New Cultural Heritage Protection Act and Heritage Register on the way

Tasmania’s Aboriginal cultural heritage is ancient, unique and irreplaceable. 

It spans tens of thousands of years, and we are only starting to appreciate its extent and significance.

The Tasmanian Government recognises the importance of Tasmania’s Aboriginal cultural heritage to Tasmanian Aboriginal people - and all Tasmanians - which is why we committed to developing a new, stronger, Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Protection Act.

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Roger Jaensch, said the Tasmanian Government intends to release a Draft Exposure Bill for the new Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Protection Act for further consultation next month as part of its second 100-day Plan, ahead of its introduction to Parliament.

He noted other measures in the 2024-2025 State Budget that will support this new Act – including funding for a new Aboriginal Heritage Register and an Aboriginal Heritage Consultants Training program.

“To support the new Act, we have committed an additional $300,000 to finalise an improved Aboriginal Heritage Register, which will significantly improve Aboriginal Heritage assessment response times,” Minister Jaensch said.

“The current Aboriginal Heritage Register has been in place since November 2014 and is no longer fit for purpose.

“The Register contains approximately 13,500 site recordings, Aboriginal Heritage assessment reports, digital and business records, and is critical to support Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania’s desktop review process that may prompt further management actions.”

The new Register will be web based with a public facing platform to provide greater accessibility and functionality. It is anticipated that the new Register will go live in the second quarter of 2025.

The 2024-25 State Budget also includes $1 million over 2 years to develop and deliver a training package which will support Tasmanian Aboriginal people to build knowledge and skills to become Aboriginal Heritage Consultants.

The training package will be developed by Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania and the Aboriginal Heritage Council and will include certified training courses, placements within Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, and with specialist cultural heritage consultants as well as placements in Aboriginal community-based organisations.

The design and scoping of the program is expected to be finalised before the end of the year.