11ALand Councils may enter into agreements concerning land under claim

#### 11A Land Councils may enter into agreements concerning land under claim (1) A person who desires to obtain an estate or interest in land the subject of an application of the kind referred to in paragraph 50(1)(a) may, before the land (in this section referred to as the relevant land) is granted to a Land Trust, make representations to the Land Council in the area of which the relevant land is situated concerning the person’s plans in respect of the relevant land. (2) Subject to subsection (3), a Land Council to which representations are made pursuant to subsection (1) may, at any time before the relevant land is granted to a Land Trust, agree with the person who made the representations that it will, if the relevant land is granted to a Land Trust, direct the Land Trust to grant an estate or interest in that land to that person and that agreement shall specify the terms and conditions on which the proposed grant is to be made. (3) A Land Council shall not enter into an agreement under subsection (2) unless it is satisfied that: (a) the traditional Aboriginal owners of the relevant land understand the nature and purpose of the proposed grant and, as a group, consent to it; (b) any Aboriginal community or group that may be affected by the proposed grant has been consulted and has had adequate opportunity to express its view to the Land Council; and (c) the terms and conditions on which the proposed grant is to be made are reasonable. (4) An agreement referred to in subsection (2) is binding on any successors to the Land Council that entered into the agreement. (5) Where a Land Council has entered into an agreement under subsection (2), it shall, immediately after the relevant land is granted to a Land Trust, give a direction in writing to the Land Trust to grant an estate or interest in the land on the terms and conditions set out in that agreement. (6) Where a Land Council, in entering into an agreement under subsection (2), fails to comply with subsection (3), that failure does not invalidate the entry by the Land Council into that agreement. (6A) To avoid doubt, an agreement under subsection (2) does not create an estate or interest in the relevant land that would prevent the relevant land from being granted to the Land Trust. (7) In this section, a reference to an estate or interest in land includes a reference to: (a) a mining interest; and (b) a licence granted in respect of that land.