Aboriginal land and permits

Introduction

These pages have information on how Aboriginal land is managed in the Northern Territory (NT).

All new public or private infrastructure on Aboriginal land is secured under a number of long-term lease arrangements.

Aboriginal land is any area given over to Traditional Owners under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.

Land councils in each region support communities and traditional owners to manage the land and provide help with negotiating land leases.


Aboriginal land leases

There are three types of land lease arrangements for Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory (NT).

These are:

  • infrastructure leases
  • remote community housing leases
  • whole of township leases.

Infrastructure leases

These long-term infrastructure leases are negotiated for all government facilities.

They include schools, health centres, police stations, training centres, power stations and housing for government employees.

Remote community housing leases

This lease helps the NT and Australian governments to maintain and build new housing in remote communities.

A community can agree to lease all existing and new community housing lots for a minimum of 40 years.

You can get more information on the joint NT and Australian Government remote housing programs at the Territory Families, Housing and Communities website.

Whole of township leases

These are long term leases that are held and administered by an independent statutory office holder on behalf of the Australian Government.

A head lease is held over an entire township and areas for future development.

These can be for a minimum of 40 years and a maximum of 99 years and help with the management and maintenance of government and community facilities such as schools, police stations and health centres.

The terms of the lease are negotiated between the government and the Traditional Owners with the help of land councils.

Once the township leases are in place, the NT Government will negotiate further subleases over areas of land with existing government facilities.

How leases are negotiated

Leases for infrastructure, housing and future development on Aboriginal land are negotiated and coordinated by the NT Government's Land Tenure Unit.

The unit is part of the Department of Housing and Community Development. It works closely with Traditional Owners, land councils and other NT and Australian Government agencies.

The unit also set up land administration systems which include planning, valuations and long-term leasing agreements.

These leasing arrangements also provide some security for private companies wanting to establish businesses in remote communities.

Private companies liaise directly with the relevant land councils to complete leasing arrangements.

Contact

Land Tenure Unit
Department of Housing and Community Development
GPO Box 4621
Darwin NT 0801
Phone: (08) 8999 1913
LandTenure.dhcd@nt.gov.au


Land council roles and contacts

There are 4 land councils in the Northern Territory:

Aboriginal Land Councils have legal power to help Aboriginal people negotiate with governments and private companies over projects on their land.

They also support Aboriginal people to manage their land and sea, including issuing permits to enter, fish, film and perform other activities on Aboriginal land.

You can contact the relevant land council to apply for permits.

Read the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.


Permits for entry and other activities

You may need an entry permit and other permits, if you're planning to go fishing, camping, filming, bush walking, hunting or travelling in remote areas of the Northern Territory (NT).

This is because large areas of the NT are Aboriginal land.

Aboriginal land is any area given back to traditional owners under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. There are entry rules and cultural protocols that must be followed.

Read about fishing on Aboriginal land.

How to apply for permits

There are four land councils in the NT that manage applications for permits for specific areas and activities.

Read about land council roles and contacts.

You should contact a land council to check if you need entry or any other permits if you're a:

  • government employee
  • government contractor
  • member of the public.

Where you don't need an entry permit

You don't need an entry permit for any of the following areas on Aboriginal land:

  • airstrips
  • landing places
  • main access roads into major communities
  • public areas within the communities.