Apply for a mineral title on native title

The right to negotiate (RTN) procedure is a process used for high impact future acts.

This involves a negotiation process with registered native title parties to reach an agreement on how mining activities can occur on the land.

This can include the grant of a mining lease or an exploration permit on native title affected land.

The RTN process doesn't give a native title party the right to stop the grant of a lease or permit.

It does provide a native title party the right to:

• be involved in discussions
• have their say about the proposed activities on the land
• be compensated for any impacts to their rights and interests.

The RTN includes the following steps.

For more information, read the right to negotiate procedure flowchart DOCX (133.3 KB).

Notify the public

After you apply for a lease or exploration permit, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT) will:

• write to all affected parties to notify its intention to grant the lease or exploration permit, and
• advertise section 29 notice of the Native Title Act (NTA) in major newspapers.

Section 29 notice must specify a notification day. This date will trigger a 4-month notification period.

If a person wishes to become a native title party, they must lodge a claim with National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) within 3 months of the notification day.

New claims must be registered within 4 months of the notification day to secure the RTN process.

Existing registered claims will secure the RTN.

If at the end of the 4 months there are no registered native title claims, your application can proceed towards grant.

Good faith negotiations

At the end of the 4-month period, DITT will issue section 31 RTN letters under the NTA to any:

• registered body corporate
• registered native title claimant or holder
• representative body (land council)
• permit or lease applicant.

The letter will contain:

• details of the native title claim over the application area of the lease or permit
• contact details of the relevant land council
• advice that:
  • DITT expects all parties will negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement
  • for a lease, the applicant provides a business plan and mining proposal to the relevant land council
  • for a permit, the applicant provides a statement to the native title parties and relevant land council containing information required under section 41(6) of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976.

Section 31 requires the parties to negotiate in good faith. These parties include:

• native title claimant or holder (native title party)
• you (grantee party)
• DITT (government party).

There are no set right-to-negotiate timeframes.

The RTN process can take 12 months to complete if negotiations are successful.

It may take longer if negotiations stall and your application is referred to the NNTT for mediation or arbitration.

You are required to progress your application from the date of the section 31 RTN letter.

You should make contact with the land council as soon as you receive your section 31 RTN letter to begin negotiations with native title parties.

No agreement reached

If negotiations have stalled or no agreement is reached within the expected timeframes, the matter may be referred to the NNTT.

Any of the negotiation parties can refer to the NNTT.

You can apply to the NNTT for:

• mediation assistance under section 31(3) of the NTA, or
• a future act determination under section 35 of the NTA.

A future act determination is a decision made by the NNTT about whether a future act may be:

• done
• subject to conditions or
• must not be done.

The NNTT will:

• determine whether the grant can proceed and what conditions may be imposed on the parties
• usually make a determination within 6 months after receiving the application.

For more information on future act determination applications, go to the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) website.

Agreement reached

If negotiations are successful, the native title parties will reach agreement and sign a section 31 deed under the NTA.

An underlying ancillary agreement between the parties may also be reached.

A section 31 deed is an agreement between:

• you
• the native title parties and the
• NT Government.

The deed confirms that the grant of the lease or exploration permit can occur.

An ancillary agreement is a confidential agreement between you and the native title party. It may include conditions relating to:

• employment
• education and training
• heritage protection
• compensation payments.

You can contact the Native Title and Aboriginal Land Rights Unit to request a copy of the section 31 deed and information sheet.

The deed and information sheet should not be relied upon as legal advice.

It is recommended that independent legal advice be sought regarding the deed prior to the parties signing it.

After all parties have completed the RTN process and signed the section 31 deed, the DITT will grant the lease or exploration permit.

The expedited procedure is a process used for future acts with minimal impact on native title rights.

Read the expedited procedure flowchart PDF (464.0 KB) for more information.

An application for a mineral exploration licence (EL) will follow the expedited procedure.

The activities have minimal impact on native title rights and interests.

After you apply for an EL, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT) will:

• write to all affected parties to notify its intention to grant the EL, and
• advertise section 29 notices of the NTA in major newspapers.

Section 29 notice must state the grant of the EL attracts the expedited procedure.

The notice must also specify a notification day. This date will trigger a 4-month notification period.

A native title party affected by the proposed grant has the right to object to the expedited procedure.

An objection must be lodged with the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) within 4 months of the notification day.

If an objection is lodged, the NNTT will decide if the grant of the EL can proceed under the expedited procedure or not. They will make one of the following decisions.

• If yes, the EL application can proceed to grant.
• If no, the EL application must go through the right to negotiate process.

If no objections are received, the application can proceed to grant.

After the grant of your EL, DITT will manage your title under the relevant laws and regulations that cover exploration in the NT.

Read the Expedited Procedure Information Bulletin PDF (116.5 KB) for more information.

Applications for exploration and mining tenure may also be granted where the applicant and the native title representative body (land council) enters into an indigenous land use agreement (ILUA) registered with the National Native Title Tribunal.

These are flexible agreements for small exploration or large mining projects.

This involves an negotiation process with native title parties to reach a formal agreement on how mining activities can occur on the land.

For more information on ILUAs, go to the National Native Title Tribunal website.