These councils have the power to pass by-laws, appoint police for the community, and are responsible for maintaining housing and infrastructure, running the Community Development Employment Program and issuing hunting, fishing and camping permits.
[2] As such, they work much like a local government, but are different in character as they own the land they administer on behalf of the community.
The first Aboriginal community to receive a DOGIT was Hope Vale on 27 July 1986.
[4] In the years following, many DOGIT communities were established—mostly in the Cape York Peninsula, Torres Strait Islands and Carpentaria regions.
From 1 January 2015, some trustees, namely those classified as "urban" or "future urban" (numbering 34) are able to convert parts of the collective title to either Aboriginal freehold or Torres Strait Islander freehold title.