Repatriation - the Australian situation

Statutory Obligations

At the present time there are no statutory obligations placed on Australian museums and collecting institutions, Commonwealth, State or Territory, regarding care and management of human remains.

Museums Australia – policy and guidelines

Museums Australia is the peak national and professional body representing the Australian museum and gallery sector.

Museums Australia has adopted the “Continuous Cultures, Ongoing Responsibilities” policy which outlines its principles and guidelines for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage. The policy emerged from a survey of 48 Australian museums, art galleries, state libraries and archives with significant collections of Indigenous material. While it is a valuable guide for collecting institutions throughout Australia, it has no enforcement powers.

This is a continuation of a policy called Previous Possessions, New Obligations, which was launched in 1993. the plain English version of this policy, which was released for Indigenous communities and small museums and galleries is now the most widely distributed version.

National Museum of Australia

Under Section 21(c) of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1987, the National Museum of Australia (NMA) is identified as a Prescribed Authority, on behalf of the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, for the purposes of safe-keeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander human remains for which the Minister cannot identify the relevant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community.

This includes provenanced and unprovenanced remains that have been returned to Australia from overseas institutions and placed in the NMA Repository.

The Museum has no authority to be a repository for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander human remains under any other legislation.

AAAC National Task Force on the Return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Property.

On 22^nd October 1993, the Australian Aboriginal Affairs Council (AAAC) National Task Force established “National Principles on the Return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Human Remains and Significant Cultural Property”.

The Principles call for recognition of Aboriginal ownership of ancestral human remains and cultural property and emphasise the pre-eminent role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the repatriation process.

The Principles were adopted by the governments of the Commonwealth and each State and Territory; they also committed to progress the development of an overarching and collaborative legislative and policy framework on repatriation. The Principles were also picked up in the draft Repatriation Policy of the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).

However, in spite of attempts by ATSIC in the 13 years since then, no national framework has been established and no Government has mirrored the minimum standards of the ATSIC draft document or have set any statutory obligations in place.