Wiri People v Native Title Registrar

The Wiri People sought to have their Wiri #2 Application for registration of native title claims accepted by the Registrar. The Registrar had rejected the application, finding that the applicant was not authorised by all the other persons in the native title claim group. The applicants sought judicial review of this decision. The key legal issues were whether the Registrar's role under section 190A of the Native Title Act required consideration of the composition of the native title claim group, and whether the Registrar was correct to find that the applicant was not authorised by all the other persons in the claim group. The court found that the Registrar's role did require consideration of the composition of the claim group. However, the court found that there was insufficient evidence to determine the proper composition of the Wiri People claim group. The evidence was contentious and uncertain. Therefore, the Registrar was correct to find that the applicant was not authorised by all the other persons in the claim group. The application for judicial review was dismissed.