High Court Ruling Clears Path for $700 Million Native Title Compensation Claim

The decision allows the Gumatj people to seek compensation for land acquired without consent during the 1960s in the Northern Territory.

The High Court dismissed the federal government's appeal, upholding a Federal Court decision that native title rights constitute property requiring compensation when extinguished.
The case, initiated by the late Indigenous leader Yunupingu in 2019, concerns a mining lease on the Gove Peninsula granted without traditional owners' consent in the 1960s.
This landmark ruling could open the door to further compensation claims across the Northern Territory for historical land acquisitions predating the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975.
The court rejected the Commonwealth's argument that native title rights could be overridden in territories without 'just terms' compensation under the Constitution.
Gumatj leaders hailed the decision as a victory for Indigenous land rights and justice, with the case now returning to the Federal Court to determine the specifics of compensation.