Tasmania’s laws protecting First Nations heritage are the oldest and weakest in Australia.  The state government is now proposing a new law — the Aboriginal Heritage Bill 2026 — to replace rules that have barely changed since 1975.  

While this is a step forward, there are serious concerns about whether the new law goes far enough.  

Why does this Bill matter? 

Aboriginal cultural heritage includes physical sites like rock art, burial grounds and artefacts, as well as knowledge, stories, traditions and connections to Country. Once destroyed, this heritage is gone forever. 

Under the current laws, this destruction has already happened. For example: 

  • A bridge was built near Hobart over a site where around 3 million artefacts were found — evidence of 40,000 years of continuous First Nations presence. 
  • The minister approved five Aboriginal heritage permits despite the Aboriginal Heritage Council recommending against them. 
  • Illegal 4WD tracks continue to damage the nationally heritage-listed Tarkine, which contains rare rock art, burial sites and artefacts. 

What does the new Bill do? 

The proposed Bill introduces some improvements: 

  • A new Aboriginal Heritage Council with some decision-making power (not just an advisory role). 
  • New tools like stop orders, protection orders and heritage agreements to better protect sites. 
  • Stronger enforcement powers than the current law. 

What are the problems? 

Despite these improvements, the Bill does not meet international standards including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples or Australian best practice guidelines.  

The Bill falls short in important ways: 

  • It fails to embody the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) that is enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted in 2007. The declaration, to which Australia is party, declares: “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the Indigenous Peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.” 
  • Government ministers still hold most of the power.  
  • The First Nations community cannot choose its own council members or representative body. 
  • The minister can approve plans that allow heritage to be destroyed — even on economic grounds — bypassing the Aboriginal Heritage Council in some cases. 
  • Intangible heritage — songlines, stories, knowledge and traditions — is not protected. 
  • There is no process for the return of ancestral remains to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. 
  • The Bill is not part of the planning system, meaning protecting Aboriginal heritage will be considered too late in planning processes, if at all. 
  • There is a lot of scope for Aboriginal heritage protections to be watered down by exemptions and regulations. 

What should happen instead? 

The Tasmanian First Nations community should be in charge of decisions about their own heritage — not government ministers.  

The new law should be designed with and led by First Nations Tasmanians, and it should protect all forms of heritage, including intangible cultural heritage and cultural landscapes. 

Read EDO’s submission

EDO has made a detailed submission on the draft Bill. Read our submission here.

Read our submission guide

Our team has prepared a submission guide to help you make an effective and productive submission. Read our submission guide here.

Have your say 

Have your say by 5pm AEST on 6 July 2026 at the Tasmanian Government’s consultation portal.