Today is Mabo Day, and the final day of National Reconciliation Week.
Today we commemorate Eddie Koiki Mabo, a Meriam man from the island of Mer (Murray Island) in the Torres Straits, alongside his family and community for their decade-long fight to overturn the once legal and acceptable concept that Australia was ‘terra nullius’, or ‘land belonging to no-one’.
Their courage and determination led to the historic landmark 1992 High Court decision which affirmed that Native Title does exist, and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold rights to land and waters that pre-date colonisation.
The following year the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), was enacted, paving the way for claims by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their traditional rights to land and compensation.
Native title litigation has been long and hard fought. As of April 2026, there have been 674 Native Title Determinations across Australia.
The Mabo decision remains fundamental to legal, cultural heritage and environmental work today and is pivotal in EDO’s work for First Nations peoples.
Native Title laws now require engagement with Traditional Owners on land use, development, compensation and planning. It continues to address systemic injustices and influence Australian law’s recognition of First Nations sovereignty.
Mabo Day reflects the principles we strive to uphold every day: justice, land rights, self-determination and genuine commitment to working on behalf of First Nations clients and communities.
It reminds us that our legal and advocacy work, whether through supporting free, prior and informed consent in cultural heritage law reform, supporting Indigenous Protected Areas, or casework on behalf of Traditional Owners, is part of a broader movement towards rights, truth-telling, self-determination, and stronger outcomes for First Nations peoples’ Country and Culture.
Mabo Day is more than a historic milestone; it is a call to continue working for justice, to listen deeply, and to ensure that First Nations leadership continues to shape the future of Australia.
