Marika Behr Assistant Director,
Directorate of Heritage and Biodiversity
Conservation (DHBC), EE Branch
Martin Rowney - Senior Consultant, Godden
Mackay Logan (DEHP member)

• ‘Indigenous’ vs ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples’.
• Indigenous heritage is the tangible and intangible aspects of Indigenous culture.

Tangible heritage is the visible aspects - rock art sites, stone artefact scatters, wooden objects, shell middens, and burials – these have been created by people.
• Artefact scatters
• Rock art, engravings
• Scarred trees
• Middens
• Burials

Intangible heritage is the invisible aspects - the stories, which are represented by places in the landscape, such as mountains, rivers, or pathways. To Indigenous people, these places have been created by the ancestors.
• Mountains
• Rivers or creeks
• Pathways
• Caves
• “Sickness Country”

• Intangible heritage is highly significant to
Indigenous people, and is often regarded by them as more important than tangible heritage.
• There are gender sensitivities in Indigenous culture. Aboriginal men will not talk to women about men’s business (ie. men’s sites or cultural information).
• Aboriginal women will not talk to men about women’s business.
• Don’t assume that if you have not been told there is a sacred site on a property, there isn’t one.
• Don’t expect to be told exactly where a site is or why it is important.

• Indigenous heritage is protected under the
EPBC Act.
• Defence must not take actions that have an adverse impact on heritage values (s.341ZC).
• Heritage Management Plans (HMP) help
Defence protect Indigenous heritage. HMPs are prepared by heritage consultants for
Defence, in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

• There is a heritage management plan for almost all the Defence-managed properties which are on the Commonwealth Heritage
List – 136 individual listed places on 62
Defence properties.
• For example, there are HMPs for Amberley,
Nurrungar, Point Cook, Garden Island (NSW),
Jervis Bay, Learmonth AWR.
• A new HMP is being prepared for Yampi
Sound Training Area, WA.

• DHBC or Senior Environmental Managers and
Regional Environmental Officers can tell you whether a HMP has been prepared for a property.
• HMPs are important reference documents for your project. They contain information about the heritage values of the place and recommendations for how these should be protected during works.
• While HMPs can provide overall guidance, in many instances, additional information and consultation with Indigenous groups is required when specific projects are being undertaken.
• This additional information is usually provided in a Heritage Impact Assessment.

• The Australian Government recognises that
Indigenous people are the custodians of their culture and are only ones who can talk with authority about their culture.
• Under the EPBC Act, Defence must consult with
Indigenous communities about their heritage.
• DHBC is preparing Guidelines for consultation with Indigenous communities about Indigenous heritage. The Guidelines will assist in engaging in consultation, and will provide a framework for engaging with Indigenous people.