First Nations cultural protocols

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), including knowledge, stories, designs, songs and visual elements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, is largely not protected under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The Act protects individual authors and recorded works. ICIP often vests in communities, has no individual author, and may be unrecorded.

What does exist

• AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research (2020). Sets out free, prior and informed consent principles. Widely adopted.
• Creative Australia (formerly Australia Council) Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts. Published guidance for arts practitioners. Not legally binding but treated as professional standard.
• State-level cultural heritage laws (for example the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA), the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld)) restrict photography or disclosure of specified sites and objects.

Practical questions

Photographing significant cultural sites, ceremony, or identifiable individuals in a cultural context normally requires consent from the relevant community or knowledge-holder. Many sites have restrictions communicated through signage and ranger management. Some images, even if lawfully captured, may not be appropriate to publish. Images of the deceased are an example: traditional protocols in many Aboriginal communities discourage publication, and major media organisations and museums publish warnings on such material as a standard practice.