Aboriginal land trust facts for kids

An Aboriginal land trust (often called an ALT) is a special kind of group in Australia. It's a non-profit organisation, which means it doesn't make money for its owners. Instead, it holds the full ownership (called freehold title) of land for a community of Aboriginal Australians.

This land is given to the community by the Australian government, usually after the community shows they are the traditional owners. The land is given under a special agreement that lasts forever, called a perpetual lease. Once land is given to an ALT, it's inalienable. This means it can't be bought, sold, traded, or given away. The land trust is the official group chosen by the community to legally hold the land deeds. These land trusts are managed by larger groups called Aboriginal land councils.

How Aboriginal Land Trusts Work

Different states and territories in Australia have their own laws about how Aboriginal land trusts are set up and how they work.

New South Wales

In New South Wales, an Aboriginal Lands Trust existed in the 1960s and 1970s. Important people like Lyall Munro Snr were part of it. This group received land from the government and also through people's wills. They successfully gained rights over land, including hunting and fishing rights, without needing to go to court. They also helped close down places like the Kinchela Boys' Home (in 1970) and Cootamundra Girls' Home (in 1974). They also encouraged young people to learn about their people's cultures.

A new Aboriginal Lands Trust for New South Wales was created in 1974 by a law called the Aborigines (Amendment) Act 1973. It was made up of nine Aboriginal people who were elected by their communities. This Trust met every month and had its own staff and funding. It owned all the Aboriginal reserves in NSW, holding the full ownership of the land and even the rights to minerals under the land. The Trust was in charge of houses on these reserves and could use the land to help the community.

Some members of this Trust between 1977 and 1979 included George Griffiths, Bill Cohen, Charlie Leon, Lyall Munro, Ossie Cruse (who was the chairman), Ron Riley, Essie Coffey, and Henry Bolt. This was the first group in Australia made up entirely of Aboriginal people, chosen by their communities, to own Aboriginal land.

In 1977, a separate group called the NSW Aboriginal Land Council was formed to help with protests for Aboriginal land rights.

In 1982, the NSW government made changes, and a new law called the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 created the NSW Aboriginal Land Council as an official government body. Members of the old Aboriginal Lands Trust felt this was a step backward because some important land, hunting, and gathering rights were lost. The land the Trust owned was eventually transferred to the new Aboriginal Land Councils.

Northern Territory

In the Northern Territory, land trusts follow the rules of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. This law also explains how Aboriginal groups can claim land. The Aboriginal Land Trusts in the Northern Territory hold the ownership of land that has been given back to the traditional Aboriginal owners under this Act.

Queensland

Queensland has many land trusts, which together hold about 5% of the state's land. These trusts were created under Queensland's Aboriginal Land Act 1991 and the Torres Strait Islander Land Act 1991.

South Australia

In South Australia, there is one main Aboriginal Lands Trust, also known as the South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust (SAALT). It was created in 1966 by the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966. This law was introduced by Don Dunstan, who was a government minister and later became the Premier of South Australia.

The SAALT holds the ownership of Aboriginal land in South Australia. It also manages and controls these lands, and can even allow communities to lease land for 99 years. The government of South Australia can also transfer other government-owned land (called crown land) to the Trust.

The Lands Trust Act 1966 was a very important law because it was one of the first land rights laws in modern Australia, even before the 1967 Referendum. It allowed Aboriginal land that the South Australian government used to own to be given to the SAALT. This land was held forever for the benefit of Aboriginal people in South Australia. The Trust was managed by a Board made up only of Aboriginal people. In 2013, the law was updated, and the Aboriginal Lands Trust of South Australia Act 2013 was passed to make the Trust more modern.

There are two other important Aboriginal landholding groups in South Australia: Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) and Maralinga Tjarutja. These are also official groups created by law.

Western Australia

The Aboriginal Lands Trust in Western Australia was created by the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972. Its job is to get and hold land, and then manage it for the good of Aboriginal communities. It holds about 27 million hectares (which is about 11%) of Western Australia's land. Most of this land was previously owned by the state government.

See also

• Australian Indigenous advisory bodies