Appointment of ALRC part-time Commissioner for future acts inquiry

I am pleased to announce Mr Tony McAvoy SC has been appointed a part-time Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to co-lead the ALRC’s inquiry into the future acts regime in the Native Title Act 1993 with the ALRC President, the Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg.

Mr McAvoy has over three decades of experience in native title, property and environmental law and is widely recognised as Australia’s most senior First Nations barrister. This appointment ensures the inquiry has the benefit of Mr McAvoy’s unparalleled expertise.

Mr McAvoy will co-lead the inquiry in investigating and developing options to rectify any inequality, unfairness or weaknesses in the future acts regime which governs how development projects occur in areas subject to native title.

Mr McAvoy’s appointment, alongside the $550,000 in supplementary funding announced in the 2024-25 Budget, will enhance the ALRC’s important work and ensure First Nations voices, and those of project proponents and others, are heard at every stage of the process.

I congratulate Mr McAvoy on his appointment and thank him for agreeing to take on this role.

I have appointed Mr McAvoy for a period of up to 18 months, or until the inquiry is complete, whichever occurs first.

For more information on the future acts inquiry, visit the ALRC website.

Biography

A Wirdi man from Central Queensland, Tony McAvoy SC holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa), and is an eminent barrister and mediator. Mr McAvoy was called to the New South Wales Bar in 2000, and in 2015 was the first First Nations person to be appointed Senior Counsel. Mr McAvoy was Acting part-time Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court from 2011 to 2013, Acting Northern Territory Treaty Commissioner between 2021 and 2022, and Commissioner of the NSW Independent Planning Commission from 2021 to 2024. Mr McAvoy currently practices at the NSW Bar, specialising in native title and land rights.