Questions over governance of Native Title royalties remain as an appeal was launched against access to financial records of a major Traditional Owner organisation in South Australia.

Members of the Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association were granted access to inspect a master trust of tens of millions of dollars from mainly uranium mining royalties after a lengthy legal battle over records in the courts.

ATLA was established 20 years ago to look after land, culture, Native Title rights, grants and other business interests for the Adnyamathanha people in South Australia, with the aim of preventing poverty.

The Indigenous regulator, the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC), removed ATLA's directors and appointed special administrators to ATLA in March last year, after identifying wide-ranging "chronic and severe problems" including in spending and governance".

ATLA is among an increasing cohort of Indigenous organisations facing serious financial governance questions, as calls for a royal commission into the operation of Native Title, the Indigenous corporations and the regulator grow.

There are 3,300 Indigenous corporations and of those the top 500 generated $2 billion a year from mining royalties, government grants and other business interests.

Many were more complex than ATLA in structure.

ORIC is considering several options to bring transparency to ATLA as well as its separate trust, Rangelea, which has had approximately $58m in aggregate royalties flowing from mining on Adnyamathanha Land.

ATLA is a registered native title corporation with about 850 members and receives millions of dollars in royalties from mining operations on Adnyamathanha lands.

It also holds a stake in the Flinders Ranges Resort.

Access to the ATLA master trust, controlled by Rangelea Holdings – a company run by former ATLA chief executive Vince Coulthard – was granted earlier this year when the SA Supreme Court upheld a 2023 ruling that gave ATLA access to Rangelea's financial documents.

A special inspector was also appointed to report on the financial activities of the company.

But Rangelea has since appealed the court's decision - that Native Title holders have statutory rights as beneficiaries of the trust – to audit documents and records of how tens of millions of dollars from royalties related to the Heathgate mine in SA were spent.

ATLA special administrator Peter McQuoid told Adnyamathanha common law holders he was frustrated Rangelea directors had "once again commenced a new appeal", which could delay any final outcome by up to 18 months.

Efforts for transparency on how Native Title compensation money has been managed by Rangelea has been assisted by three community members - Reginald Wilton, Ivan McKenzie and Sarah Taylor - who joined ATLA as applicants in the court case.

Mr McQuoid said just before last month's trial that Rangelea made "a very limited offer to Reginald, Ivan and Sarah" to look at the recent financial statements of Rangelea, with strict conditions including the discontinuation of court action to inspect the Adnyamathanha Master Trust's records.

"This proposal was declined because Rangelea was only offering to let Reginald, Ivan and Sarah look at very limited information, and because Rangelea required they keep everything confidential and not share the information with any other Adnyamathanha Native Title holders," he said.

"If Rangelea's proposal had been accepted, it would also mean there was no chance of getting the Court to appoint an inspector, and so ATLA and the rest of the Adnyamathanha Native Title holders would not receive any access to the information requested about how Rangelea has been managing the compensation money."

ORIC - the federal agency that examines governance of all Indigenous organisations - in 2020 removed ATLA's directors, due to "chronic and severe problems" with spending and governance.

In 2021 monthly mining royalties of hundreds of thousands of dollars were halted due to concerns over ATLA's financial management, with about $20m in its accounts held under court control.

The findings have fuelled further calls for a royal commission to investigate Native Title operations, an issue recently thrust into the public hemisphere and one that could severely impact a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for true First Nations economic empowerment, equality and security.

ATLA was established 20 years ago to manage land, culture, and Native Title for approximately 3000 Adnyamathanha people living in SA's Flinders Ranges, with the goal of preventing poverty.