New South Wales' longest-running native title claim and oldest-existing matter in the Federal Court of Australia has been determined in favour of the land's traditional owners.

In 1996, the Yaegl people from the Lower Clarence region on the NSW north coast lodged a claim over land between Harwood and the mouth of the Clarence River.

A second claim was lodged in 2011 which sought native title over an area that covered approximately 1,400 square kilometres of the Clarence Valley.

On Thursday, the Federal Court granted the native title by consent at a sitting of the court in Yamba.

Justice Jayne Jagot told the crowd the drawn out nature of the process had been shameful.

"How sad, indeed how shameful it is [in] that many of the matters, the people who started the claim often become too aged or too infirm to see the matter through or passed away never having seen their labours bear fruit," she said.

"Delays of this kind sap away any sense of justice or fairness in the process."

It was an emotional moment for traditional owner Eileen Mcleay.

"We already lost Auntie Della, who was one of the claimants who first started with my sister Joyce," she said.

"It's just a hard long journey ... you're fighting, fighting all the time, you get knocked back from someone and then you've got to get back up again.

"That's all we've been doing until today but today is different, today is our day."

'Justice delayed is justice denied': NTSCorp

Natalie Rotumah from the native title service provider NTSCorp said it was now broadly acknowledged that the process is taking too long.

NSW's longest-running native title claim has been determined in favour of the land's traditional owners, the Yaegl people of the Lower Clarence region. ( ABC News: Bruce Mackenzie )

"Justice delayed is justice denied," Ms Rotumah said.

"I think the Federal Court is certainly picking up on some of the issues around how long these processes are taking.

"I certainly know that NTSCorp along with the New South Wales Government, once they can get over our Yaegl determination, have every intention of sitting down at the drawing board and trying to work out a process that is acceptable."

Ms Rotumah said it was a bittersweet day for the Yaegl people as some of those who lodged the claim are not alive to see it determined.

"There's going to be mixed emotions all round," she said.

"There will be certainly a high that it's come to a conclusion, but we've been meeting with elders and some of the applicants and you know, there were a few tears shed, just in remembrance of elders.

"And not only elders, but younger Yaegl men and women that we've lost along this very long battle."