Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation facts for kids

The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) is an Australian government organization. It helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to buy and look after land and sea areas. The goal is to create cultural, social, environmental, and economic benefits for Indigenous communities now and in the future.

The ILSC was first set up as the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) in 1995. This happened after a law called the Native Title Act 1993 was passed. The Corporation owns several businesses that help achieve its goals. These include Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, National Indigenous Pastoral Enterprises (NIPE), and the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.

History of the ILSC

The Indigenous Land Corporation was created by a special law in 1995. This law was passed after the Native Title Act 1993.

In 2008, the ILC started a program called "Training to Employment" (T2E). This program helped Indigenous people get job training. In 2015, its name was changed to "Our Land Our Jobs."

In 2015, Tricia Button became the first Aboriginal woman to be a Deputy CEO of the organization. She is now known as Tricia Stroud and was the Chief Operating Officer in 2021.

On 1 February 2019, the organization's name changed to Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation. This change meant it could now help with water areas as well as land. In the same year, it started the Agribusiness Investment Program. This program gives money to Indigenous businesses that work in farming and food production.

How the ILSC is Run

The ILSC has a board with seven members. The Minister for Indigenous Australians chooses these members. The Chairperson and at least four other members of the Board must be Indigenous people. The ILSC Board makes all the important decisions about its plans and buying land.

The ILC was formed after a very important court case called the Mabo decision. This decision recognized that Indigenous people had owned land in Australia before European settlement. It rejected the idea of terra nullius, which meant "land belonging to no one."

As of October 2021, Joe Morrison is the CEO. Tricia Stroud is the Chief Operating Officer.

Funding and Laws

The ILSC was set up under a law from 1995. This law gave the ILC a set amount of money from the Australian Government for ten years. Since June 2004, the ILSC has been able to support itself financially.

The ILSC now follows the rules of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005.

ILSC Businesses

The ILSC has bought many properties and businesses. Some of these are run as separate companies. They include Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia (Voyages), National Indigenous Pastoral Enterprises (NIPE), and the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE).

National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE)

The NCIE was created in 2006. It is located in Redfern, a suburb of Sydney. It was partly set up to help improve the lives of people in the Redfern community. The ILSC bought the land where the Redfern Public School used to be to build the NCIE.

The NCIE offers sports, fitness, and community classes. It also provides educational support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The center runs programs for young people with local police. In mid-2022, most of its about 50 employees were Indigenous. Many people use the gym and sports facilities, including NRL players and members of the air force. The center also has after-school care, job seeker programs, health classes, and swimming lessons.

In August 2022, there was a plan to close the NCIE. This was because the ILSC and the new owners of the site, the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC), could not agree on how to keep supporting the center. However, after protests from staff and the community, Linda Burney, the federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, stepped in. She said the center must stay open. Even though the center had some debt, a report found that it created three times its value in benefits for the community.

Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia

The ILC bought Voyages in 2010. After this, Voyages started the National Indigenous Training Academy. This academy is at Yulara, Northern Territory (Ayers Rock Resort). It trains young Indigenous people for jobs in hotels and tourism. When the ILC bought it, only 1% of the staff were Indigenous. By 2015, about 32% of the staff were Indigenous.

National Indigenous Pastoral Enterprises (NIPE)

The National Indigenous Pastoral Enterprises (NIPE) was started in 2014. A year later, it became a fully working business. It had 246 Aboriginal employees, which was about 72% of its total staff.

See also

• Aboriginal Australians
• Aboriginal land rights in Australia
• List of laws concerning Indigenous Australians
• Native title legislation in Australia