Engaging with Traditional Owners before making your permission application

This information is for our permission applicants in the pre-application stage.

Your development licence application must include all of your pre-application stakeholder engagement. This includes engagement with Traditional Owners.

Traditional Owner cultural values

Traditional Owners are the traditional custodians of the lands and waters of Australia.

Country is embedded with culture, stories and songlines. It includes ceremonial places and sites of significance. These remain, even in areas that have been physically changed by development. For Traditional Owners, cultural values exist within landscapes. Country and culture are alive. There are no distinctions between water, land and air.

Traditional Owner cultural values relate to:

• cultural knowledge that brings a unique understanding of interactions in the environment, including:
  • the health of Country
  • potential harms arising from pollution and waste
• cultural practices that:
  • have shaped the environment
  • contribute to the environment’s ongoing health
  • are vital to healthy Country.

Cultural values are present in every landscape. But some landscapes hold unique cultural and spiritual importance. Preserving such landscapes is crucial to maintaining the associated cultural values.

Traditional Owners’ rights

Traditional Owners have rights and interests across their Country under:

• Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006
• Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010
• Native Title Act 1993
• Recognition and Settlement Agreements.

The Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 provides laws to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage. It establishes Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs). They speak for Country on cultural heritage matters and maintain Cultural Values. We have no role regulating the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006.

Go to the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council for:

• a map and relevant contact information for RAPs
• advice if no formal recognition applies to an area.

Traditional Owners are the primary authority on cultural values within their Country. Engaging with Traditional Owners before submitting your permissions application can:

• enable early identification of project risks to Country
• help you understanding cultural values
• identify impacts that may not be apparent from desktop assessment
• allow time for engagement and feedback
• support development of your application for a permission or other regulatory approvals
• help all parties achieve better outcomes.

Inviting Traditional Owners to engage on projects should be a key part of your engagement program.

What Traditional Owners need to know about your project

Provide as much information as possible about your application.

• Identify any impact or risk of impact to cultural heritage and cultural values.
• Highlight any potential for impact on any cultural values contained in the Environment Reference Standard (ERS). Traditional Owner water values may include:
  • traditional aquaculture
  • fishing
  • harvesting
  • cultivation of freshwater and marine foods, fish, grasses, and medicines
  • filtration of water holes.
• Identify potential uses or risk of impact to land, air and waterways. This includes:
  • risk of impact during construction or future site operations
  • waste discharges
  • transport of waste
  • contamination that may impact Country.
• Traditional Owner Corporations may request information from your application such as:
  • environmental assessments
  • proposed incident management procedures.
  • information about access to Country during construction, operation or decommissioning.
• Identify other regulatory approvals needed for your project. These will also be relevant. Traditional Owners may request information beyond what is required in your application. For more information, visit pre-application engagement guidance.

Assessing your project risks

As an applicant for development licence approval, it’s your responsibility to:

• identify the Traditional Owners relevant to your application
• conduct a risk and impact assessment. This is to determine how your project may impact on cultural values
• respond to any potential impacts or risks to cultural values identified in your risk assessment.

Key information sources to use

• Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Register Information System (ACHRIS) provides information on culturally sensitive locations. Not all information in ACHRIS is publicly accessible. There are 3 ways people can obtain detailed cultural heritage information from ACHRIS:
  • Engage a Heritage Advisor for a Cultural Heritage Management Plan. They can access ACHRIS and advise on registered cultural heritage information.
  • If you’re the landowner, apply to access the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register if you’re the owner of the property.
  • If you’re not the landowner, apply for a certificate of advice, or Aboriginal Heritage Certificate.
• VicPlan map - includes an Aboriginal Cultural heritage overlay.
• Country plans - many Traditional Owner Corporations provide a Country plan on their website. Not all RAPs currently have Whole-of-Country Plans in place. Where available, they may help you understand cultural values for that area and aspirations for Country.
• Aboriginal water values and uses and Aboriginal people and groundwater.
• Our guidance for:
  • hydrogeological assessment for groundwater quality
  • risk assessment of wastewater discharges to surface waters.
• Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018 (part 2, division 3) - outlines areas of cultural heritage sensitivity, including:
  • old waterways
  • ancient lakes
  • identifiable geological areas and formations.
• For advice on engagement with RAPs and other Traditional Owner groups (including referencing their Country plans):
  • First Peoples - State Relations
  • Catchment Management Authorities
  • Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

Engaging directly with Traditional Owners

RAPs in Victoria are all at different stages. Their interests and capacities vary. Keep this in mind when engaging with them. Traditional Owner corporations may have limited time and resources.

If your risk assessment identifies risks to cultural values, contact the Traditional Owner Corporation. Arrange a meeting to discuss your project as early as possible.

Be clear about your application. Advise Traditional Owners about options or decisions that could potentially impact cultural values.

Meeting protocols

Be aware that engagement with Traditional Owners may be different to working with other organisations. Tailor your approach to meet their needs.

• Use Traditional Owner Corporation booking forms to request meetings: Before your meeting, consider completing cultural safety training. This helps you understand their cultural values. It also informs how intergenerational trauma affects Traditional Owner engagement. The following organisations offer cultural safety training:
  • Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
  • Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency
  • Koorie Heritage Trust
  • Mob Jobs.
• Provide ample timeframes for responses and meetings.
• Consider Traditional Owner governance and cultural protocols. This will:
  • demonstrate appropriate respect
  • build greater trust
  • lay stronger foundations for working together.
• Traditional Owners may prefer meetings to be held on their sites.
• Consistency of personnel in meetings will be helpful.
• As with any engagement, matching seniority with organisational seniority is appropriate.
• Be aware of protocols and customs.
• Traditional Owners may request a consultation fee.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Principles and Guidelines.