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Australian Values › Australian Values
What is the significance of the Mabo decision in Australian history?
- A landmark High Court ruling in 1992 that recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights to their traditional lands, overturning the doctrine of terra nullius
- It established Australia as a republic
- It established free healthcare for all Australians
- It granted women the right to vote
Why this is the correct answer
In 1992, Australia's High Court ruled in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) that the legal fiction of terra nullius — the idea that Australia was legally unoccupied before European settlement — was false, and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had legal rights to their traditional lands. This landmark ruling led directly to the Native Title Act 1993 and transformed the legal landscape of land rights in Australia.