Yandruwandha Yawarrawarrka sign agreement with SANTS

South Australian Native Title Services has been retained by the Yandruwandha Yawarrawarrka Traditional Land Owners (Aboriginal Corporation) to provide high level legal advice.

This includes providing expert assistance in the day-to-day operations of YYTLOAC. SANTS had previously provided these

services to YYTLOAC free of charge. However, YYTLOAC and SANTS recently reached an agreement setting out clear terms of engagement. That engagement is in a ‘retainer agreement’. This retainer agreement maintains SANTS as YYTLOAC’s legal representatives for a fixed annual fee, and provides a clear set of guidelines for the provision of advice to the Aboriginal Corporation.

This will ensure that YYTLOAC fully complies with all corporations law, and assists YYTLOAC in developing its business with a view to becoming self sufficient. For example, SANTS has provided legal advice relating to YYTLOAC’s proposed new corporate structure, leading to the imminent implementation of two new trusts for the YY community.

This is the first of its kind for SANTS, and marks a milestone in the provision of expert legal advice to Aboriginal Corporations.

It is hoped that retainer agreements will be made with other Aboriginal Corporations to ensure our legal services remain viable and to clarify the extent of the services that we will provide.

Without such agreements and advice on important issues, there is a risk that Aboriginal Corporations will not comply with strict laws, which may result in those Aboriginal Corporations being taken out of their own control and placed into administration.

New Corporate Structure

Following community consultation sessions, the Yandruwandha Yawarrawarrka (YY) community endorsed a new corporate structure at the YYTLOAC Annual General Meeting in West Beach in November 2010. It is necessary to have effective and accountable corporate structures in place in order to progress the interests of the YY People, extending well into the future.

As was resolved in 2009, the most appropriate corporate structure will essentially be divided into two. One part will be setup by and for the Yandruwandha People, and the other will be setup by and for the Yawarrawarrka People.

The YYTLOAC Board were entrusted with the task of building a structure that was sustainable and achieved the objectives set out by the community. The structure that has now been adopted maintains YYTLOAC and establishes two

trusts. The structure also has the capacity to establish a new YY corporate entity.

It is intended that, in the future, that YY corporate entity will generate income pursuant to business ventures, reducing reliance on native title related payments. The next step in implementing this structure will be for YYTLOAC to elect appropriately skilled trustees. The trust structure considered the mostappropriate by the YY community has three trustees for each trust, consisting of one suitably qualified and experienced corporate trustee and two individual trustees from the community. This, it is intended, will promote a balance in decision making, drawing on both ‘expert’ and ‘community’ experiences.

Once the new trusts start, there will be a ‘commencement period’ of two years to help the new trustees learn about their roles, draft policies, and to help community better understand the

process. During this ‘commencement period’, YYTLOAC will play a vital role in ensuring that the trust is successful in

meeting its charitable purposes. This structure is with a view to providing avenues of wealth creation within the community such that the YY people can become self-sufficient.

The implementation of this structure is the result of years of development and consultation, and a persistent Board of

Directors who have met every month to develop the proposed structure.

The target date for commencing the trusts is 1 July 2011.