LALC meetings and COVID-19 restrictions

11 September, 2020

11 September 2020

The Office of the Registrar and the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) would like to provide advice to Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) members regarding the current situation with COVID-19.

LALC Meetings:

Some LALC members have expressed concerns about their LALCs not conducting Members’ meetings in recent months. 

Due to the risks associated with COVID-19, LALCs are advised that Members’ meetings should only be held for business that cannot be conducted by any other means, where the matters require member decisions and are time critical, such as land dealing approvals or the filling of casual vacancies.

The day-to-day operations of your LALC continue to be managed by the CEO, with oversight and direction from the LALC Board. Board meetings can still be held, either in person provided social distancing measures can be maintained, or by telephone or other electronic means such as Skype, Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

If Members’ meetings need to be held, they will be restricted to essential business in order to reduce transmission risk. They will also have rules around selecting an appropriate venue, numbers allowed in the venue, social distancing measures and COVID-19 Safety Plans. This is to ensure the health and safety of the members within the Land Rights network. 

The Office of the Registrar and NSWALC recognise that the risks associated with COVID-19 differ according to the size and age of the LALC membership and the LALC’s location. In some areas, it is not possible to hold a Members’ meeting safely at this time.

LALCs are asked to contact your NSWALC Zone Office immediately if you have urgent business and are planning to hold a Members’ meeting. Zone staff can assist you with preparing appropriate safety management plans.

LALC Communications with Members:

Your LALC will advise you on how it will continue communications while COVID-19 restrictions are in place. This may be through email, social media, newsletter, or letter box drop. Alternatively, many LALC offices remain open with social distancing to be observed. For those LALC offices that are closed, most LALC CEOs and staff are continuing to work from home and can be contacted by telephone or email.

If you have any queries or need to discuss the matters contained in this Network Message, please feel free to contact your LALC in the first instance.

NSWALC and the Registrar will continue to provide further updates regarding COVID-19 and Public Health Orders in NSW.

Acknowledgement

We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of the lands where we work as well as across the lands we travel through. We also acknowledge our Elders past, present and emerging.

Artwork Credit: Craig Cromelin, from a painting he did titled, "4 favourite fishing holes". It is a snippet of his growing years on the Lachlan River, featuring yabby, turtle, fish and family.

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