The Aboriginal Heritage Act applies in relation to the protection of places and objects which may be of importance and significance to people of Aboriginal descent in Western Australia. In particular it applies to places and objects (and storage areas for objects) that may have sacred, ceremonial and ritual significance.
The Act provides for the registration of all places in Western Australia of traditional or current sacred, ritual or ceremonial significance to persons of Aboriginal descent.
It also provides for the reporting of such sites and objects to the Registrar of Aboriginal Sites, or the Police. An Aboriginal site may be declared a Protected Area.
It is an offence for anyone to excavate, destroy, damage, conceal, alter, or deal in any way with an Aboriginal site or object, and to take possession of and/or deal with any object under or on an Aboriginal site. |
