Possible changes to the Native Title claim for the entire South East region will be canvassed at two meetings in Mount Gambier next month. The claim was lodged in 2017 by the First Nations of the South East.

The claimants include the biological descendants of a dozen late residents of Bordertown, Millicent, Penola, Kingston and Mount Gambier.

One of the purposes of the two meetings on February 6 is to consider amending the claim by extending the eligibility criteria.

Native Title rights are pre-existing (pre-colonial) rights held by Indigenous peoples and groups as derived from their laws and customs.

The Native Title Act established a legal framework to manage and resolve the diversity in the rights and interests to lands and waters.