PBC Membership represents native title holders  

All the common law holders of native title must be represented, directly or indirectly.

Sections 141-25 (2); 150-15

No

Membership applications

The directors must accept eligible common law holders who apply as members and there are only very limited grounds for cancelling membership.

Sections 144-10(3A); 150-15

No

Non-native title holders generally can’t be members

Non-native title holders can’t be PBC members, unless the native title holders agree to allow this.

See also PBC Regulations, regulation 4(2)

No

Dispute Resolution

There must be a process for native title holders and people who claim to be native title holders to take up disputes with the PBC about matters relating to whether the person is a common law holder of native title and the corporation’s performance of its and the PBC functions.

Section 66-1(3B)

No

Number of directors  

there must be at least 1 director and no more than 12

Sections 243-1, 243-5

Yes, an application can be made for an exemption to the maximum number of directors requirement

Term of appointment –

Director terms are 2 years

Section 246-25

Yes, an application may be made to exempt the directors of the corporation from the imposed term

Minimum age for members

The lowest age allowed is 15 years old

Section 29‑10

No

Membership

Will there be ‘direct’ membership?

Direct membership means all native title holders (over the prescribed age) can be a member

·       More inclusive – all native title holders can be involved in the PBC

·       Promotes information sharing and transparency

·       Encourages native title holders’ engagement and involvement in the PBC

·       However, smaller family groups may feel outnumbered

·       A large membership may lead to administrative burdens in relation to processing applications

Membership

Will there be ‘indirect’ membership?

How will the corporation ensure this is representative of the native title holders?

Indirect membership limits the number of members of the corporation

Note: all native title holders must be represented in the membership – this will be determined on a case-by-case basis for each native title group, in accordance with the determination of native title

·       Indirect membership may promote stability

·       May minimise risks of membership disputes

·       May reduce workload of processing membership applications

·       May be more difficult to keep native title holders informed about the corporation’s activities

·       Less inclusive

·       Smaller pool of people for board positions – people with good skills may miss out on being eligible to be directors

Membership

Will there be membership sub-groups?

How will the size of the different groups be managed?

Some PBCs choose to have membership groups. By way of example, these can be based on:

·       language groups

·       country

·       ancestors

·       identity

·       If there are different membership groups, careful consideration should be given to the purpose of the groups, and how they might impact decision-making.

·       Some people belong to multiple groups and may not neatly fit into groups

·       May align with cultural protocols

·       Ensures representation for all sub-grounds

·       May minimise perceptions of ‘stacking’

·       May impact feelings of unity and create conflict or division

·       May require anthropological advice

Board of directors

What will the board look like? Will the board be elected by the persons with the most votes, or by some other way?

Some PBCs elect directors by a general vote at a general meeting.

There are also other ways of voting (such as by apical ancestor, or language group).

Elections based on majority vote from all members, may promote unity by avoiding a perceptions of ‘different’ groups.

However, smaller family groups may not feel represented.

Board of directors

Will the board be skills-based?

Some PBCs set criteria for directors – e.g. cultural knowledge, skills in finance, governance, legal experience etc.

·       Encourages skills-based appointments

·       Promotes strong governance

·       May be different ideas about what skills are most relevant

·       May limit eligibility if skills not yet readily available

Board of directors

Will there be allocated seats for certain groups, e.g.:

·       membership groups

·       families

·       genders

·       ages – e.g. youth, Elders

Will all members get a vote? If there are sub-groups of members, will they elect a certain number of directors?

·       The directors must act in the best interests of the corporation as a whole, not just their group

·       May align with cultural protocols

·       Ensures representation for all sub-grounds

·       May be difficult for directors belonging to different groups

·       May create division or conflict

Independent directors

Will you have independent directors? Will this be optional or mandatory?

Some PBCs have the option, or a mandatory requirement, that there be an independent director with expertise in a relevant field such as accounting, law, governance

Can be helpful in promoting good governance

May create perceptions of lack of self-determination

Committees

Will there be committees that advise the board?

Optional or mandatory?

Some Corporations set up different committees, like youth groups, Elders groups, cultural heritage committees, native title committees,

·       May provide a way of promoting traditional decision-making/ governance

·       Allows the board to focus on core governance

·       There needs to be a good line of communication with the board, and clear roles and responsibilities

·       Requiring in the Rule Book that there to be certain committees may be too prescriptive, and hard to implement

·       Consider costs implications – is there any funding to support the committees?

Decision-making

Is there a way a traditional decision-making process can be incorporated for certain types of decisions?

This could involve corporation decisions involving the members, or native title decisions.

This may require anthropological advice, and the definition of traditional decision-making processes may create internal conflicts

Note the need for compliance with the PBC regulations in relation to including native title decision processes in a rule book.

Quorum

What is the minimum for a quorum at board meetings? Member meetings?

If there are sub-groups, consider whether that needs to be considered when establishing quorum?

This needs to be practical and workable. What will happen if quorum isn’t met?