OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR, Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)

Steve was first appointed as Registrar in 1998.

The role of the Registrar has evolved since then with the most important change being the creation of the statutory office of Registrar with the amendments to the Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 2002.

Steve is a graduate of Macquarie University in Politics and Legal Studies; he has a professional certificate in arbitration from the University of Adelaide and is a trained mediator.

Steve's guiding principles in the role of Registrar are the integrity of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act and its ability to provide real, lasting benefits to Aboriginal people in New South Wales.

Adam joined the Registrar's office in 2001 after having graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Australasian Prehistory. He holds and Advanced Certificate in Agribusiness Administration from Marcus Oldham Farm Management College along with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Aboriginal Studies and Archaeology from La Trobe University and a Master of Indigenous Knowledge (Mawul Rom) from Charles Darwin University. He is currently in the final stages of completing a Master of Heritage Conservation at the University of Sydney.

For the past 11 years, Adam has worked in all aspects of the Registrar's Office and is now currently the Acting Office Manager. His primary duties involve the allocation of work, management of day-today performance and quality and skills development of more junior team members within the office.

Adam completed his mediation accreditation at the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators in 2002 and works extensively in developing the office's cross-cultural mediation practice. He has extensive experience with multi-party land dealing negotiations and considerable training and experience in investigations management.

Adam maintains affiliation and provisional membership with the Mawul Rom Association, LEADER Association of Dispute Resolvers, Australian Archaeology Association, National Trust of Australia and the Historic Houses Trust (NSW).

Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours majoring in Archaeology from La Trobe University, Melbourne and a Bachelor of Arts (Visual) from the College of Fine Arts, Sydney. She has a breadth of experience in Aboriginal Affairs having worked for 8 years as a consultant in cultural heritage before commencing in the Registrar's office in 2006. Megan uses her experience and knowledge of archaeology, anthropology, genealogy and linguists to undertake and manage research projects associated to the Register of Aboriginal owners.

She has gained considerable experience in all aspects of alternative dispute resolution and gained a certificate in mediation from the Trillium Group in 2006. Megan is a 2nd year participant of the Mawul Rom Masters Project, a 4 year cross cultural mediation and leadership course. She hopes to graduate in 2012 with a Masters of Indigenous Knowledge, Mawul Rom.

Megan uses her expertise to provide in-depth advice to Aboriginal Land Councils regarding the administration of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.

Maurice is a Yuin man from Wallaga Lake. He joined the Registrar's office in 2007 after having worked in the Community and Programs Unit within the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Maurice has a lifetime of experience working with the Aboriginal community of New South Wales. Maurice uses this experience to manage and coordinate the Consolidated Local Aboriginal Land Council Membership Rolls for 121 land councils.

Over the past 3 years, Maurice has continued to use his wide community profile to build the confidence and trust of the Aboriginal communities in the work of the Registrar's office.