Indigenous Land Corporation gpo box 652 Adelaide sa 5001

Land Acquisition

The Land Acquisition Programme acquires and grants land to Indigenous corporations. It seeks to build and secure a sustainable land base for Indigenous people to deliver ongoing Indigenous benefits.

Indigenous corporations can apply for assistance under two categories:

• Socioeconomic development for social and/or economic benefits to Indigenous people, with priority given to projects that provide sustainable Indigenous employment and training; and

• Cultural and environmental for access to and protection of land with significant cultural and/or environmental values.

The ILC’s primary goal in acquiring land is for Indigenous corporations to own and manage land successfully and independently. The ILC often leases an acquired property to an appropriate Indigenous corporation to allow it to demonstrate effective management and use of the property, achievement of Indigenous benefits and sound governance. Once this occurs, the property is granted to that Indigenous corporation with conditions requiring the title-holding body to report the achievement of benefits to the ILC for five years.

When a property is granted, conditions are included in Deed of Grant aimed at ensuring the property achieves Indigenous benefits, remains in Indigenous control and continues to be used for the purposes for which it was acquired. The Act sets out that, when a property is granted to an Indigenous corporation, it cannot dispose of the property or mortgage the property without the ILC’s consent. These measures are designed to ensure land is not lost from the Indigenous estate. However, the ILC does receive requests from Indigenous corporations to dispose of property or mortgage a property from time to time, looking to expand Indigenous economic development opportunities. The ILC Board considers each request on its merits.

If the title-holding body fails to manage the property effectively or to deliver Indigenous benefits, the ILC can terminate the lease or Deed of Grant and, if Indigenous benefits are not achievable, sell the property and use the proceeds for future land purchases for other Indigenous corporations.