Frequently asked questions
A series of FAQs in relation to the review.
1. Why is there another review when there was one in 2014?The review of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (the Act) announced by the Minister on 8 March 2018 is a completely new process that is independent of any other previous reviews. Following strong feedback on the Aboriginal Heritage Amendment Bill 2014 that Aboriginal people had not been properly consulted on the proposed changes, the Minister is determined to hear the views of all stakeholders on what the issues are.
Although there will be some feedback from other reviews that will be repeated in this review, it is important that we start this review with very open questions to the whole community about what is wrong with the existing legislation. The answers from this process will be used to frame proposals that will be put back out for more consultation.
It is important that the process that will give rise to legislation is fair, open and transparent. People who are making a submission through any of the consultation processes on behalf of an organisation will be asked to give their full name and position within that organisation to ensure they have the authority to provide that submission. Individuals can request that their name is not published with their feedback on the department’s website.
Phase One of the proposed three-phase consultation process ran for nine weeks in total. There were four weeks ‘reading and thinking’ time to prepare for participation in workshops, plus a final week after the last workshop to finalise written submissions.
There will be a wide range of views on what needs to change. The department is analysing the feedback to each question and using that to form a range of possible options, so not everyone’s ideas can be taken forward into the proposals. Once the State Government has considered the proposals, the department will publish them in a Discussion Paper and undertake another round of consultation to collect the community’s feedback.