Indigenous Land Use Agreements

An Indigenous Land Use Agreement is an agreement between a native title group and others about the use and management of land and waters.

These agreements allow people to negotiate flexible, pragmatic agreements to suit their particular circumstances. 

An Indigenous Land Use Agreement can be negotiated over areas where native title has, or has not yet, been determined to exist.

When registered with the National Native Title Tribunal, Indigenous Land Use Agreements bind all parties and all native title holders to the terms of the agreement.

The Department of Indigenous Affairs uses Indigenous Land Use Agreements to prevent activities on the Aboriginal Lands Trust estate, such as leasing arrangements and public works (housing, police facilities) by government agencies, from extinguishing native title.