Milestone Act to deliver Indigenous home ownership

Families living in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities will soon be able to own their own homes under new legislation passed by the Queensland Government.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land (Providing Freehold) Act 2014 will allow 34 communities that own their land communally to convert to ordinary freehold land ownership instead.

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Andrew Cripps  said many Indigenous communities had had communal land tenures since the 19th century – depriving residents of the benefits of private home ownership.

“This Act is an important milestone for Indigenous people and is a proud moment for myself, as the responsible Minister, and for all Queenslanders,” Mr Cripps said.

“The Act provides the single most significant opportunity the State Government could grant to Indigenous Queenslanders – the opportunity to own their own home, in freehold, in their own community.

“It recognises both the important and enduring cultural connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with their land and their individual right to own a home on that land.”

Member for Cook David Kempton welcomed the landmark legislation would offer indigenous people an opportunity afforded to their fellow Queenslanders for the first time since settlement.

“Freehold is the basis of economic opportunity and community growth and is a key to unlocking the door of paternalism,” Mr Kempton said.

The legislation grants individual communities the right to dissolve their existing tenure agreements and convert land and homes to freehold leases.

“The Act removes barriers to freehold home ownership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, granting them the same opportunity enjoyed by their fellow Queenslanders in other parts of the state,” Mr Cripps said.

“The new legislation delivers not only economic independence and opportunity, but also an enormous boost in confidence in Indigenous communities.”

Mr Cripps said the Act gave Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people access to the same property rights to land enjoyed by other freehold property holders – allowing them to borrow more easily from financial institutions.

The Act addresses legacy issues and simplifies the complex leasing arrangements that previously applied under the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 and the Torres Strait Islander Land Act 1991 for non-residential leases, allowing trustees to more effectively manage land to achieve the best outcomes for their local communities.

Mr Cripps said the Act did not force freehold on Indigenous communities, but provided a mechanism for those communities that wanted freehold to deliver it.

The freehold model’s flexibility takes into account the unique features of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the potential issues associated with introducing ordinary freehold title.

Under the Act, each community trustee, following appropriate community consultation, will make the decision as to whether or not to adopt the freehold model.

The Department of Natural Resources and Mines undertook extensive consultation with councils, trustees and the general public between November 2012 and February 2014, before introducing the proposed legislation into Queensland Parliament in May this year.

[ENDS] 3 September 2014

Media contact: Kate Haddan 0418 373 516