Land Rights

A significant feature of native title is that it does not give traditional owners rights and interests in land, rather it protects and recognises rights and interests that traditional owners already have through traditional law and custom. As such there is not a category of rights which native title law can protect, it is dependent on the rights and interests which are claimed in an application for native title recognition.

Some examples of rights and interests which have been claimed and protected are set out below.
  • The right to access certain land
  • The right to camp on certain land
  • The right to live on certain land
  • The right to hunt
  • The right to gather and use vegetation
  • The right to perform burials
  • The right to speak for country