preparing for compensation

Advancing the region’s readiness for native title compensation by strengthening dispute resolution processes and undertaking boundary mapping projects.

With native title now determined over almost all inhabited islands, most uninhabited islands, and the majority of sea country, the region is entering the compensation phase of the native title process.

This is an inherently complex stage involving government acts, international boundaries and limited legal precedent, especially for sea country.

Over the reporting period, GBK has:

  • Obtained a legal opinion on trustee responsibilities for PBCs also holding land under the Torres Strait Islander Land Act, clarifying governance obligations.

  • Advanced the Traditional Boundaries Project, including a week-long mapping exercise that clarified cultural protocols and provided a foundation for resolving land disputes.

  • Assisted PBCs to engage with a major social housing proposal from the Torres Strait Island Regional Council (TSIRC), ensuring native title rights were safeguarded.

  • Assisted the Goemulgaw PBC to negotiate a registered social housing ILUA for two new houses on Mabuiag.

Meriam dispute resolution process

GBK also assisted Mer Gedkem Le RNTBC with the roll-out of Stage 1 of the Meriam dispute resolution process, which included independent facilitation by the National Native Title Tribunal under section 60AAA of the Native Title Act.

This project included extensive community education workshops on Mer, in Cairns, Mackay, and Townsville, with over 150 Meriam people participating.

The workshops provided Meriam with resources on:

  • Their determinations

  • The interactions between Meriam traditional law and Australian law

  • The role of their PBC

  • The use of ethnographic records in dispute resolution

A key outcome was the creation of a resource handbook now available to Meriam people as a reference for ongoing discussions about native title and land ownership.