Sir Roland Wilson scholar James Gaetani is investigating how Australia’s public law framework supports traditional decision-making in Indigenous entities.

James is a Special Counsel from the National Indigenous Australians Agency and commenced his Sir Roland Wilson scholarship in 2022.

Several Australian laws require groups of Indigenous peoples, such as native title holders and traditional owners of Aboriginal land, to make particular decisions in accordance with traditional processes (where they exist).

These groups often manage, or are custodians for, significant interests – including large areas of land – which can considerably contribute to the advancement of Indigenous peoples.

“Often, government bodies or the courts will need to determine whether a traditional decision-making process has been followed. To do this, Australia’s public law framework has to understand the application of traditional laws and customs in these circumstances” James explains.

Through his PhD research, James will map how, and evaluate how well, the Australian public law framework understands traditional decision-making in Indigenous groups and entities. He will also examine how some comparable overseas legal systems seek to understand the application of traditional or customary law in their respective jurisdictions to explore whether any strategies could be adopted in Australia.

“By investigating how the Australian legal system can better understand traditional laws and customs, particularly where they are central to the governance of Indigenous entities or groups, I believe my research has the potential to transform how the public sector supports entities or groups that drive Indigenous advancement.”

By providing scholarships to high-performing public servants such as James, the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation supports research of national significance, with the potential to improve the lives of all Australians.

The Sir Roland Wilson scholarship is a three-year full pay scholarship for PhD research at The Australian National University (ANU) for high performing EL1 and EL2 Australian Public Service (APS) employees.

The Sir Roland Wilson Pat Turner Scholarship is a one-to-three-year full pay scholarship for any level of postgraduate study at ANU or Charles Darwin University for high performing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander APS 4 to SES Band 1 APS employees.

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