Traditional owners say their formal recognition as native title holders over Moreton Island off south-east Queensland means they can now use traditional fire management practices on the island hit by bushfires last week.

Cheers of elation rang out in the Federal Court at Brisbane on Wednesday when the Quandamooka people were formally recognised as traditional owners of the island following a legal process first launched more than two decades ago.

Traditional owner Joshua Walker hugs a supporter outside the Federal Court in Brisbane. Credit:AAP Image/Dan Peled

In handing down a consent determination negotiated between the native title holders and all levels of government, Justice Darryl Cameron Rangiah said it was a formal recognition of what the traditional owners had always known.

He said it was a day of celebration for the Quandamooka people but the suffering they experienced through colonisation should also be remembered.