Repatriation of Ancestral Remains - the Queensland Position

The Department of Family Services and Aboriginal and Islander Affairs released the. Draft Version 2.00 Queensland Government Policy on the Protection and Return of Significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Property in 1993. The Policy’s principal objectives are to:

• Recognise the ownership and custodial rights of Australia’s Indigenous peoples with respect to movable significant cultural property which is currently in the possession of public institutions both in Australia and overseas:

• Facilitate the return of such property to the relevant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people or communities; and

• Require holders of private collections to return cultural properties to their rightful owners where possible.

The Queensland legislation

The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 and the Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003 intends that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage should be protected.

The Acts recognise that Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who have a traditional or familial link with Aboriginal human remains are the owners of those remains regardless of how they have been held previously. They may at any time ask the State to return the human remains to them.

Five fundamental principles underlie the main purpose of the Act. These are that:

1. The recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage should be based on respect for Aboriginal knowledge, culture and traditional practices;
2. Aboriginal people should be recognised as the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of Aboriginal cultural heritage;
3. It is important to respect, preserve, and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of Aboriginal communities and to promote understanding of Aboriginal cultural heritage;
4. Activities involved in recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage are important because they allow Aboriginal people to reaffirm their obligations to 'law and country'
5. There is a need to establish timely and efficient processes for the management of activities that may harm Aboriginal cultural heritage.' (Part 1, Division 2, s 5).

However, there js as yet no clear and unambiguous process that empowers Indigenous decision making surrounding the identification, storage, care and eventual repatriation of Indigenous human remains.

The legislation also includes provisions regarding blanket protection of significant sites, duty of care, the establishment of a cultural heritage register, assessment of significant sites, development of management plans, allocations of permits, stop work orders, penalties and prosecution. However, again, the means by which Indigenous peoples and communities manage and make decisions on these matters continues to be unclear and under resourced across the state.