​Preparing new Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation

​​​​​​​​New legislation is being developed to replace the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975 in response to the 2019-21 review.

​​​The Government is committed to working together with Tasmanian Aboriginal people and organisations, key non-Aboriginal stakeholders and relevant agencies to ensure it gets the detail of the new legislation right.​

Public consultation on the Draft Aboriginal Heritage Bill 2026 opened on 30 March 2026, with explanatory material to assist with its interpretation, and closed at 5:00PM 6 July 2026.

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Background​​

The Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975 (the Act) was reviewed in 2019-21, and the Review Report was released in July 2021. 

 Review of Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975 Report (PDF 373Kb)

It was accompanied by a Tabling R​eport that outlined the Government’s response, including a commitment to develop new and comprehensive legislation to replace the Act.  

 Tabling Report - Review of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975 (PDF 217Kb)

A consultation paper was released for public consultation in March 2022:

  A new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Protection Act - Consultation Paper on High-level Policy Directions (PDF 2Mb)​

The submissions to that paper are published on the Submissions​ web page. ​

A 2023 update on the Bill’s development summarises the progress towards reform at that time. The core principles, objectives and policy positions remain intact in the current draft: