Northern Land Council
Ben Niles is a lawyer with extensive experience in Aboriginal land rights and community planning and development, currently serving on the Aboriginal Land Rights team at the Northern Land Council since May 2018. Prior to this role, Ben Niles worked in various lawyer positions focusing on regional Aboriginal land rights across East and West Arnhem Land, and also as a lawyer and paralegal at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. Ben Niles has experience in judicial support as Tipstaff to the Honourable Justice Tim Moore at the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. Leadership experience includes serving as President of the ANU Postgraduate and Research Students' Association, where responsibilities encompassed managing operations and advocating for postgraduate student issues. Ben Niles holds a Juris Doctor from The Australian National University, a Bachelor of Commerce from Monash University, and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from The College of Law Australia.
Northern Land Council
The Northern Land Council was established in 1973 to represent traditional Aboriginal landowners and Aboriginal people in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. The most important responsibilities of the NLC are to consult with traditional landowners and other Aborigines with an interest in the land. This is to make sure the landowners as a group give their informed consent before the Land Council or a Land Trust enters into any agreement, or takes any action affecting their land. It also ensures that affected Aboriginal communities and groups have the chance to express their views and that land use agreements entered into are reasonable. These principles are fundamental to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. The NLC also acts as a representative body for native title claimants in its area under the Native Title Act 1993.