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Aboriginal people and cultural life

Aboriginal people have lived in NSW for more than 40,000 years. There's evidence of this everywhere, in rock art, stone artefacts and sites across the state.

If you thought Aboriginal heritage was just about rock art, think again. Aboriginal culture is much bigger than this. It's a living, ongoing thing. It's deeply linked to the entire environment - plants, animals and landscapes.

The land and waterways are associated with dreaming stories and cultural learning that is still passed on today. This cultural learning links Aboriginal people with who they are and where they belong.

Protecting Aboriginal heritage means far more than looking after sites in parks or artefacts in museums. Aboriginal people need to be able to access land to renew their cultural learning. And they have to be involved and consulted in the conservation of the natural environment.

Aboriginal land management for biodiversity
Aboriginal landowners have a chance to create jobs and business opportunities while they manage Country for conservation. It’s all possible under Land Alive, an Environmental Trust-funded project under the BioBanking Scheme run by OEH.

Aboriginal Land Management Guides
Three Aboriginal Land Management Information Guides have been developed to outline the range and type of government programs available to assist Aboriginal groups access and use public lands, and assist Aboriginal and other landholders manage land access and natural resources.

Aboriginal people and biodiversity
Find out how Aboriginal heritage is inseparable from the natural environment - from individual plants and animals to ecosystems.

Aboriginal Places
Aboriginal Places can be declared by the Minister for Environment to protect areas and sites that are important to Aboriginal communities. OEH's Aboriginal Places policy and nomination form can also be accessed from the Aboriginal Places page.

Aboriginal  joint management of parks
Under a joint management arrangement, the government and local Aboriginal people share responsibility for a park's management. See how these arrangements work, and find out which parks in NSW are joint managed.

Aboriginal women's heritage
Download reports about the experiences and heritage of Aboriginal women in NSW.

Cemeteries
Read about the lonely burial sites that have been forgotten by the wider community but are unforgettable for Aboriginal people.

Places of significance
These range from small ceremonial sites to enormous mountains. In fact, everything in the landscape can have special meaning for Aboriginal people.

OEH Aboriginal Languages Policy
This policy forms part of the NSW Government Aboriginal Languages Strategic Plan and guides OEH staff and consultants employed by OEH in the use of Aboriginal languages.

OEH Aboriginal Regional Assessment Policy
This policy explains OEH's position and principles when undertaking Aboriginal Regional Assessments, to ensure the values of Aboriginal communities are included.

OEH Trade of Aboriginal Cultural Materials Policy and Community Guide
This policy and the guide explains the role of OEH staff when they or Aboriginal community members become aware of Aboriginal Objects for sale in NSW.

Regulation of Aboriginal cultural heritage
Aboriginal heritage is legally protected in NSW. Find out about OEH's regulation of Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Repatriation
OEH has a large collection of Aboriginal skeletal remains and cultural material. We're working on ways to return these to the communities they belong to. Find out more.

Rock art
What's the difference between drawings, paintings and engravings? How were they created? Where would you find them? Find out here.

Traces of past lifestyles
Find out about the stone tools, rock shelters, scarred trees and Aboriginal occupation sites scattered across NSW.