Chris Turner

Chris joined the firm in 2016 as a graduate before being admitted and commencing as a lawyer in 2017. In the time since, he has worked extensively in the litigation of of Aboriginal land claim appeals under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) in the Land and Environment Court as well as native title claims under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) in the Federal Court. Chris has also acted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and corporations in the Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the Full Federal Court, as well as before the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Recent career highlights include:

• Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council v Minister Administering the Crown Land Management Act 2016 [2022] NSWCA 275, which overturned the first instance refusal of two Aboriginal Land Claims and clarified the operation of section 36(1)(c) of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.
• New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council v Minister Administering the Crown Land Management Act [2022] NSWLEC 142, which resulted in the grant of commercially valuable land adjoining the beachfront at Little Bay to La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council.
• Mace v State of Queensland [2019] FCAFC 233, which set out the general principles regarding the burden of proof in non-claimant applications under the Native Title Act 1993.