​​​​​​The Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975 (the Act) was reviewed in 2019-20, and the Review Report was released in July 2021. It was accompanied by a Tabling Report that outlined the Government’s response, including a commitment to develop new and comprehensive legislation to replace the Act.  

A consultation paper – A new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Protection Act – High-level Policy Directions – outlining the Government’s proposed approach to new Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation that will better respect and protect the State’s irreplaceable Aboriginal cultural heritage was released for public consultation in March 2022. The submissions to that paper are published on the submissions​ page. ​

 

​ A new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Protection Act - Consultation Paper on High-level Policy Directions (PDF 2Mb)

We are committed to working closely with you to ensure we get the new Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation right. 

Following analysis of the feedback from the consultation paper we are developing a Draft Exposure Bill. We will undertake a full process of public consultation on that draft Bill in 2023 prior to finalising it for introduction into Parliament for debate.

Background on previous consultation, and more generally on the Act, is on our Legislation page. 

In accord with government policy, with minor exceptions we publish all submissions made. Other than as indicated below, submissions are treated as public information and will be published on our website.

Your name (or the name of the organisation) will be published unless you request otherwise. No personal information other than those names will be published.

If you would like your submission treated as confidential, whether in whole or in part, please indicate this at the time of making your submission, clearly identifying the parts of your submission you want to remain confidential and the reasons why. In this case, your submission will not be published to the extent of that request. 

In the absence of a clear indication that a submission (or parts of it) is intended to be treated as confidential, the Department will treat the submission as public.

Copyright in submissions remains with the author(s), not with the Tasmanian Government.

The Department will not publish, in whole or in part, submissions containing defamatory or offensive material. If your submission includes information that could enable the identification of other individuals, then either all or parts of the submission will not be published.

For anyone interested in having a discussion or looking for more information, please contact the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Legislation Team at: Email: aboriginalheritageact@dpac.tas.gov.au​

​