Office of the Chief Heritage Officer: Ancestral Remains Repatriation Program

Appendix B

Ancestral RemainsRepatriation

Program STATEMENT and financial assistance guidelines

Department of Indigenous Affairs

Purpose

The Department of Indigenous Affairs’ (DIA) AncestralRemains Repatriation Program is an ongoing program that aims to meet:

  • the current and emerging needs forthe appropriate management, burial or reburial and recording of discovered Western Australian ancestral remains reported to DIA; and
  • the repatriation and appropriate reburial of Western Australian ancestral remains that are currently held in temporary storage in various parts of the State.

The program provides financial assistance to Aboriginal organisations and communities that needs such assistance to commence and/or complete an ancestral remains project.

DIA’s Role in the Program

  • Management and ongoing update of the Register of Western Australian Ancestral Remains.
  • Provision of assistance (financial and non-financial) to facilitate the appropriate ‘in situ’ burial or repatriation and appropriate reburial of ancestral remains discovered within the State.
  • Liaison with the Commonwealth and the Western Australian Museum on repatriation issues.
  • Provision of a report to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts in accordance with section 20(1) of the Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.

Program Budget

DIA allocated $50,000 to the program for the 2012-13 financial year. Future years’ program allocation will be determined through the annual budget process.

Large projects may require further allocations to the program budget in each year.

Funding Criteria

The programprovides financial assistance only on items that are directly associated with ancestral remains burials, transfers and reburials. It does not provide grant funding for ongoing project operational costs.

As an initial guide the table below lists the items that the program funds, including items that the program does not fund.

Items Funded / Items Not Funded
Fuel & other transport costs / Salaries & wages
Ceremony costs or direct costs associated with reburial / Sitting Fees
Proportionate administration costs / Large capital items

Program’s Key Performance Indicators

  1. Number of ancestral remains in storage that have been appropriately managed and repatriated to a final resting place with DIA assistance.
  2. Number of ancestral remains in storage that have been repatriated to a culturally appropriate long-term temporary resting place with DIA assistance.
  3. Number of reburials from sites to be impacted that have been appropriately managed with DIA assistance.
  4. Number of burials that have been successfully stabilised ‘in situ’.
  5. Number of land agreements for ancestral remains burials that have been negotiated and finalised with DIA assistance.

Applicationsfor Financial Assistance

DIA welcomes expressions of interest from organisations interested in obtaining some financial assistance to commence or complete an ancestral remains project.

Prospective applicants for project financial assistance are requested to complete an ‘expression of interest’in the first instance using the prescribed Form (Appendix C). A completed form should be sent to DIA marked to the attention of the DIA Manager, Regional Heritage Engagement.

A DIA Committee will consider formal expressions of interest, and all applicants will be contacted in due course to arrange a mutually suitable date and time for a DIA officer to meet with an applicant to discuss andassist with the completion of a prescribed formoutlining details about theproject proposal.

Disbursement and Acquittal of Funds

Organisations requesting financial assistancein the current financial year may receive an allocation from the program’s budget in both the 2012-13 and subsequent financial years, depending on the magnitude or complexity of the project(i.e. disbursement of program funds is confined to items and/or activities or services that are needed and can be completed within the applicable financial year).

Where the timeline for a proposed project extends to the next and subsequent financial years, the funds that will be provided in a particular year is limited to an amount that is required for the items and/or activities or services that are supplied and completed within that year.

Disbursement of funds is made upon presentation of invoices for specific items and/or services to be obtained to deliver specific outcomes or milestones. A brief report is required to be submitted within two weeks of completion of the project, marked to the attention of the DIA Manager Regional Heritage Engagement.

For large projects, funds will be disbursed on a staggered basis. An initial disbursement will be made on presentation of an invoice for specific items or services to be obtained in order to deliver a specific milestone. The next and subsequent disbursements will be made upon receipt of a report that such milestone has been completed, including an invoice for the items and/or services required to achieve a subsequent milestone, and the same process applies thereafter.

Appendix C

Ancestral Remains Repatriation Program

Financial Assistance Application Form (expression of Interest)

Department of Indigenous Affairs

Section 1Applicant Details

Organisation: / Tel: work
Postal Address: / Tel: mobile
Residential Address: / Email Address:
Amount Requested (inc GST) / $ / ABN:

Section 2Project Details

Current Location of Ancestral Remains
TO Stakeholders / Contact Details

Section 3Project Budget

Estimated project expenses / Amount
Fuel & other transport costs
Ceremony costs or direct costs associated with reburial
Proportionate administration costs
Other costs (describe)
Other costs (describe)
Other costs (describe)
Total

Section 4Key Performance Indicator (1 to 5)____

Section 5Activity Description

______

______

Print Name: ______Signed: ______

Position: ______Contact telephone numbers:______

Email: ______Date:______

Ancestral Remains Repatriation: Program Statement & Financial Assistance Guidelines

Version 1, 8 January 2013

Department of Indigenous AffairsPage 1