Using lessons learned in implementing the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s Indigenous Partnerships program across the Great Barrier Reef and tropical northern Australia, we will draw on what Traditional Owners of sea country in northern Australia have told us they want from the legal aspects of partnerships, including:
At first blush there can appear to be significant differences between the way First Nations lore and Australian law deal with these matters, but lawyers are well-placed to help bridge the gap. We will show how knowledge of intellectual property and confidentiality principles and careful contractual drafting can ensure protection of Indigenous Knowledge in contracts; and implementation of the concept of free, prior and informed consent (enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) can be achieved by adapting similar principles that appear in Australian privacy laws.