The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) is an independent

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

established under the ''Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989''. Its function is to protect

Aboriginal sacred site An Australian Aboriginal sacred site is a place deemed significant and meaningful by Aboriginal Australians based on their beliefs. It may include any feature in the landscape, and in coastal areas, these may lie underwater. The site's status i ...

s within the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

of Australia. The 1989 Act originated in a 1977 bill, signed into law as the ''Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1978'' in November 1978, soon after the NT achieved self-government, and the Aboriginal Sacred Sites Authority was created. The legislation became a subject of controversy among developers, the

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

and the new Authority. Numerous amendments were proposed and debated, including its compatibility with the ''

Land Rights Act 1976 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on traditi ...

'', before the ''Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989'' was passed on 26 May 1989, coming into force on 15 August 1989. This Act created the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, which included new functions and expanded its work, and also introduced various measures to increase accountability. AAPA works with

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

to record "sites of physical, spiritual and cultural significance" on its Register of Sacred Sites. Prospective land developers are legally obliged to apply for an Authority Certificate through AAPA. It is governed by a board of 12 people, mostly senior Aboriginal custodians. The Authority Board is made up of two members appointed by the NT Government, and five male and five female Aboriginal custodians nominated by the four NT Aboriginal Land Councils.

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.aapant.org.au/ Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory Sacred natural sites Organisations serving Indigenous Australians Northern Territory legislation 1989 establishments in Australia