Kanak v National Native Title Tribunal

Dominic Wy Kanak, the applicant, appealed a decision of the National Native Title Tribunal to direct the Registrar not to accept his application for a determination of native title. The application related to seventeen small sections of watercourses, parks and recreation reserves along a proposed easement of five to six metres width between Wilton, on the southern outskirts of Sydney, and Tempe, a suburb of Sydney. The applicant relied on a number of grounds before the court. The Court held that Part 3 of the Native Title Act 1993 distinguished between an applicant giving a native title determination application to the Registrar and the acceptance of that application by the Registrar. The Court held that a non-complying applicant was to be given a reasonable opportunity to rectify the position. The Court held that the Court could not uphold the appeal, as the applicant had not shown that a prima facie claim could be made out that he holds native title in relation to the claimed areas, either alone or with others. The Court affirmed the decision of the President and dismissed the appeal.