Governance & representation

PBC Policy reform: nation-building

Over the next few years, it is anticipated that there will be around 300 Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) covering approximately 60 per cent of Australia’s land mass. PBCs are currently incorporated under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) and have obligations under the Native Title Act 1993. PBC governance is restricted by this legal framework and can make it difficult for First Nations groups to govern their communities inline with their own laws and customs.

The PBC Policy Reform project is a two year project in partnership with the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) and aims to work closely with PBCs in designing a policy framework that explores options for PBCs beyond CATSI Act incorporation to nation building, cultural and regional governance.

This reform package has principles of First Nations self-determination and autonomy at the heart of it and will provide PBCs with a pathway forward through the complex cultural, legal and policy spaces that PBCs operate in and make decisions about.

The first steps of the project are:

  • Developing a communications and engagement strategy to best work with PBCs on policy design
  • Addressing the role of PBCs and native title groups in regional and national representation

For further information about the project, please contact Belinda Burbidge at belinda.burbridge@nntc.com.au

 

See our Discussion Paper – Regional and national representation: A Traditional Owner led model