Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Information System

What is the ACH Information System?

The ACH Information System will be a digital solution for Aboriginal communities. It will enable the community to manage their information on country and capture data that is:

• culturally appropriate
• supports cultural heritage management
• work with government systems to allow for effective ACH processes
• deliver big improvements to Aboriginal communities in ACH protection and conservation.

It will identify the key needs of Aboriginal communities in managing their cultural data and give a solution. This will act as part of the broader Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) reform process.

What we heard from community

In 2018, we asked Aboriginal communities about their data management practices. The system at the time was the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS). Communities said that they were not able to effectively manage their data in AHIMS.

The ACH Information System will replace AHIMS and will also support the delivery of:

• Premier’s Priorities of Modern government: Providing accessible, affordable and world-class services
• Closing the Gap outcomes, including shared decision making and shared access to data.
• OCHRE
• best practice principles such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Aboriginal Affairs NSW and Heritage NSW are working on research for a new information system (the system) for NSW.

The system will replace the AHIMS. It is a central element of the Aboriginal cultural heritage reforms.

The new system will let Aboriginal communities track and manage their cultural data. It will also allow government and industry to proactively work with Aboriginal people.

How will the ACH Information System project work?

The project will have several distinct phases:

• Discovery
• Development
• Assessment

Phase 1 – Discovery

This will focus on building a better understanding of the cultural data management problems. We will engage with users in the Aboriginal Community and develop insights.

Phase 2 – Development

Aboriginal Affairs NSW will engage experts to help improve the ACH Information System based on your feedback. We will then test it with you. This is an 'agile' method - where we try, test and learn to create digital solutions quickly. We will come back to the communities working on the project to test what has been developed and get feedback.

Phase 3 – Assessment and Future Planning

In March 2023, Aboriginal Affairs NSW will report on the findings of the project and what the next steps will be to develop the new system.

Development will move to the next stage once the problem and the solutions are fully understood.

Expression of Interest (EOI) process

Please Note the EOI process is now closed.

We would like to thank everyone who submitted an EOI as well as organisations and individuals who participated in the online information sessions.

If you missed out on submitting an EOI we would still love to hear from you. We will also provide regular updates on the project back to interested stakeholders. There will be opportunities to take part in later stages as the ACH Information System is developed and implemented.

Further information

Further information will be provided via the Aboriginal Affairs NSW website.

For all enquiries related to ACHIS, please contact the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Reforms team at achis@aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au.