Native Title Anthropologist Grant Program

The Native Title Anthropologist Grant Program has been run by the Attorney-General's Department since 2010. The program aims to improve anthropology capacity in the native title sector by:

• funding activities that support the entry and training of prospective and early-career anthropologists
• providing professional development opportunities
• encouraging links between academic and practising anthropologists.

The program aligns with the Australian Government’s commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Native title anthropologists play a crucial role in the native title system, including in the resolution of native title claims and the management of native title rights and interests once determined.

Grant recipients

Applications for the 2025-2028 grant round closed on 25 February 2025.

Following an open, competitive selection process, grant funding was awarded to the following organisations:

• Centre for Native Title Anthropology, The University of Queensland
• Central Desert Native Title Services
• First Nations Legal and Research Services
• Empius Pty Ltd.

The Australian Government has centralised the administration of community-based grants. The Community Grants Hub administers grants on behalf of Australian Government departments, agencies and organisations who provide community grants to individuals and the community sector, including the program. To find out more about the program, including how to get notified of future grant opportunities, please visit the Community Grants Hub.

In 2022, Inside Policy, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned consulting firm, completed an independent review of the Native Title Anthropologist Grant Program at our request. The review included interviews with relevant stakeholders in the native title sector.

We sought to implement the review's recommendations. This included highlighting compensation and post-determination work as a priority area for the program, convening a selection panel comprised of native title experts, and reducing administrative requirements for grant applicants and recipients.