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3. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage

About the Cultural Heritage Unit

The department’s Cultural Heritage Unit administers the following Acts:

• Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003
• Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003.

The main purpose of the Cultural Heritage Acts is to provide effective recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage.

Support for land users and Traditional Owners

Our Cultural Heritage Unit helps land users and Traditional Owners protect and manage cultural heritage.

Learn more about how to comply with Queensland’s cultural heritage laws.

Review of the Cultural Heritage Acts

The department is undertaking a review of the Cultural Heritage Acts.

About the review

The review will examine whether the legislation:

• is still operating as intended
• is achieving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other stakeholders in Queensland
• is in line with the Queensland Government’s broader objective to reframe the relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• should be updated to reflect the current native title landscape.

The review will also examine whether the legislation is consistent with contemporary drafting standards.

Public consultation

The department:

• released a consultation paper (PDF, 634 KB) to facilitate discussion of key themes for the purposes of the review. The paper provided a brief legislative history, an overview of the key components of the Cultural Heritage Acts, discussion points and questions, and a summary of legislation in other jurisdictions
• held consultation sessions for stakeholders in June and July 2019 in Rockhampton (11 June), Mackay (12 June), Roma (18 June), Bundaberg (20 June), Cairns (25 June), Thursday Island (27 June), Mount Isa (16 July), Townsville (17 July) and Brisbane (22 July).

Stakeholder submissions

Stakeholders were invited to make a submission on the matters raised in the consultation paper, or on other issues, by 26 July 2019. The department is currently reviewing submissions from stakeholders, which are set out below.