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Following criticism from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and The Law Society of NSW, the NSW Government has deferred proposed laws regarding disused Crown land, to allow for more consultation from stakeholders. 

Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper has confirmed consideration of the Crown Land Management Amendment (Statutory Review) Bill 2026 (NSW), that was planned to go before Parliament on Tuesday 24 March, has been deferred to allow for the Government to conduct further consultation. 

At issue is a provision in the Bill that threatened land rights claims under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) (ALRA). The Law Society of NSW and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council had earlier stated the Bill lacked consultation. The Government has now agreed to further engagement with stakeholders, including the Local Aboriginal Land Councils. 

“What is clear is that our Aboriginal Land Claims system is broken. We have more than 43,000 historical claims, some dating as far back as the 1980’s,” said Kamper in a statement. 

“While a range of stakeholders were engaged as part of the statutory review of the act last year, the NSW Government will take the time to engage with stakeholders including Local Aboriginal Land Councils prior to the Bill being debated in the upper house.” 

Earlier in the day, President of the Law Society of NSW Ronan MacSweeney said “This legislation fundamentally alters what has been long understood to be land claimable under the ALRA, and reconfirmed in the Quarry Street High Court judgment last year,”  

“The proposed amendment to the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (NSW) (CLMA) appears to overturn the Quarry Street decision and override longstanding practice under the ALRA, through which Aboriginal communities are able to claim land rights on Crown land that is ‘not lawfully used or occupied’. It is important to note that the ALRA is intended to be remedial and beneficial legislation designed to compensate Aboriginal people for historic dispossession.” 

Kamper said the Bill targeted a small number of cases, stating “we can’t have a situation where vital and frequently used community infrastructure is at risk of being taken from the community due to a bureaucratic or clerical error”. 

But bodies including the Law Society of NSW and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council rejected this assessment, stating the proposed amendment rolls back rights. 

“To suggest that 3,000 parcels of land is a ‘very small number’ shows a complete disregard for the scale and significance of what is at stake – not just for Aboriginal people, but for the broader community,” said Chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Raymond Kelly. 

“This is not just an attack on Aboriginal Land Rights – it is a threat to the public interest. These changes would prioritise private commercial interests over Community use of Crown land. The Aboriginal Land Rights Act is the result of decades of advocacy by our people. To so fundamentally alter its intent sets a dangerous precedent.” 

The Law Society of NSW welcomed the Government’s decisions to delay the debate. MacSweeney said “We repeat our call for the NSW Government to engage, in good faith, genuine consultation with affected stakeholders, including through referral of the Bill to a parliamentary inquiry. 

“We maintain our concerns that proposed section 5.20B of the Bill is intended to erode Aboriginal land rights by altering the mechanisms through which Aboriginal communities are able to claim land rights on Crown land that is ‘not lawfully used or occupied’”.