Murray v The Registrar of the National Native Title Tribunal

Murray v The Registrar of the National Native Title Tribunal was a case before the Federal Court of Australia that involved a dispute over the registration of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The applicant, Ms Murray, sought a review of the decision of the Registrar of the National Native Title Tribunal to accept an ILUA for registration. The dispute centred on the authorisation process required by the Act, specifically whether all native title holders in relation to the subject land had been identified and had authorised the agreement in accordance with section 24CG(3) of the Act. The case turned on whether the Boonerwrung people, who were parties to the agreement, had made all reasonable efforts to identify and authorise all persons holding or potentially holding native title in relation to the subject land.

The court was required to determine whether the Boonerwrung people had made all reasonable efforts to identify and authorise all persons holding or potentially holding native title in relation to the subject land, as required by paragraph 11.2 of the agreement. The court considered whether the Boonerwrung people had provided sufficient evidence to the Registrar that they had made all reasonable efforts to identify and authorise all relevant native title holders. The court also had to assess whether the Boonerwrung people had acted in accordance with their traditional laws and customs when entering into the agreement.

The court found that the Boonerwrung people had not provided sufficient evidence to the Registrar that they had made all reasonable efforts to identify and authorise all relevant native title holders. The court concluded that the Boonerwrung people had not acted in accordance with their traditional laws and customs when entering into the agreement. The court held that the Boonerwrung people had not made all reasonable efforts to ensure that all persons who held or may hold native title in relation to the subject land had been identified and had authorised the agreement. The court found that the Boonerwrung people had not provided sufficient evidence to the Registrar that they had made all reasonable efforts to identify and authorise all relevant native title holders.

The court dismissed the application and ordered that the Registrar’s decision to accept the ILUA for registration be upheld. The court also ordered that the second respondent file and serve its written submissions concerning costs within fourteen days of the making of the order. The applicant was also ordered to file and serve her written submissions concerning costs within a further fourteen days. The court did not award any costs to either party.