The Department is seeking feedback on the draft Bill which provides for the recognition, protection and management of Aboriginal heritage, to establish the Aboriginal Heritage Council and repeal the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975.
The draft Bill responds to the findings of the legislative review in 2019-20. A copy of the review, timeline of the consultation, and related background information are available on the Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania page for the proposed legislation.
To view the draft Bill and explanatory materials please visit:
Details about the key changes to the current legislation are available at these pages:
How to make a submission
You can provide a submission using the survey form below:
Written submissions can also be emailed to aboriginalheritageact@heritage.tas.gov.au
Submission are open until 5:00 PM on 6 July 2026.
Timeframes
30 March 2026 - 6 July 2026
| Public Engagement
| Current
|
July - August
| Review Consultation Feedback
| Upcoming
|
August 2026
| Public Consultation Themes
| Upcoming
|
August to October 2026
| Draft Bill reviewed in response to feedback
| Upcoming
|
Late 2026
| Bill tabled in Parliament
| Upcoming
|
Further Engagement
The Government will continue to work with Tasmanian Aboriginal people and organisations to seek guidance on appropriate consultation approaches and governance to inform the draft Bill.
Implementation
The draft Bill provides for Regulations, Guidelines and other instruments to provide detailed guidance on how the Act will operate. For example, the proposed Regulations will:
Outline the process for registering Aboriginal Heritage – including new nomination processes where appropriate
Set thresholds for activities that require Management Plans
Specify decisions, other than those set out in the Act itself, that will be appealable
Set regulatory fees
Set penalties for Infringement Notices
The draft Regulations, and associated Regulation Impact Statement, will be informed by consultation on the draft Bill and continuing engagement.
Acknowledging that these details are important to inform the final Bill, the intent is to complete the development of the Regulations and the required impact assessment prior to the Bill being debated in Parliament.
Privacy information
Privacy and copyright information
Other than indicated below, submissions will be treated as public information. Your feedback will normally be published in full, and may be included in a published summary report of submissions.
Important information to note
In the absence of a clear indication that a submission (or parts of the submission) is intended to be treated as confidential, the submission will be treated as public. However, personal addresses, phone numbers and email addresses will be redacted.
If you would like your submission treated as confidential, whether in whole or in part, please indicate this in writing at the time of making your submission that you want to remain confidential and the reasons why. In this case, your submission will not be published, to the extent of your request.
Copyright in submissions remains with the author(s), not with the Tasmanian Government.
Submissions containing defamatory or offensive material, in whole or in part, will not be published.
If your submission includes information that could enable the identification of other individuals then either all or parts of the submission will not be published.
The Right to Information Act 2009 and confidentiality
Information provided to the Government may be provided to an applicant under the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI).
If you have indicated that you wish all or part of your submission to be treated as confidential, your statement detailing the reasons may be taken into account in determining whether or not to release the information in the event of an RTI application for assessed disclosure. You may also be contacted to provide any further comment.