OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR, Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)

REGISTER OF ABORIGINAL OWNERS

JOINT MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS AND CONSERVATION RESERVES

The concept of joint management of national parks originated in the Northern Territory in 1978 when traditional owners agreed to lease Kakadu National Park and entered into a joint management arrangement. In 1990, a Conservation and Land Management meeting at Millstream-Chichester National park in Western Australia developed a number of recommendations about joint management which were later incorporated into the formal recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 (recommendation 315).

In New South Wales, joint management of national parks and conservation reserves has been available to Aboriginal owners since 1996. The provisions for joint management are set out in Part 4A of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act) (NSW). A conservation reserve in NSW may come under a joint management arrangement if it is

a) listed in Schedule 14 to the National Parks and Wildlife Act

b) Crown land claimable under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act but needed for conservation purposes (section 36A of the Act).

More information about joint management is available in the Guide to the Aboriginal Ownership and Joint Management of Lands in NSW [PDF], jointly produced by the Office of the Registrar and Aboriginal Affairs NSW.

LANDS UNDER JOINT MANAGEMENT

a) Lands listed in Schedule 14 to the National Parks and Wildlife Act

Lands listed in Schedule 14 to the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 are recognised as being of cultural significance to Aboriginal people. The lands currently listed in Schedule 14 are:

Biamanga National Park

under joint managment since May 2006

Gulaga National Park

under joint managment since May 2006

Jervis Bay National Park

currently no formal joint management arrangement

Mungo National Park

currently no formal joint management arrangement; there is currently an informal co-management agreement

Mutawintji National Park (incorporating Mootwingee Historic Site, Mootwingee National Park and Coturaundee Nature Reserve)

under joint management since September 1998

Mount Grenfell Historic Site

under joint managment since July 2004

Mount Yarrowyck Nature Reserve

currently no formal joint management arrangement; a research team has been engaged by the Registrar to identify Aborignal owners

b) Aboriginal land claims subject to section 36a of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983

Lands that are claimed by an Aboriginal Land Council but are refused because they are needed for the essential public purpose of nature conservation may come under a joint management arrangement in accordance with section 36A of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. At present there are two areas of land in New South Wales subject to section 36A:

Worimi Conservation Lands, north of Nelson Bay on the central coast, jointly managed since 2006.
South Beach / Warrell Creek, near Nambucca Heads on the north coast (still under negotiation), and