Native title in Australia is decided principally by the High Court and the Federal Court.
| Year | Case | Court | class=unsortable | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overruled by the High Court in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) | ||||
| The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 was a valid law | ||||
| Queensland attempt to abolish native title was invalid as inconsistent with the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 | ||||
| Harper v Minister for Sea Fisheries (1989) 168 CLR 314. | ||||
| Rejected the doctrine of terra nullius and that indigenous land rights continued to exist in Australia | ||||
| Native title rights could co-exist with statutory pastoral leases | ||||
| Fejo v Northern Territory (1998) 195 CLR 96. | Native title was completely extinguished by a grant of freehold title | |||
| Yanner v Eaton (1999) 201 CLR 351. | Upheld the right to hunt as a part of native title rights | |||
| Upheld non-exclusive native title rights to the sea and sea bed | ||||
| Native title is a bundle of rights, which may be extinguished one by one | ||||
| Upheld a finding that the "tide of history" had "washed away" traditional laws and customs and that the native title claim failed | ||||
| First successful native title claim in south-eastern Australia | ||||
| Bodney v Bennell (Noongar) | Whether native title continues to exist in and around Perth | |||
| Licensing of fishing activates did not extinguish the relationship of the people to the land nor extinguish the native title right to take fish |