The Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (FAIRA) is a community organisation owned and managed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. FAIRA was first incorporated on 5 April 1977 under the Queensland Companies Act and later (on 14 October 1993) under the Aboriginal Councils and Association Act 1976. FAIRA is a registered charity and a benevolent institution within the meaning of the Taxation Act. FAIRA is based in Brisbane, the capital city of the State of Queensland, however the objectives of FAIRA are concerned with the interests of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout all of Queensland. Membership of FAIRA is open to persons belonging to the Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia. Non-Indigenous people are welcomed as honorary members, although honorary members can not vote or be elected under our rules. The activities of FAIRA are controlled by a Governing Committee of thirteen people, who are elected at the Annual General Meeting by the ordinary members of FAIRA. The members of the Governing Committee include representatives from each of the regions of Queensland. FAIRA is an indigenous rights organisation concerned with human rights issues as they affect the Indigenous Peoples of Australia and elsewhere in the world. FAIRA endeavours to promote the practical use of studies and research under the control of Indigenous Peoples to pursue rights and equality, rejecting the tendency to study Indigenous Peoples from academic or pretentious perspectives. FAIRA was formed in 1977 to address the racist laws of the Queensland Government which denied the Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples the most basic of human freedoms such as freedom of movement and rights to representation. These laws were known as the 'Black Acts'. Although the 'Black Acts' were quashed in 1984, FAIRA has continued to campaign for the legal rights of the Indigenous Peoples, such rights to be adequately represented and protected in the laws of the national and state governments. Land Rights for the Aboriginal Peoples and the Torres Strait Islander Peoples has always been one of the central planks of FAIRA's policies. The FAIRA concept of Land Rights includes self government for the Indigenous Peoples. Because Australia has never signed a treaty or any formal agreement with the Aboriginal Peoples and the Torres Strait Islander Peoples, FAIRA supports the role and work of the Aboriginal Provisional Government (APG). FAIRA is the Queensland representative for the APG and participates actively in the APG programs, including the distribution of Aboriginal Passports to the Indigenous people. In 1994 FAIRA was appointed as a native title representative body (NTRB) under Section 203 of the Native Title Act 1993. The NTRB area for FAIRA is south east Queensland. FAIRA is a member of the National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title (NIWG), the national peak body for the NTRBs. Until 1990, FAIRA financed its operations mainly by fund raising and donations from charitable organisations, eg churches, unions, aid organisations. More recently FAIRA has received operational funds from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). FAIRA also benefits greatly through the large numbers of dedicated supporters of FAIRA who contribute with voluntary work and moral support. HOME | ABOUT FAIRA | NEWSROOM | ISSUES | >>> email FAIRA • LRQ FAIRA Aboriginal Corporation Phone +61 7 3391 4677 • Fax +61 7 3391 4551 • email letterbox@faira.org.au Post Office Box 8402 Woolloongabba Q 4102 Australia 37 Balaclava Street Woolloongabba