Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Economic Empowerment) 2021

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Economic Empowerment) Bill 2021

## What it does
This law updates rules around Aboriginal land ownership and use in the Northern Territory, focusing on creating economic opportunities. It creates a new investment corporation to help Aboriginal communities develop their land, changes how mining on Aboriginal land works, and updates how land can be managed and leased.

## Why it matters
Aboriginal communities in the NT now have clearer pathways to generate income from their land and more control over how it's used. The changes aim to give Indigenous groups better tools for economic independence while protecting their land rights.

## Key details
- **New investment body**: Sets up the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation to help Aboriginal communities invest in and develop their land holdings
- **Mining changes**: Updates the rules for mining on Aboriginal land, giving communities more say in how mineral resources on their country are managed
- **Land management**: Expands who can manage Aboriginal land and how agreements work, making it easier to lease land for business purposes
- **Rollout timing**: Most changes start immediately after the bill passes, though some provisions (like rules about township land) take 12 months to come into effect

Official Description

Amends the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 to: establish the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation to invest in Aboriginal business and commercial projects and make other payments for the benefit of Aboriginal people living in the Northern Territory (NT); amend exploration and mining processes on Aboriginal land in the NT; prescribe the nomination and approval processes and funding arrangements for approved entities that may hold a township lease; provide that land councils may enter into agreements in respect of land that is the subject of a deed of grant held in escrow; increase the amount at which land councils must seek ministerial approval to enter into a contract; remove the requirement that certain permits may only be revoked by the issuer of the permit; increase penalties for unauthorised access to Aboriginal land; remove redundant powers which allow for the delegation of land council functions to certain corporations; and make technical amendments in relation to the Aboriginals Benefit Account.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

25 Aug 2021

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

13 Dec 2021

Last checked by Crossbench

yesterday

Full text indexed

yesterday

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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