What did the Native Title Act of 1993 do?

The Native Title Act of 1993 was legislation passed by the Australian government to codify and implement the landmark 1992 High Court decision in the Mabo case.12

Following the court's ruling that the doctrine of terra nullius (the legal fiction that Australia was "land of no one" prior to colonization) was null and void, the Act provided a formal legal framework for Torres Strait Islander peoples and Aboriginal peoples to pursue claims of land ownership and seek compensation for lost land.12

By establishing "native title," the Act recognized that Indigenous peoples held rights to their traditional lands that existed prior to European colonization and could, in certain circumstances, continue to exist. The legislation was a significant victory for Indigenous communities, enabling them to pursue legal recognition of their customary property rights and providing a mechanism to address historical dispossession.13