Aboriginal Land Agreements (ALAs) are negotiated arrangements between the NSW Government and Aboriginal communities that provide a structured, voluntary pathway for resolving land claims and returning land to Aboriginal ownership.
Established under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, ALAs enable parties to reach flexible, mutually beneficial outcomes that may include the return, exchange, management, or use of land.
Through collaboration with Local Aboriginal Land Councils and, where relevant, other stakeholders, these agreements support positive social, cultural, economic, and environmental outcomes for communities.
Notable Aboriginal Land Agreements
An Aboriginal Land Agreement was negotiated with Brewarrina Local Aboriginal Land Council to resolve a number of Aboriginal land claims across the Brewarrina Shire Council area.
The agreement will provide certainty of land ownership and unlock opportunities for the use and enjoyment of the land.
The agreement will result in the transfer of 3,767 hectares of land to the ownership of Brewarrina Local Aboriginal Land Council, resolving up to 37 Aboriginal land claims.
Two Aboriginal Land Agreements (ALAs) have been negotiated over Sandhills Estate, Byron Bay. The ALAs resolve outstanding Aboriginal Land Claims on the site and deliver long-term benefits to the Byron Bay community. To learn more view Sandhills Estate.
The Orange Aboriginal Land Agreement returns land to the Orange LALC and aims to ensure public land is managed and owned locally.
The outcomes from this negotiation aim to provide certainty about the future use of land, resolve existing Aboriginal land claims and achieve the most positive social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits for local communities.
The return of this land reflects the Crown land 2031 State Strategic Plan key priority to accelerate the realisation of Aboriginal land rights and native title in partnership with Aboriginal people.
This priority acknowledges that Aboriginal land rights and native title interests are key to reconciliation and achieving economic, social, cultural and environmental outcomes in NSW.
Crown Lands is currently transforming the way it delivers outcomes for Aboriginal people which incorporates a partnership approach to negotiating outcomes and solutions. Recent examples of this are the announcement at the Dungog mountain bike track and the delivery of the new Health service at Buronga, HealthOne. Significant progress has been made in improving the land claims process and outcomes.
As part of this approach Crown Lands has a number of Aboriginal Community Engagement Officers working closely with local Aboriginal land councils to better support outcomes for Aboriginal people.
What land parcels will be transferred
Crown Lands will transfer about 86 hectares of Crown land to the Orange LALC. Some of these land parcels include:
- the Bloomfield Golf Club Driving Range, Bloomfield Hall, part of Bloomfield Golf Course, a small section of the Agricultural Research Station and a portion of Orange Racecourse.
To see the full list of land parcels involved in this transfer, download the Orange Land Parcel Transfer (PDF, 70 KB).
The Orange land transfers will benefit the people of Orange and Western NSW by supporting the creation of jobs, investment in the local health and education sectors, preservation of parklands and culturally significant sites, and opportunities for investment that can support local businesses and services.
Land transfers are also an opportunity for Crown Lands to work with Aboriginal landowners to co-design and co-manage strategies to unlock multiple benefits from land.
Land transfers in most instances will not result in significant changes to most existing tenures (licenses or leases), the tenures will simply be reissued by the LALC. Tenures will then need to be renewed and/or renegotiated when they each come up for renewal.