Strickland v Western Australia

This case involved an application to amend a native title determination application in the Federal Court of Australia. The applicants, Marjorie May Strickland and Anne Joyce Nudding, sought to amend their claim group to include the descendants of Kitty Bluegum. The respondents, the State of Western Australia, argued that the application should be dismissed as it had not been amended in a way that would lead to a different outcome once considered by the Registrar, as required by s 190F(6) of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The applicants argued that the amendment was necessary as the original claim group was a subset of the local descent group comprising the descendants of Kitty Bluegum.

The court considered the legal issues involved, including whether there was power to amend the native title claim group and whether there was discretion to permit the amendment. The court found that while there was no express power of amendment of a native title claim group in the Native Title Act, there was no express limit on the power of amendment. However, the court considered the discretionary factors, including the deliberate decision to make the native title determination application on behalf of a subgroup of the persons who could, according to traditional laws and customs, hold common or group rights and interests comprising the particular native title claimed. The court also considered the complicated history of the application, including multiple different applications which had variously been either discontinued or dismissed.

The court concluded that the amendment proposed was of significant magnitude and should not be permitted even if it was within power. The court found that the preconditions in s 190F(6) were satisfied, and the application in this matter should be dismissed. The court's reasoning was based on the deliberate decision to file an application that was patently by a subgroup only of a native title claim group and in those circumstances the application was not one authorised or permitted by s 61(1) and an amendment of the magnitude and significance proposed should not be permitted even if it is within power.