Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) If the conditions in this section are satisfied, the Commonwealth Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine that an act, or that each act included in a class of acts, is an approved exploration etc. act .
First condition
(2) The first condition is that the act, or acts included in the class, consist of the creation or variation of a right to mine, where the right as so created or varied is a right to explore, a right to prospect or a right to fossick.
Second condition
(3) The second condition is that the Minister is satisfied that the act or acts are unlikely to have a significant impact on the particular land or waters concerned.
Drilling and second condition
(4) If the act or acts authorise drilling, this does not mean that the second condition cannot be satisfied.
Third condition
(5) The third condition is that the Minister has:
(a) notified any relevant representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander bodies, and notified the public in the determined way, of the proposed determination; and
(b) invited submissions from them about the proposed determination; and
(c) considered any submissions made in response to the invitation.
Fourth condition
(6) The fourth condition is that the Minister is satisfied that, if the determination is made:
(a) all:
(i) registered native title bodies corporate; and
(ii) registered native title claimants; and
(iii) representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander bodies;
in relation to any of the land or waters that will be affected by the act or acts will have a right to be notified that the act or each act included in the class is to be done; and
(b) any such persons or bodies will have a right to be heard by an independent person or body about:
(i) whether the act is to be done; and
(ii) any matter relating to the doing of the act;
unless no other person would have such a right, assuming the person had an interest of any kind in relation to the land or waters; and
(c) either:
(i) the person, or one of the persons, who will do any thing authorised by the act will have a legal obligation to consult appropriately any person or body covered by subparagraph (a)(i) or (ii), unless the person or body indicates that the person or body does not wish to be so consulted; or
(ii) procedures will be in place under which such consultation will be required;
for the purpose of minimising the impact of the act on the exercise of native title rights and interests in relation to land or waters that will be affected by the act, and in particular about the matters set out in subsection (7).
Matters relevant to fourth condition
(7) The matters are:
(a) the protection and avoidance of any area or site, on the land or waters to which the native title rights and interests relate, of particular significance to the persons holding the native title in accordance with their traditional laws and customs; and
(b) any access to the land or waters to which the native title rights and interests relate by:
(i) those persons; or
(ii) any person who will do any thing that is authorised because of, results from, or otherwise relates to, the doing of the act; and
(c) the way in which any other thing that:
(i) is authorised because of, results from, or otherwise relates to, the doing of the act; and
(ii) affects the native title rights and interests;
is to be done.
Revocation of determination
(8) If, at any time after making the determination, the Commonwealth Minister considers that circumstances have changed to the extent that the conditions in this section would not be satisfied if he or she were making the determination at that time, the Commonwealth Minister must:
(a) if the act or acts are done by a State or Territory:
(i) advise the State Minister or the Territory Minister concerned in writing of the fact; and
(ii) if at the end of 90 days, or such longer period as the Commonwealth Minister allows, after doing so, the conditions in this section would still not be satisfied--by legislative instrument, revoke the determination; or
(b) if the act or acts are done by the Commonwealth--by legislative instrument, revoke the determination.