Farrer on behalf of the Ngarrawanji Native Title Claim Group v State of Western Australia (No 4)

The case of Farrer on behalf of the Ngarrawanji Native Title Claim Group v State of Western Australia (No 4) involved a dispute concerning the appointment of a prescribed body corporate to hold native title. The Ngarrawanji Native Title Claim Group, represented by Farrer, sought to establish a prescribed body corporate to manage their native title rights, but the common law holders failed to nominate such a body. This led to a legal challenge to determine the appropriate process under sections 56 and 57 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

The court had to address whether it was appropriate to convene a further meeting to nominate a prescribed body corporate and, if so, whether the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation should be appointed in the interim. The legal issues involved interpreting the statutory provisions and understanding the procedural requirements for appointing a prescribed body corporate when common law holders were unable or unwilling to nominate one.

The court examined the statutory framework and found that while section 56 of the Native Title Act required common law holders to nominate a prescribed body corporate, section 57 allowed for the appointment of a body corporate in the absence of such nomination. The court concluded that a further meeting was necessary to allow the common law holders an opportunity to nominate a prescribed body corporate, and in the interim, it was appropriate to appoint the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation as the prescribed body corporate to hold the native title. This determination was made pending the outcome of the nomination process under section 57.

The court's orders required the parties to confer on the proposed orders, file any joint amendments, or indicate their positions. If agreement could not be reached, leave was granted to file proposed amendments with supporting submissions. The final orders were to be entered in accordance with Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.