Aboriginal Land Act 1991

The Minister may appoint the following entities as grantee of land the subject of a deed of grant prepared under section 74—

a CATSI corporation that is qualified to hold the land; or

a land trust.

However, the Minister may appoint a CATSI corporation that is a registered native title body corporate as a grantee of land under subsection (1) only if—

under the Commonwealth Native Title Act, a determination has been made that native title exists in relation to all or a part of the land; and

the registered native title body corporate is registered on the National Native Title Register for the determination.

Before making the appointment, the Minister—

must consult with, and consider the views of, the group of Aboriginal people concerned; and

unless the Minister is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist that require the Minister to do otherwise, must have regard to—

any Aboriginal tradition applicable to the land; and

the views of the group to the extent the views are not inconsistent with any Aboriginal tradition applicable to the land.

Also, in considering whether to appoint a registered native title body corporate as the proposed grantee for the land, the Minister may have regard to any matter the Minister considers relevant to the proposed appointment, including, for example—

whether any of the group of Aboriginal people concerned, other than the native title holders of the land, may be adversely affected by the proposed appointment; and

if the Minister is satisfied any of the group of Aboriginal people concerned will be adversely affected by the proposed appointment—any action the registered native title body corporate intends to take to address the concerns of the Aboriginal people.