Regardless of Native Title, land may have cultural heritage value for indigenous people. Aboriginal cultural heritage consists of places and items that are of significance to Aboriginal people because of their traditions, observances, customs, beliefs and history. Aboriginal cultural heritage is dynamic and may comprise physical (or tangible) or non-physical elements. It includes items made in earlier times such as stone tools, art sites and ceremonial or burial grounds, as well as recent evidence such as mission buildings, massacre sites and cemeteries.
Exploration and mining activities have the potential to disturb, damage or destroy cultural heritage. Accordingly, as part of the process to prepare for exploration and mining, NSW minerals companies must take steps to identify and manage cultural heritage sites and places and, if it is not possible to avoid impacting on these sites, obtain the relevant consent under legislation. For ‘major projects’ this consent is provided by the Department of Planning under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act while consent for smaller projects such as exploration activity would most likely be determined by the Department of Environment and Conservation under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
To determine if an exploration or mining activity will impact indigenous cultural heritage, the company must search relevant registers of sites and consult with local indigenous people. The consultation requirements for Aboriginal Cultural Heritage are documented in the Interim Consultation Guidelines. A report is then prepared to identify the sites and assess their significance and conservation value and recommend ways for the sites to be protected such as fencing the sites, planning to avoid the sites, salvaging objects for cultural display, cultural training, and monitoring activities to ensure that no unidentified sites are damaged.
Further information on Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment can be found in the planning section of this site.