Recommendations for reform of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006

Sometimes it is grief that drives us to create visions of better futures and strategies to realise them.

As a Council of Traditional Owners, the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council grieves for the unrelenting destruction of our Cultural Heritage. We are not alone but walk with all Traditional Owners, trying to make sense of the seemingly dismissive response of the broader community and government to this profound loss.

The way forward for Council, the way to galvanise our grief into action, has been through a comprehensive review of the legislative controls that were established to protect our Heritage. After broad consultation through 2020 and 2021, Council has now made 24 recommendations for reform of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006.

If these reforms are affected, the positive change for protection, management and lived engagement with our Cultural Heritage will be profound.

The full suite of recommended reforms, the solutions they will provide and community response to the recommendations are detailed in Taking Control of Our Heritage – Realising self-determined ownership of our Culture, Heritage, History and Country through reform of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006.

View the online publication

Taking Control of Our Heritage - Recommendations for reform of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006

Download the document