First Nations Engagement & Partnerships

HomeInitiatives & PartnershipsFirst Nations Engagement & Partnerships

Australia’s low carbon liquid fuel opportunity, from feedstock paddocks to project and processing sites, sits on lands and waters that are Country, held, managed and cared for by First Nations peoples. It opens with an Acknowledgement of Country, then sets out the context, the frameworks behind it, what that looks like in practice, and nine principles for partnership drawn from published guidance and certification frameworks.

Prepared by New Era Energy. Draws on published guidance from the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN) and the First Nations Clean Energy Network (FNCEN) as precedent. The cited networks have reviewed the content but have not endorsed its application to low carbon liquid fuels, as community consultation has not yet been undertaken.

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Acknowledgement of Country Context Frameworks What this looks like in practice Where to start Principles to engage

Acknowledgement of Country

The Low Carbon Liquid Fuels Knowledge Hub acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Low carbon liquid fuels are made from Country. Their feedstocks are grown, harvested, collected or recovered from lands and waters across Australia, and the facilities that process them are built on Country.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold rights and interests across a substantial share of the Australian land mass, and hold knowledge of these landscapes and waters developed over tens of thousands of years.

How this industry develops, where it is located and who benefits from it are questions in which First Nations peoples have a direct and continuing interest.

Hands holding and passing red ochre earth

Who this page is for

This is a starting point for anyone working in or affected by low carbon liquid fuels: project developers, researchers, investors, and First Nations communities and organisations themselves. The information is drawn from international, Australian and industry frameworks, and from guidance published by First Nations-led organisations working in clean energy and carbon.

First Nations Clean Energy Strategy 2024–2030
A framework for First Nations participation in Australia’s clean energy transition, released by Australia’s energy ministers in December 2024 following a national engagement process the First Nations Clean Energy Network (FNCEN) helped facilitate. It does not cover low carbon liquid fuels specifically.

Explore the Strategy

Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN) guidance
ICIN’s published carbon-industry guidance for Indigenous carbon projects also does not cover low carbon liquid fuels.

Read ICIN’s guidance

The nine principles below are this Hub’s proposal for what genuine partnership could look like in this industry, drawing on international frameworks, Australian law, and precedents from FNCEN’s and ICIN’s published work in adjacent industries.

The frameworks behind these principles

Four frameworks sit behind these principles, each at a different level: an international rights principle (UNDRIP), a certification standard (RSB), a data-governance standard (CARE and Maiam nayri Wingara), and Australian law.

Where these frameworks sit

Grouped by whether a project must comply (Australian law) or is voluntarily adopting a published standard. Select a tile to see how each applies in practice.

Mandatory: Australian law

Binds every project regardless of certification, funding, or whether any voluntary framework is adopted.

What it is
Domestic legal requirements that bind every project in Australia, regardless of certification, funding source, or whether any of the voluntary frameworks below are adopted.
How it applies
The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) gives native title holders a right to notice and good-faith negotiation. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) and state and territory cultural heritage legislation protect cultural heritage regardless of native title status.
Source
Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) state and territory cultural heritage legislation

Binding law, but only for projects that seek this specific Commonwealth support, not a universal obligation like the Acts above.

What it is
A binding legal requirement, but only for projects that seek this specific form of Commonwealth support: not a universal obligation like the Acts above.
How it applies
The community benefit principles under the Future Made in Australia Act 2024 apply whenever a project receives Future Made in Australia support, however that support is delivered; the fourth of six principles specifically covers supporting First Nations communities and Traditional Owners to participate in and share in the benefits of the transition to net zero.
Source
Future Made in Australia Act 2024 (Cth), s.10(3)(a)

Voluntary: standards & published guidance

The foundational rights principle the tiles below put into practice. Australia has endorsed it, but on its own it has no direct force in Australian domestic law.

What it is
Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and respect for land rights, for Indigenous peoples.
How it applies
Sets the foundational rights principle that the certification, data-governance and published-guidance tiles below put into practice. Not enforceable as Australian domestic law on its own.
Source
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Articles 26 and 32

Its own Land Rights principle directly operationalises UNDRIP’s FPIC and land rights into certifiable, audited criteria: not government law, but effectively required for CORSIA-eligible fuel status.

What it is
Same underlying land rights and consent principle, translated into a certifiable requirement for biomaterials and fuels. RSB is one of three certification schemes ICAO has approved under CORSIA, alongside ISCC and ClassNK; all three must meet CORSIA’s own baseline land and water rights criteria, but RSB publishes its own more detailed Land Rights principle and guidance beyond that baseline.
How it applies
Land rights and FPIC are addressed by RSB-certified producers through ongoing monitoring, a grievance mechanism and dedicated resourcing. Required for CORSIA-eligible fuel market access, alongside ISCC and ClassNK, all bound since 2024 by CORSIA’s baseline land and water rights criteria ; RSB is cited here for its own published Land Rights guidance.
Source
RSB Principles & Criteria (RSB-STD-01-001), Principles 12 and 5 RSB Guidelines for Land Rights ICAO CORSIA-approved schemes

A separate voluntary standard addressing a different right (data and knowledge governance, not land rights); sits beside RSB, not derived from UNDRIP the way RSB is.

What it is
A distinct but parallel principle: First Nations knowledge and data have their own governance requirements, separate from land and resource rights, and from a different lineage than UNDRIP’s land-rights articles.
How it applies
Knowledge, images and data gathered through a project are governed, shared and benefited from in line with the CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics) and the Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles.
Source
CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (GIDA) MnW Principles, Maiam nayri Wingara

First Nations-authored best practice from adjacent industries, cited as precedent for these principles, not those organisations’ endorsement of this one.

What it is
Best practice and agreement-making guidance published by First Nations-led organisations working in adjacent industries: clean energy and carbon.
How it applies
Cited throughout the nine principles below as precedent for what genuine partnership can look like; informs this Hub’s proposal rather than being FNCEN’s or ICIN’s own assessment of low carbon liquid fuels.
Source
FNCEN Best Practice Principles and Co-ownership guide Leading Practice Principles ICIN, Guidance on Agreement Making for Indigenous Carbon Projects

Project level

An individual low carbon liquid fuels feedstock or production project. Where engagement, benefit-sharing, certification, data-governance and legal requirements actually get tested. A project must clear the mandatory layer above regardless, and is expected to adopt the voluntary layer as best practice.

Precedents from other industries

Two industries with published First Nations partnership guidance, cited here as precedents for low carbon liquid fuels: not as an assessment or endorsement of this industry by either organisation. None of this is specific to low carbon liquid fuels; the sector is still developing, which is an opportunity to build equitable First Nations partnership in from the start. Carbon and clean energy projects offer published precedents for what elements of that can look like in practice.

Carbon

Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN)

A network of First Nations-owned organisations running carbon projects across northern Australia . Its published guidance on governance and agreement-making shows what First Nations-led delivery can look like in an adjacent industry, cited here as a precedent for this industry, not as ICIN’s assessment of it.

Read ICIN’s Guidance on Agreement Making

Clean energy

First Nations Clean Energy Network (FNCEN)

A national coalition that publishes best-practice and co-ownership guidance for clean energy projects. FNCEN’s work to date has focused on the broader clean energy transition rather than low carbon liquid fuels specifically; its published principles are cited here as a precedent for this industry, not as FNCEN’s assessment of it.

Read the Network’s Best Practice Principles

These are examples, not endorsed contact points; the right organisation to speak with depends on the Country and the project.

Where to start

Identify who speaks for Country

Search the National Native Title Tribunal’s determinations register, then contact the relevant Prescribed Body Corporate, Land Council or Native Title Representative Body.

Search the native title determinations register

Read the published guidance

Read the First Nations Clean Energy Network’s Best Practice Principles and its co-ownership guide, and ICIN’s Guidance on Agreement Making for Indigenous Carbon Projects.

Check Commonwealth requirements

If you are seeking Commonwealth support, check the community benefit principles that apply under the Future Made in Australia Act 2024 , and DCCEEW’s First Nations Clean Energy Program, which offers advice and pilot grants.

Explore the First Nations Clean Energy Program

Engage early

Then engage, before the project design is confirmed. Early engagement means the project can still change in response to what communities say.

Nine principles for partnership

These nine principles are proposed by this Hub, not by any single framework or organisation, grounded in the frameworks above and, where available, the published guidance of First Nations-led organisations as precedent. Citing an organisation’s work here means it informed this proposal, not that the organisation has assessed or endorsed this list for low carbon liquid fuels.

Select a principle below to see the concept behind it and the specific citation it operates under. These apply equally whether you’re a project proponent or a First Nations person or group considering involvement in one.

Australian law

Legally binding (some conditional on seeking Commonwealth support).

Framework

International and certification standards (UNDRIP, RSB, CARE/MnW): not legally binding.

Precedent

Published guidance from First Nations-led organisations (FNCEN, ICIN): cited as precedent, not endorsement of this industry.

Framework RSB · UNDRIP · Precedent FNCEN

Community members are entitled to full information about a project, including risks (cultural, environmental, commercial) as well as benefits. This is part of what “informed” means in free, prior and informed consent. That process should commit the proponent to: stop work immediately on discovery; establish a buffer zone around the find; notify the designated cultural heritage officer and the relevant Traditional Owners; record the discovery without disturbing it; and act on the direction given by Traditional Owners. Principle 9 below sets out the fuller cultural heritage assessment and management process, including heritage mapping before ground is disturbed and monitoring during construction and operation.

Where it comes from
  • First Nations Clean Energy Network and Clean Energy Council, Leading Practice Principles for First Nations and Renewable Energy Projects (Principle 2: prioritise clear, accessible and accurate information, including information on risks and likely impacts)
  • RSB Principle 2 (Planning, Monitoring and Continuous Improvement, including impact assessment)
  • UNDRIP Article 32 (paragraph 2 requires consultation to obtain “free and informed consent” before a project affecting land or resources proceeds, which depends on risks being disclosed)

Australian law Native Title Act · heritage law · Framework UNDRIP · RSB

Native title and other rights recognised under Australian law exist prior to and independent of a proposed project. Where native title is held, the Act gives holders a right to notice and to good-faith negotiation: a right to a real negotiation, not a right to refuse the project. Where it has been extinguished, as on much of the freehold farmland that grows feedstock and most urban land, Traditional Owners remain, cultural heritage law still binds the proponent, and consent remains the applicable standard. This principle draws on UNDRIP and RSB alone: no First Nations-led guidance specific enough to this step could be found, so it isn’t forced onto a precedent that doesn’t fit.

Where it comes from
  • UNDRIP Article 26 (rights to lands, territories and resources)
  • RSB Principle 12 (Land Rights)
  • Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) ; state and territory cultural heritage legislation

Framework UNDRIP · RSB · Precedent ICIN · FNCEN

Consent must be sought from the body that speaks for that Country: the native title holder group, Prescribed Body Corporate, Land Council or Traditional Owner corporation, not a general contact. Consent is not a single approval. It runs across the life of the project and should be revisited when scope, ownership or impacts change. Australia expressed its support for UNDRIP in 2009. FPIC is not written into Australian legislation, but elements of it sit in the Native Title Act’s negotiation requirements, and it is treated as best practice by the frameworks set out above.

Where it comes from
  • ICIN, Guidance on Agreement Making for Indigenous Carbon Projects (FPIC as its central framework: free from coercion, obtained prior to project start, based on full information, with access to independent advice)
  • First Nations Clean Energy Network and Clean Energy Council, Leading Practice Principles (phased consent reached through communities’ own customary decision-making processes)
  • UNDRIP Article 32 (FPIC for projects affecting land or resources), as the underlying international right
  • RSB Principle 2c and Principle 12

Framework RSB · UNDRIP · Precedent FNCEN · ICIN

It does not stop at consultation or equity partnership. Published guidance, including the First Nations Clean Energy Network’s co-ownership guide and ICIN’s agreement-making guidance, sets out a range of models to choose from, spanning consultation, equity partnership and First Nations-led ownership of the project itself, as options rather than a required structure, and the choice belongs to the First Nations party. Agreement types used in practice include Indigenous Land Use Agreements registered under the Native Title Act, cultural heritage management agreements, community benefit agreements, partnership or joint venture agreements, and wholly First Nations-owned and led project structures.

Where it comes from
  • First Nations Clean Energy Network, Guide to First Nations Co-ownership and Equity Participation in Clean Energy Projects (direct equity, quasi-equity and revenue-sharing models; notes that communities themselves decide the form participation takes, whether full or part ownership, leasing or another model)
  • ICIN, Guidance on Agreement Making for Indigenous Carbon Projects (four governance structures, ranging from Indigenous-entity ownership to third-party partnership)
  • RSB Principle 5 (Rural and Social Development; not a triggered requirement in Australia under RSB’s own poverty-threshold screening)
  • UNDRIP Article 3 (self-determination), as the underlying right

Australian law Future Made in Australia Act · Framework RSB · UNDRIP · Precedent FNCEN · ICIN

Benefit sharing in practice covers equity or co-ownership; royalties, rent or profit share; First Nations employment and training pathways; procurement from First Nations businesses, including Supply Nation registered or certified suppliers; and payment for the community’s time, knowledge and participation in the engagement process itself.

Where it comes from
  • First Nations Clean Energy Network, Best Practice Principles (“ensure economic benefits are shared” and “provide social benefits for community”) and Co-ownership and Equity Participation guide (employment, procurement and decision-making roles)
  • ICIN, Guidance on Agreement Making (revenue-share and ACCU-share benefit models)
  • RSB Principle 5 and Principle 12 (Principle 5 not a triggered requirement in Australia)
  • UNDRIP Article 32 (fair and equitable redress for impacts on land or resources)
  • Future Made in Australia Act 2024 community benefit principles

Framework RSB · Precedent FNCEN · ICIN

In practice this means a budget line for engagement rather than absorbing it into project management; timeframes set by the community’s decision-making process rather than the proponent’s approvals calendar; independent legal, technical and commercial advice for the First Nations party, funded by the proponent; and a named senior person inside the proponent accountable for the relationship.

Where it comes from
  • First Nations Clean Energy Network, Best Practice Principles and Leading Practice Principles (funding and timelines that reflect the community’s own decision-making process; independent advice properly resourced) and Guide to First Nations Co-ownership and Equity Participation (negotiation timetables; negotiating for adviser costs to be met by the developer)
  • ICIN, Guidance on Agreement Making (resourced independent legal, financial and technical advice)
  • RSB Principle 12 (Land Rights) and Principle 5 (Rural and Social Development; general support only, not a specific adviser-funding requirement, and Principle 5 not triggered in Australia)

Framework UNDRIP · CARE/MnW · Precedent FNCEN · ICIN

Before using any ICIP, confirm that permission has been sought from the right knowledge holders; the terms of use are documented; attribution is in place and names the person and Nation; benefit-sharing arrangements are agreed; any restrictions on use are recorded and observed; and permission has been given for the use of language words, designs or images.

Where it comes from
  • First Nations Clean Energy Network and Clean Energy Council, Leading Practice Principles (cultural heritage knowledge treated as First Nations intellectual property; protocols for secret and sacred information)
  • ICIN, Guidance on Agreement Making (ICIP control and ownership provisions in project agreements)
  • UNDRIP Article 31 (cultural heritage and traditional knowledge)
  • CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics), Global Indigenous Data Alliance
  • Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles

Framework RSB · UNDRIP

The mechanism should be agreed in advance rather than offered after a dispute arises; be reachable without relying on a third-party hotline alone; keep a documented record of concerns raised and actions taken; and be reviewed jointly. Under the RSB Land Rights Guidelines a serious dispute may require renegotiating the consent agreement, or suspending activity in the disputed area until it is resolved. This principle draws on UNDRIP and RSB alone: no First Nations-led guidance specific enough to this step could be found, so it isn’t forced onto a precedent that doesn’t fit.

Where it comes from
  • RSB Principle 2d (grievance mechanism)
  • UNDRIP Article 40 (right to access just and fair procedures for resolving disputes, and to effective remedies for infringements of rights)

Australian law Heritage Protection Act · Framework RSB · Precedent FNCEN · ICIN

Cultural heritage is both tangible and intangible, and is living rather than historical. Practice is to map heritage and areas of significance with Traditional Owner guidance during planning, not after approval; to record the outcome in a cultural heritage management plan developed jointly; to monitor during construction and operation; and to comply with the applicable state or territory heritage legislation as well as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth). Where heritage is found unexpectedly, the agreed process should commit the proponent to stop work immediately, establish a buffer zone around the find, notify the designated cultural heritage officer and the relevant Traditional Owners, record the discovery without disturbing it, and act on the direction given by Traditional Owners.

Where it comes from
  • First Nations Clean Energy Network, Best Practice Principles (“ensure cultural heritage is preserved and protected”) and Leading Practice Principles (holistic tangible and intangible heritage
  • Cultural Heritage Management Plans and Agreements)
  • ICIN, Guidance on Agreement Making (cultural heritage protocols in project agreements)
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) ; state and territory cultural heritage legislation
  • RSB Principle 12 (Land Rights; assessment and documentation only, no chance-find or stop-work provision)

This reflects the published positions of First Nations-led peak organisations, not a claim to represent every First Nations person, community or Traditional Owner group. Project-level engagement still starts fresh with the appropriate representative body for that Country.

How the Hub applies this to itself

This Hub applies the same standards to its own content. This page itself is analysis and synthesis of publicly published frameworks, not first-hand First Nations knowledge, story or cultural material, so it carries no personal attribution. Where First Nations knowledge, stories, images or other cultural material is published elsewhere on this Hub, it will be attributed to its author and their Nation, and used only with that author’s or their representative body’s permission. To raise a concern about content here, contact us.

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Resources

A selection from the library related to this page.

    • Data & statistics
    • 2026

    National Native Title Tribunal determinations register
    National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT)
    The National Native Title Tribunal’s searchable register of native title applications and determinations: the starting point for identifying who speaks for the Country a project affects.
    Read more
    • Legislation & regulation
    • 2024

    Future Made in Australia Act 2024 (Cth)
    Commonwealth of Australia
    Commonwealth legislation supporting investment in net zero industries. Its community benefit principles apply when a project receives Future Made in Australia support; the fourth principle covers supporting First Nations communities and Traditional Owners to participate in and share in the benefits of the transition (s.10(3)(a)).
    Read more
    • Legislation & regulation
    • 1984

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth)
    Commonwealth of Australia
    Commonwealth legislation protecting areas and objects of particular significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, operating alongside state and territory cultural heritage laws.
    Read more
    • Legislation & regulation
    • 1993

    Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)
    Commonwealth of Australia
    Commonwealth legislation recognising native title. Gives native title holders a right to notice and good-faith negotiation over proposed projects, and underpins Indigenous Land Use Agreements.
    Read more
    • Legislation & regulation
    • 2007

    United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
    United Nations
    The international declaration setting out the rights of Indigenous peoples, including free, prior and informed consent and rights to lands, territories and resources (Articles 3, 26, 31, 32 and 40). Australia expressed its support in 2009; it is not directly enforceable in Australian domestic law on its own.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2018

    Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles
    Maiam nayri Wingara
    Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data, published by the Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2019

    CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance
    Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA)
    The CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics) set out governance requirements for Indigenous data and knowledge, complementing data-focused frameworks with people- and purpose-oriented requirements.
    Read more
    • Policy & program
    • 2025

    First Nations Clean Energy Program
    Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
    Australian Government program providing advice and pilot grants to support First Nations participation in clean energy: $70 million over three years from 2025, plus $4.6 million continuing the First Nations Clean Energy and Climate Change Advisory Committee to 2030.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2024

    Leading Practice Principles: First Nations and Renewable Energy Projects
    First Nations Clean Energy Network (FNCEN) and Clean Energy Council
    Leading practice principles for First Nations engagement on renewable energy projects, including phased consent reached through communities’ own customary decision-making processes and clear, accessible and accurate project information, including on risks and likely impacts.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2026

    First Nations co-ownership and equity participation in clean energy projects
    First Nations Clean Energy Network (FNCEN)
    A guide to models for First Nations co-ownership and equity participation in clean energy projects, spanning direct equity, quasi-equity and revenue-sharing; notes that communities themselves decide the form participation takes, whether full or part ownership, leasing or another model.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2022

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Best Practice Principles for Clean Energy Projects
    First Nations Clean Energy Network (FNCEN)
    Best practice principles for clean energy projects engaging with First Nations communities, including sharing economic benefits, providing social benefits for community, and preserving and protecting cultural heritage.
    Read more
    • Roadmap & strategy
    • 2024

    First Nations Clean Energy Strategy
    Australian Government, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
    A framework for First Nations participation in Australia’s clean energy transition, released by Australia’s energy ministers in December 2024 following a national engagement process the First Nations Clean Energy Network helped facilitate.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2026

    Guidance on Agreement Making for Indigenous Carbon Projects
    Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN)
    First Nations-authored guidance on agreement making for Indigenous carbon projects, with free, prior and informed consent as its central framework: free from coercion, obtained prior to project start, based on full information, with access to independent advice. Sets out four governance structures ranging from Indigenous-entity ownership to third-party partnership.
    Read more
    • Organisation website
    • 2026

    Who we are (ICIN)
    Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN)
    The Indigenous Carbon Industry Network is a network of First Nations-owned organisations running carbon projects across northern Australia. Its website sets out who the network is and the members it represents.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2026

    CORSIA Approved Sustainability Certification Schemes (Fourth Edition)
    International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
    ICAO document listing the sustainability certification schemes approved by the ICAO Council to certify fuel producers for compliance with the CORSIA sustainability criteria. One of the five ICAO documents referenced by Annex 16, Volume IV.
    Read more
    • Certification scheme
    • 2026

    RSB Certification
    Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB)
    Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials voluntary sustainability certification scheme for biofuels, biomaterials and feedstocks, covering environmental, social and traceability criteria.
    Read more
    • Guidance
    • 2025

    CORSIA Sustainability Criteria for CORSIA Eligible Fuels (Fourth Edition)
    International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
    ICAO document setting the sustainability criteria that CORSIA eligible fuels must meet, covering greenhouse gas reduction, feedstock sourcing, land use and biodiversity, and social and economic themes, with separate criteria for CORSIA sustainable aviation fuel and CORSIA lower carbon aviation fuel. Note that lower carbon aviation fuels meeting these criteria are not classified as sustainable fuels. Fuel producers must be re-certified by an approved sustainability certification scheme every 365 days.
    Read more
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