What is Aboriginal heritage?
Aboriginal heritage holds significant value to Aboriginal people for their social, spiritual, historical, scientific, or aesthetic importance within Aboriginal traditions.
This could include rock art, ancient caves or burial sites, waterways, ceremonial sites or scar trees.
Laws are in place in Western Australia to protect and manage Aboriginal heritage. Before undertaking any activities on your land, check for Aboriginal heritage.
The State Government will commence a long-term plan over the next 10 years to undertake heritage surveys of unsurveyed areas in high priority areas of the State, with the consent of landowners. Surveys will be centrally held and published by Government, and available to view by all land users.
There will be no requirement on everyday landowners to conduct their own heritage survey, Surveys required for the purposes of mining, extractive industries and major land subdivisions will continue to be the responsibility of industry, however the State Government’s long term survey plan will be of assistance to all Western Australians, including these industries.
Search for Aboriginal heritage on the ACHIS map viewer
The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System (ACHIS) provides locations and information about Aboriginal heritage in Western Australia.
Quick Search Tips
- Click ‘What do you want to do’ at the top of the page.
- Select ‘Search for ACH Directory’ as a filter.
- Enter the street address in the search box.
- Select Continue once you have read the disclaimer.
- If Aboriginal heritage is present, it will appear on the left-hand side.
Use our Quick User Guide to support your search.
The results will include past survey reports, places, cultural landscapes, protected areas, local Aboriginal cultural heritage services and Native Title Parties.
For more information and support, call the Department on (08) 6551 8002 to speak to one of our staff or complete the form below.
Need help?
You can download the full user guide or our team will be happy to help you complete your property search. Lodge your request below.
Downloading search results
Show moreSearch results can be displayed in a list or table format, downloaded as a PDF report, or exported as a Microsoft Excel or .csv file.
Refer to the User Guide for instructions.
Request site files
Show moreThe Department can arrange access to the contents of specific Aboriginal cultural heritage information and reports upon request, provided they do not contain culturally sensitive information, or where appropriate permissions have been provided. To access files and heritage survey reports electronically, or to provide information about Aboriginal heritage, please contact aboriginalheritage@dplh.wa.gov.au.
About the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System
Show moreThe ACHIS provides details, such as:
- the location and extent of each Aboriginal cultural heritage place and cultural landscape Note: to preserve confidentiality, the exact location and extent of some places are not displayed on the map—however a shaded region (generally with an area of at least 4km²) provides a general indication of where the place is located
- the Directory record status for each place or cultural landscape:
- Directory: Aboriginal heritage place or cultural landscape. Aboriginal places assessed as ‘Registered’ or ‘Lodged’ under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 will appear in the Directory.
- Pending: Aboriginal heritage place or cultural landscape with information in a verification process.
- Historical: Aboriginal heritage places determined to not meet the criteria of section 5 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. Includes places that no longer exist as a result of land use activities with existing approvals.
- Local cultural Aboriginal heritage services and Native Title Parties.
- Permits and Management Plans including the area, title and proponent. (Note: historical and transitional section 18s will not be available on 1 July, and will become available some weeks later).
- Survey report details including the area, title of the report and author.
- Protected areas showing the relevant area and name. Details of conditions that relate to a protected area can be provided on request.
Some information on the ACH Directory, including the precision of Aboriginal cultural heritage boundaries, is based on historical information provided before the use of accurate spatial referencing tools such as GPS or high-resolution mapping systems. It therefore may be inaccurate and indicative.
Please check the status of the ‘boundary reliable’ field for any Aboriginal cultural heritage you are accessing. If you are aware of updated information relating to Aboriginal cultural heritage, please report this information to the Department.
Terms of use
Show moreYour use of the department’s website is subject to the terms of use.
The following copyright applies to maps and images on ACHIS:
- Geoscience Australia Copyright for topographic map information shall at all times remain the property of the Commonwealth of Australia, Geoscience Australia, National Mapping Division. All rights reserved. (2005).
- State of Western Australia:
- Aerial Photography, Cadastre, Local Government Authority, and Native Title boundary data copyright © Western Australian Land Information Authority trading as Landgate.
- Copyright for Geothermal Application, Geothermal Title, Mining Tenement, Petroleum Application, and Petroleum Title boundaries shall at all times remain the property of the State of Western Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum. All rights reserved.
The information provided is made available in good faith and is predominately based on the information provided to the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) by third parties. The information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment as to the accuracy of the information. If you find any errors or omissions in our records, including our maps, it would be appreciated if you email the details to DPLH at AboriginalHeritage@dplh.wa.gov.au and we will make every effort to rectify it as soon as possible.
Scheduled outages
Show morePlease note that the ACHIS is unavailable during the following times (Western Australian time):
- Monday – Sunday: 10:00PM – 11:00PM
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 02:00AM – 03:30AM
- Wednesday: 00:30AM – 04:30AM
