You are here: Home > Who we are > Corporate governance > Aboriginal affairs

Aboriginal affairs

The Department is developing a new Aboriginal Affairs Priority Statement (AAPS). The AAPS will include strategies from the NSW Government's Aboriginal Affairs Plan for engaging with communities and improving services.

The AAPS will specify how the Department will:

• improve its capacity to work with Aboriginal communities
• enhance Aboriginal community capacity, leadership and economic independence
• build partnerships by involving Aboriginal people in service-delivery planning and decision-making.

The statement will focus on strategies for making the Department deliver a service that is more responsive to the needs of Aboriginal communities. It will emphasise Aboriginal culture and heritage, the protection of the environment and other key social indicators.

Existing Aboriginal policy documents and information includes:

Aboriginal people and cultural life - information from the National Parks and Wildlife Service on Aboriginal culture and heritage and the importance of involving Aboriginal communities in conserving the environment.

Statement of reconciliation - acknowledgement from NPWS staff that the Indigenous peoples are the original custodians of the lands and waters, animals and plants of New South Wales and its many and varied landscapes.

Aboriginal heritage at Sydney's Botanic Gardens - the Botanic Gardens Trust and local Aboriginal communities work together to create themed gardens and displays, educational programs, guided tours and publications that acknowledge the significance of the gardens lands to Aboriginal people, past and present.