Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Holding Act 2013

A person (the applicant) may apply to the chief executive to publish a lease entitlement notice for a lease entitlement in a trust area.

The applicant must give the chief executive information and documents in the applicant’s possession to identify the details of the lease entitlement, including its holder.

If the applicant and the person identified as the holder of the lease entitlement are not the same person, the applicant must include with the application information to satisfy the chief executive that it is reasonable in the circumstances for the applicant to be making the application.

The chief executive may ask the applicant to provide further information to support the application within a stated reasonable period.

The chief executive must decide the application, and advise the applicant of the decision, within—

6 months after the application was made; or

6 months after the application was made together with any time the chief executive reasonably requires to deal with additional information given by the applicant.

The chief executive may decide the application if the applicant does not provide additional information within the stated period.

The chief executive may grant the application only if the chief executive is satisfied about the existence of the lease entitlement as identified in the application.

If the chief executive grants the application, the chief executive must—

publish the lease entitlement notice on the department’s website; and

give a copy of the lease entitlement notice to the trustee of the trust area.

If the chief executive refuses the application, the chief executive must give a notice to the applicant advising of the refusal and include the chief executive’s reasons for the decision to refuse.