Who are we?

The National Native Title Council (NNTC) is the peak body for the native title sector. Our members are made up of the Traditional Owners of Australia’s lands, waters and resources, and their representative bodies. Through the native title system, we advocate for the rights and interests of all First Nations people.

We support First Nations people’s right to true self-determination – their right to speak for and manage their own Country, to govern their own communities, to participate fully in decision-making and to self-determine their own social and economic development.

We understand native title is complex, and that Australia’s laws and policies have historically excluded First Nations people from accessing their own lands and having a say over how they are managed. The native title system gives some rights and land ownership back to First Nations people, but there is still work to be done before their rights and interests are fully realised.

Together with the native title sector, governments and partners, we work to support First Nations people having greater decision-making power over their own Country, community, lands, waters & resources. On behalf of our members, we provide resources & support for First Nations’ development; we work with government to improve native title’s laws & policies; and we work with partners & industry to advance the rights & interests of First Nations people.

What do we hope to achieve?

First Nations people have the right to self-determine how their own Country, community, lands, waters and resources are managed and protected.

We work to support First Nations people’s rights to:

• Speak for and make decisions about their own lands, waters and resources
• Protect and manage their own Country
• Self-determine their own social and economic development

How do we achieve it?

Supporting First Nations’ development

• Advocating for rights to First Nations’ self-determination
• Calling for adequate sector funding
• Building capacity, skills & knowledge through training, workshops & events
• Providing opportunities to network & build partnerships

Influencing legislation & policy

• Reforming policy to change the rules of the game
• Improving the native title sector’s laws, programs & institutions to provide greater resources, opportunities & support for PBCs.
• Providing a national policy platform for our members

Working with partners

• Influencing industry to adopt best practice in engaging with Traditional Owners
• Unlocking the economic potential of the Indigenous estate & supporting First Nations-led economic development
• Building partnerships & alliances to advance the rights & interests of First Nations

Our Purpose

Acting as the only nationally coordinated First Nations voice for the native title sector, our purpose is to strengthen the native title system to improve the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of First Nations people.

Our Values

• Cultural Strength & Integrity
• Protection of Country
• Self-Determination
• Economic & Social Prosperity

Our Members

The NNTC is comprised of regional Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs), Native Title Service Providers (NTSPs), local Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) and Traditional Owner Corporations (TOCs). See our full list of members here.

Our History

Since 2006, we’ve worked effectively as the only nationally coordinated First Nations voice for the native title sector.

When the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was abolished in 2005, a group of Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) and Native Title Service Providers (NTSPs) banded together to form the National Native Title Council (NNTC). In 2017, NNTC membership was opened up to Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) and Traditional Owner Corporations (TOCs). Our membership is now comprised of all four types of native title organisations: NTRBs, NTSPs, PBCs & TOCs.

As a non-profit, peak body organisation, we are greater than the sum of our parts. We represent our members, who know that joining together makes us stronger. United together, we have a national platform on which to achieve our policy goals and improve the native title sector as a whole. We have a strong voice at the local, regional and national level, and we often look to our international network for best practice to inform our First Nations policy positions.

The First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance is a coalition of member organisations representing First Nations Peoples from across Australia, including major Native Title, Land Rights, Traditional Owner, and community-controlled organisations nationally.

In a historic meeting held on the 17 June 2020, following the shocking destruction of the sacred 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge Caves in the Pilbara Western Australia, Aboriginal leaders from across Australia – representing Aboriginal Land Councils, Native Title Representative Bodies and Service Providers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisations – expressed their outrage at the destruction vowing to pursue national reforms to prevent this from ever happening again.

A mandate was created to strengthen and modernise cultural heritage laws and to create industry reforms that ensure Indigenous Cultural Heritage is valued and protected for the future.

To learn more visit www.culturalheritage.org.au

The First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance is hosted and managed by The National Native Title Council.