The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) will pause its participation in shared decision-making forums with the state government as concerns continue over a contentious land rights bill.
The move follows meetings on Thursday between the land council and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris and Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper regarding the Crown Land Management Amendment (Statutory Review) Bill 2026.
While the NSW Government has described the legislation as involving "minor procedural changes", the state's peak Aboriginal land rights body has warned the proposed amendments to Crown land laws could undermine more than four decades of progress in Aboriginal land rights.
Following an extraordinary council meeting on Thursday, NSWALC confirmed it would suspend participation in Closing the Gap governance forums and NSW Government advisory committees while it considers proposed amendments to the bill.
It is understood that amendments aimed at addressing concerns raised by Aboriginal communities will be circulated to Aboriginal Land Councils by the end of next week.
"NSWALC will carefully consider the amendments against the preservation of Land Rights before making a formal decision on its future participation in Closing the Gap at a meeting scheduled for the end of June," a NSWALC spokesperson said.
"Both Ministers have been invited to attend the meeting."
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The bill is not expected to be debated in Parliament until August.
According to the land council, just 0.2 per cent of land in New South Wales has been returned to Aboriginal people. The organisation has also highlighted a backlog of 43,000 unresolved land claims, some dating back to the 1980s.
NSWALC argues the legislation, in its current form, would have far-reaching consequences for Aboriginal land rights by expanding retrospective powers, undermining established legal principles and weakening the integrity of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.
The spokesperson said NSWALC "remains completely opposed to the Bill in its current form".
However, as a founding member of the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (CAPO), the spokesperson confirmed NSWALC it would remain a "committed member" of the coalition.
More than 100 letters opposing the legislation were sent to Minister Kamper and Minister Harris, as well Premier Chris Minns.
Last week, NSWALC chief executive Clare McHugh said the bill's "discriminatory elements", coupled with what she described as a lack of shared decision-making by the NSW Government, had prompted the organisation to reconsider its participation in key forums.
She argued the government's handling of the legislation had reinforced the council's concerns.
"Aboriginal people have no level of involvement in decisions affecting Aboriginal peoples and the recognition of Aboriginal rights and interests," she said. "This cannot continue.
"The bill seeks to restrict Aboriginal access to Crown Land and opportunities across the State, effectively hollowing out the compensatory and good intent of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act."
A NSW Government spokesperson told National Indigenous Times last week that Closing the Gap remained a "top priority" for the government and said it was "committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal Peoples to realise their aspirations and improve outcomes".
"The NSW Government and Aboriginal Stakeholders in NSW signed up to the national agreement to focus efforts on our shared goal of closing socioeconomic gaps between Aboriginal People in NSW and others," the spokesperson said. "We remain committed to that goal and continuing to work in partnership with Aboriginal stakeholders to meet it."
