There are several hundred Indigenous peoples of Australia; many are groupings that existed before the British colonisation of Australia in 1788

History of Australia before 1788

The first definite sighting of Australia by European explorers was in 1606. This date marks the beginning of the written history of Australia....

. Before Anglo-Europeans, the number was over 400.

Indigenous or groups will generally talk of their "people" and their "country". These countries http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/aboriginal_studies_press/aboriginal_wall_map/map_page are ethnographic areas, usually the size of an average European country, with around 200 on the Australian continent at the time of European arrival.

Within each country, people lived in clan

Clan

A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...

 groups: extended families defined by various forms of Australian Aboriginal kinship

Australian Aboriginal kinship

Australian Aboriginal kinship is the system of law governing social interaction, particularly marriage, in traditional Australian Aboriginal culture...

.