of Members for Expert Advisory Panels

Other Information

 A background briefing on the land dealing policy and the new land dealing provisions together with a range of fact sheets (below) are available for the information of all LALCs.  A flow chart depicting the land dealings assessment and approval process is also available. If you have any queries about land dealings please contact the NSWALC Commercial Unit.