Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Reforms

What are the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage reforms?

The ACH reforms will replace outdated parts of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, with new laws to govern ACH in NSW.

There have been lots of efforts towards reform over the last twenty years. The current reforms build upon the great work from the 2018 ACH reforms and processes since then.

The protection and management of Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW is currently regulated through Part 6 of the Act. This focused more on the conservation and protection of flora and fauna.

This is outdated, culturally insensitive, and is in urgent need of change. Aboriginal decision-making in the management and protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage is needed.

The NSW Government is committed to:

• listening to Aboriginal communities to better understand how can celebrate and protect ACH
• a phased approach to reforming ACH legislation through immediate action
• Aboriginal voices shaping the development of a new ACH Bill through the ACH Council
• providing a clear roadmap for reform and in working towards principles of self-determination
• more informed practices that recognise Aboriginal custodianship over their own culture and heritage
• an Aboriginal agency will own responsibilities of managing and protecting ACH in NSW. This will be under the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty and the interim ACH Council.
• increased fines for harming ACH and create equity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage.

The ACH roadmap

The ACH reform roadmap shows all stakeholders what to expect in each phase.

The roadmap provides details on when and how a transition to the new system will happen. It shows how we will support industry and landowners in that process.

The phased approach to the ACH reforms is a slight change of the existing approach. The phased approach to reform has the following key elements:

• Phase 1a: Amendments to the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974,
• Phase 1b: Kick off the Interim ACH Council. The design, consultation, and introduction to Parliament of standalone ACH legislation,
• Phase 2: Deployment of standalone legislation, including:
  • Ongoing consultation and co-design with all stakeholders
  • Transition processes, and
  • Training and capacity building for all users
•  Phase 3: Full Delivery of Services under the new legislation.

We understand that there hasn't been much community consultation since 2018. Our focus since that time has been on key Aboriginal stakeholders, NSWALC and NTSCorp and key cluster agencies in Government.

There will be opportunity for broader consultation across the state in 2024 when a draft Bill is available.

Who handles the reforms?

Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty NSW are responsible for the ACH reforms. Throughout the phased approach culturally focused functions will transfer to them.

Contact Aboriginal Affairs

For current compliance functions of ACH, please contact: Biodiversity, Conservation and Science Group of the Department of Planning and Environment