26AApproved exploration etc. acts

26A  Approved exploration etc. 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.

 (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.

 (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.

 (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.

 (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

 (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).