Category Archives: Upcoming events

CNTA Annual Conference 2026

The 2026 Centre for Native Title Annual Conference
Venue: Brisbane (Venue to be confirmed)
5-6th February 2026 (Date to be confirmed)

CNTA Workshop: Native Title Compensation.

CNTA will hold a workshop in Brisbane on 13-14 th November 2025. Further details come.

Working Collaboratively for Native title Outcomes: workshop with Robert Blowes SC, FNLRS 10 June 2025

Rob Blowes SC has kindly made available to a wider audience the materials he compiled for a workshop of lawyers and anthropologists at First Nations Legal and Research Services Melbourne on June 10th 2025.

Disclaimer Please note: this is NOT legal advice. It does not purport to be a comprehensive set of materials on the matter.
The material was prepared for a particular purpose rather than general publication.

Workshop Agenda

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Workshop Materials

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CNTA Workshop: Working Collaboratively for Native Title outcomes

CNTA held a workshop hosted by First Nations Legal and Research Services (FNLRS) in Melbourne on 15-16th May 2025.

The purpose of the workshop was principally to understand the different roles of lawyers and anthropologists when working for native title outcomes in complex operating environments. These involved speakers outlining and -in the case of genealogies demonstrating – key methodologies in legal and anthropological practice.

Video recordings of the 10 presentations are now available on the CNTA website. Tom Keely’s paper has been circulated via the CNTA Email List.

Read Full Content of the Workshop

Justice O’Bryan fireside chat with Sheree Sharma (PLO QSNTS)

Tom Keely SC (Barrister) Effective working relationships between lawyers and expert anthropologists

Dayne O’Meara(anthropologist) Kinship in Native Title Making the most of genealogical research

Jitendra Kumarage (anthropologist) Inheritance of, and succession to, country in native title

Richard Martin (anthropologist) Succession presents an obvious evidentiary challenge in proving native title

Mick O’Kane (FNLRS Research Manager)Language areas equal Claim Boundaries

Petronella Vaarzon-Morel (anthropologist) the Western Desert Cultural Bloc’ uses and contestations of the anthropological concept in native title claims

David Martin (anthropologist) What can anthropologists contribute to the design and ongoing governance of PBCs & other Native Title corporations

Kevin Murphy (anthropologist) the society question

Tony Eales (Director, Indigenous Country and Governance unit AIATSIS) Overview of AIATSIS training available for native title lawyers and web resources

Collaborating to Build Capability in the Native Title Sector: A Case Study on Anthropologists

Collaborating to Build Capability in the Native Title Sector:

A Case Study on Anthropologists

Attached is a case study of workforce issues for anthropologists prepared for the recently held Commonwealth Inter-agency Committee on Native Title in Adelaide.

The paper builds on a survey of our sector run by CNTA in 2023, followed by a small working party of research managers from different organisations held in July 2024. Their involvement made it possible to bring an experiential dimension to the issues, and to ground-proof key issues emerging from the survey data.

CNTA has taken the view that – for various reasons outlined – we need to use our own capacities and agency to review, reform, and sponsor recruitment and retention for the native title anthropological workforce. In terms of remedial actions inside native title organisations, there is a good deal of agency they have to make a positive difference in recruitment and staff retention.

Read Full Content of the Case Study