Adelaide Office
17 Sturt St,
Adelaide 5000 SA
Tel: 08 8231 1110

Clare Office
245B Main Rd,
Clare 5453 SA
Tel: 08 8842 1132

Port Augusta Office
14-16 Gibson St,
Port Augusta 5700 SA
Tel: 08 8642 5122

Whyalla Office
5 Forsyth St,
Whyalla 5600 SA
Tel: 08 8644 0300

Roxby Downs Office
1A Tutop Centre Tutop Street,
Roxby Downs 5725 SA
Tel: 08 8642 5122

Aboriginal Legal Issues

Introduction

Johnston Withers has a proud history of acting for Aboriginal people and their organisations. The founder of our firm, Elliott Johnston QC, was appointed by the Federal Government to conduct the Significant Report Into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Our firm acted for the Aboriginal people from Maralinga in successfully negotiating millions of dollars of compensation from the UK Government arising from the atomic bomb tests in the 1960s in the north west of South Australia. Over the past few decades we have acted for many Aboriginal societies seeking land rights. The following provides a summary of the areas of work which we currently undertake:

Organisation Support

We provide advice to Aboriginal groups concerning the appropriate organisation structure for their various representative bodies. In doing so we advise as to best practice in relation to governance issues and compliance with relevant legislation. Our firm provides ongoing assistance with employment matters, including representing Aboriginal organisations in the Industrial Commission and other employment law Tribunals. We have also been instructed to act in specific cases in support of the aspirations of Aboriginal communities. For instance, our firm successfully opposed the installation of poker machines at a roadhouse near Ceduna which would have had a detrimental effect on an Aboriginal community.

Commercial

Johnston Withers continues to provide a wide range of general commercial and corporate advice to Aboriginal organisations. For example, we have a long history of negotiating, on behalf of Aboriginal people, with mining companies concerning access to Aboriginal land and compensation for the impact of mining on Aboriginal country. We have assisted Aboriginal organisations in establishing businesses, including buying and selling businesses and advising on appropriate organisation structures, such as the establishment of trusts.

Native Title and Land Rights

Our firm represents a number of Aboriginal claim groups in relation to their native title claims. These include the Adnyamathanha people of the Flinders Ranges, the Eringa in the far north of South Australia and the Kaurna on the Adelaide Plains. Our lawyers attend community meetings, advise the Aboriginal claim group and represent the claim group in proceedings in the Federal Court. We also act for landholding bodies in providing advice as to land management issues. We have also successfully negotiated with the State Government for Aboriginal involvement in decision-making on National Parks. Johnston Withers continues to advise our Aboriginal clients concerning a wide range of Aboriginal land heritage matters, including clearance surveys to ensure that significant sites are protected from damage or destruction as a result of development.