Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (Murujuga) Declaration 2025

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander  

Heritage Protection (Murujuga) Declaration 2025

I, MURRAY WATT, Minister for the Environment and Water, make the following declaration under subsection 10(1) of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.

Dated 12 SEPTEMBER 2025

MURRAY WATT

Minister for the Environment and Water

Part 1 - Preliminary matters

1 Name 

This instrument is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (Murujuga) Declaration 2025.

2 Commencement 

This instrument commences on 12 September 2026.

3 Authority 

This instrument is made under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.

4 Definitions 

Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 3 of the Act, including the following:

(a) Aboriginal

(b) Aboriginal remains

In this instrument:

Aboriginal site means any place of particular significance to Aboriginals where traditions, customs, ceremonies or beliefs are practised or observed in accordance with Ngarda-Ngarli tradition.

Aboriginal object means any object or thing of particular significance to Aboriginals in accordance with Ngarda-Ngarli tradition, including but not limited to petroglyphs, rock art, middens, stone arrangements, paintings, artefacts, Aboriginal remains, fish traps, fish increase sites, stone tools, scarred trees, or any other object or thing made, created, used or arranged by Aboriginals in accordance with Ngarda-Ngarli tradition.

Act means the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984. declared area means the area described in section 5 of this instrument.

industrial gaseous emissions includes but is not limited to ammonia, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulphur.

MAC means the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (ABN 51 627 395 274).

Part 2 - Declaration of an area as a significant Aboriginal area to be preserved and protected from injury or desecration

5 Declared area

(1) This instrument is made in relation to an area (the declared area) known as Murujuga, Western Australia, which is the area identified in the geographical information systems spatial dataset titled ‘ATSIHP_Declared_Area_Murujuga.shp’ held by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on 10 September 2025.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the declared area does not include parts of Dampier Road, Burrup Road and The Esplanade as shown in the spatial dataset referenced in subsection (1).

Note: The map in Schedule 1 illustrates the declared area.

6 Protection and preservation of declared area

(1) A person must not move, damage, deface, or otherwise disturb an Aboriginal site or Aboriginal object in the declared area.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply:

(a) to a Traditional Owner or Traditional Custodian acting in accordance with Ngarda-Ngarli tradition;

(b) to emergency services personnel acting in the course of their duties;

(c) where a person has received prior written agreement from the MAC to move, damage, deface or otherwise disturb the Aboriginal site or Aboriginal object.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), an Aboriginal site or Aboriginal object is taken not to be moved, damaged, defaced or otherwise disturbed by, or as a result of, industrial gaseous emissions.

Note: Under subsection 22(1) of the Act, a person commits an offence if the person engages in conduct that contravenes a provision of a declaration made under Part II of the Act in relation to a significant Aboriginal area.

7 Period of effect

This instrument has effect for 10 years from the date this instrument is registered.

8 Repeal

This instrument is repealed the day after the end of the period specified in section 7 of this instrument.

Schedule 1—Map of declared area - Murujuga, Western Australia