ABSTRACT
The common law recognition of communal indigenous land interests by the Australian High Court in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1 (Mabo) threw this issue into sharp relief. The nature, existence and location of native title – as these interests were called – were uncertain, and therefore the decision required new and innovative ways of mapping and recording land interests. The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (NTA) established a process for claiming, regulating and recording native title rights and interests and thus created the need for effective land management and administration tools. This chapter details the extensive spatial and mapping technologies,2 developed under the auspices of the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT), that underpin the indigenous Australian land claims process in the native title context.
