Indigenous Land Corporation gpo box 652 Adelaide sa 5001

Strengthening the Land Account

The most significant policy work undertaken in 2013–14 relates to proposed legislation to amend the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 to strengthen and protect the Land Account and enhance its ability to deliver benefits to Indigenous Australians.

In December 2013, the new Australian Government announced a review of the ILC and another statutory agency, Indigenous Business Australia (IBA). The ILC Board has significant concerns that changes arising from the review could undermine the integrity of the Land Account and in particular its specific focus on compensation for loss of traditional lands.

In this context, the ILC Board developed and published an Exposure Draft ‘Stronger Land Account’ Bill on 24 March 2014. On the same day, the Board hosted a meeting of senior Indigenous leaders, including a number – Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue, David Ross and Noel Pearson – who were involved in the negotiations that gave rise to the Native Title Act and the Land Account. The leaders group (which also included Patrick Dodson, Aden Ridgeway, Kirstie Parker and Dr Tom Calma) endorsed in principle the Draft Bill.

The Draft Bill was developed with five main aims: to strengthen and protect the Land Account; to ensure the Land Account is used only for land-related purposes; to provide for greater Indigenous input into the Land Account and ILC; to enforce the highest standards of corporate governance in the ILC; and to assist the Land Account to grow in real terms.

On 24 June 2014, Senator Rachel Siewert of the Australian Greens introduced into Parliament the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Amendment (A Stronger Land Account) Bill 2014, which is substantially based on the ILC’s Draft Bill. This Bill has been referred to the Community Affairs Committee of the Senate. The committee is currently holding an inquiry and inviting public submissions on the Bill.

The Australian Government has released the report of the ILC/IBA review, which supports retaining the ILC and IBA as stand-alone bodies, but has not yet announced its detailed intentions arising from the review.