ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 analyses the legal governance structures and legal governance procedures of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA). NAILSMA is an Indigenous-led not-for-profit public company incorporated under the mainstream Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from northern Australia to create one voice for their communities. This chapter analyses the legal governance structures and legal governance procedures of NAILSMA to facilitate individual and community participation in decision-making relevant to the operationalisation and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol as a competent authority. The NAILSMA governance model was formed as a consortium of Indigenous-controlled incorporated organisations and non-governmental organisations sharing a common purpose of managing and protecting the Indigenous land and sea estate and cultural knowledge of northern Australia. NAILSMA is not directly representative of individuals and communities, as its members are supported by NAILSMA to increase their capacity to make their own decisions to manage and protect the Indigenous land and sea estate of northern Australia for the economic, social, and cultural wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, and for the wider public benefit consistent with NAILSMA’s charitable purpose as an environmental organisation.
