Reshaping Queensland’s cultural heritage laws

Opportunities to improve cultural heritage protection

Opportunities to improve cultural heritage protection through increased consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including intangible cultural heritage, and strengthening compliance mechanisms.

A suite of proposals (both legislative and non-legislative) has been developed to increase the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in managing and protecting their cultural heritage, and strengthen existing compliance mechanisms, as well as introduce new compliance mechanisms.

• Proposal 1 - Replace the current Guidelines with a due diligence process that requires greater engagement, consultation and agreement making with the Aboriginal party and Torres Strait Islander party to protect cultural heritage.
• Proposal 2 - Integrate cultural heritage protection and mapping into land planning to enable identification of cultural heritage at an early stage and consideration of its protection.
• Proposal 3 - Amend the Cultural Heritage Acts to expressly recognise intangible elements of cultural heritage.
• Proposal 4 - Provide a mechanism to resolve and deal with issues arising under the Cultural Heritage Acts.
• Proposal 5 - Require mandatory reporting of compliance to capture data and support auditing of the system.
• Proposal 6 - Provide for greater capacity to monitor and enforce compliance.

See the proposed Cultural Heritage Assessment Framework here.

Reframing the definitions of Aboriginal party and Torres Strait Islander party

Reframing the definitions of Aboriginal party and Torres Strait Islander party so that people who have a connection to an area under Aboriginal tradition or Ailan Kastom have an opportunity to be involved in cultural heritage management and protection.

Option 1: Proposed changes in areas of Queensland where there is no registered native title holder or registered native title claimant

In these areas:

• An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, claiming to have a connection to the area under Aboriginal tradition or Ailan Kastom, can request recognition as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander party
• The Cultural Heritage Acts are changed so that a previously registered native title claimant is not a native title party of an area, and section 35(7) is removed.

Party status applications would be reviewed by a First Nations independent decision-making body.

Option 2 : Proposed changes in areas of Queensland where the Aboriginal Party or Torres Strait Islander party is a previously registered native title claimant subject to a negative determination

In these areas:

• The native title party status of a previously registered native title claimant subject to a negative determination is removed from the CHA
• The Cultural Heritage Acts are changed so that a previously registered native title claimant subject to a negative determination (native title does not exist) is not a native title party
• Section 35 (7) of the CHA applies in these areas

Promoting leadership by First Nations peoples

Promoting leadership by First Nations peoples in cultural heritage management and decision making.

Proposal 1

Establish a First Nations-led entity with responsibilities for managing and protecting cultural heritage in Queensland. The entity could work with existing or future local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups who manage cultural heritage matters within their respective areas.

Creating a First Nations-led entity would promote greater self-determination, by moving away from government making decisions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Proposal 2

The First Nations independent decision-making entity, in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, explore the most culturally appropriate approaches for recognising historical connection to an area for the purposes of cultural heritage management.