The Kelly Review explained

The Kelly Review looked at how native title and Aboriginal cultural heritage processes work for mining and exploration in Western Australia. The Government has now published the report, its response and an implementation timeline. This guide summarises those documents, what they mean for heritage surveys and the steps proponents and native title parties can take while the detail is developed.

What the Kelly Review is

The review was commissioned by the WA Government in 2025 and carried out by the National Native Title Tribunal, with support from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC). It was facilitated by Tribunal Member Glen Kelly, and the report names Glen Kelly and Stephanie Clark as its authors. It drew on regional forums and direct engagement.

The report, titled Review of Native Title and Heritage Processes in Western Australia, is dated 9 February 2026. It was delivered to Government on that date and tabled in Parliament on 9 June 2026. The Government's response to its recommendations is published on DPC's review page.

The report identifies several recurring problems raised by people it consulted, including:

• heritage survey costs that were described as high and, for some smaller proponents, prohibitive
• repeated surveys over ground that had already been cleared, and uncertainty about how long clearances remain valid
• no consistent, sector wide standard for the content and quality of heritage reports
• concerns about how cultural information and intellectual property are handled

What the Government has committed to

DPC's review page says the Government supports the majority of the review's recommendations. Some are not supported because they duplicate work already underway or recently undertaken by Government, or because they conflict with existing policy settings. The Government's 9 June 2026 media statement announced an additional $3.2 million to implement the recommendations, building on the existing $58 million Native Title Party Capacity Building Program. The statement also said the Government would consider an incentive payment for native title parties to help facilitate approvals, and DPC's review page says the amount of that payment is still under consideration.

The media statement describes the package as including:

• clearer guidance to support participation and decision making
• stronger standards for heritage consultants, including a code of conduct and certification system
• better access to information, to encourage earlier engagement between industry and Traditional Owners
• a State wide Native Title Party Support Strategy to build the capacity of Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) and other native title organisations

There is no new heritage law. DPC has said the Government does not intend to introduce amendments to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 or the Mining Act 1978 as part of its response. The Native Title Act 1993 is Commonwealth legislation. Implementation is led by DPC, supported by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage and the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration.

On 14 September 2026 the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs announced that Glen Kelly, a former Tribunal member, would chair a new Native Title and Heritage Standards Working Group. The group brings together Traditional Owners, industry representatives and technical experts. Its initial priorities are an Interim Heritage Standard for mineral exploration and a standard process agreement for mining tenements.

The implementation timeline

DPC has published an implementation timeline that runs from the second quarter of 2026 to the third quarter of 2028. The dates are Government targets and may change as consultation proceeds. In the table, ILUA means Indigenous Land Use Agreement.

In short, consultation on the interim heritage standard is scheduled for late 2026, Regional Standard Heritage Agreements are due to be withdrawn in the first quarter of 2027, and the consultant code of conduct and certification regime is due to start in the first half of 2028. DPC has said consultation drafts of the standard and guidance will be released as they are developed.

What the RSHA withdrawal means for explorers

The review described the Regional Standard Heritage Agreement (RSHA) as a key structural irritant. It recommended retiring the RSHA as a policy instrument and replacing it with contemporary minimum requirements. Under the Government's timeline, RSHAs are to be withdrawn and the interim heritage standard implemented in the first quarter of 2027.

The content of the interim standard is not yet public, so it is too early to say exactly how survey practice will change. What can be done now is to understand where existing arrangements depend on the RSHA. Useful questions include:

• Which tenements or heritage agreements are based on the RSHA?
• Which surveys are planned for 2027 or later under those arrangements?
• Which agreements with native title parties refer to the RSHA by name?

Having those answers ready will make it easier to respond to the consultation draft and to plan any transition once the interim standard is settled.

Consultant code of conduct and certification

The review noted that while peak bodies exist for archaeologists and anthropologists, there is no enforceable accreditation requirement for practice. It recommended developing an accreditation and standards framework for heritage practitioners in partnership with peak bodies, with input from PBCs and proponents, together with a code of ethics and conduct and a voluntary certification mechanism for consultants providing services to PBCs. People consulted broadly supported accreditation, but said any approach must preserve PBC choice.

Under the timeline, consultation on a code of conduct and certification regime is scheduled for 2027 and implementation for the first half of 2028. DPC has said it expects certification to be voluntary.

The Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc. (AACAI) wrote to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on 23 June 2026 in response to the review. The letter supported a certification program, offered to collaborate on its development and noted AACAI's existing Code of Ethics and practice standards.

About the cost figures

Heritage compliance costs have been part of public discussion of the review. One set of figures comes from a member survey that the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) commissioned from ACIL Allen, dated 28 November 2025. It covered 59 AMEC member organisations, which together submitted 85 Aboriginal cultural heritage activities for analysis. The report found that:

• external consultants and legal advisers accounted for about 60% of external payments and costs, and Native Title Groups and representative bodies about 40%, made up of payments for monitors (4.1%) and payments to Native Title Groups and representative bodies (35.7%)
• for surveys conducted over 10 days or less, the average cost was $23,817 per day
• organisations reported spending an average of 552 days (median 260 days) managing and complying with heritage requirements per activity

AMEC's campaign page presents the same split as $60 to external consultants, $36 to Aboriginal groups and $4 directly to Aboriginal people as survey monitors, for every $100 spent.

The ACIL Allen report breaks survey costs into several components: pre-survey work such as GIS, desktop, environmental and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System assessments; heritage consultant costs; Aboriginal consultant costs; monitors; travel, accommodation, meals and vehicle hire; and reporting. The review report separately recorded that evidence it received indicated a significant proportion of total expenditure often flows to external consultants rather than to PBCs or Traditional Owners. It also found that repeated surveys and uncertainty about how long clearances remain valid can result in duplication and delay, and linked the lack of reporting standards to dispute and resurveying.

The Government's response addresses these issues through the interim heritage standard, policy and technical guidance, better access to information and the consultant code of conduct and certification regime.

What you can do now

• List the tenements, agreements and survey programs that rely on an RSHA and are planned to run past March 2027.
• Check that past survey reports and spatial data are complete and well organised, so they can be considered when planning future work.
• Watch DPC's review page for the consultation draft of the interim heritage standard. The page lists NTCHReview@dpc.wa.gov.au as the contact for the review.
• Talk early with the native title parties you work with. The withdrawal of RSHAs affects agreements on both sides.

How Trace Archaeology helps

Trace Archaeology provides Aboriginal heritage surveys and heritage advice across WA and the NT, working with proponents and Aboriginal Corporations. We can help you review an existing heritage program, organise past survey records and plan surveys around the changes scheduled for 2027. Our guide to the types of Aboriginal heritage surveys explains the main survey approaches, and our heritage services page covers the full range of work we do.

To talk about a heritage program ahead of 2027, contact our heritage team.

Frequently asked questions

When will Regional Standard Heritage Agreements be withdrawn in WA?

The Government's implementation timeline has RSHAs withdrawn in the first quarter of 2027, at the same time as the interim heritage standard is implemented. These are target dates and may change as consultation proceeds.

Is the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 changing after the Kelly Review?

No amendments are planned as part of the response. DPC has said the Government does not intend to amend the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 or the Mining Act 1978. Changes are being made through standards, guidance and process.

Will heritage consultants in WA need to be certified?

A code of conduct and certification regime is scheduled for consultation in 2027 and implementation in the first half of 2028. DPC has said it expects certification to be voluntary.

This article is general information as at October 2026, not legal advice.

References

All accessed 20 October 2026.

1. Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Native Title and Cultural Heritage Processes Review (web page, last updated 23 June 2026). wa.gov.au
2. Glen Kelly and Stephanie Clark, National Native Title Tribunal, Review of Native Title and Heritage Processes in Western Australia (report dated 9 February 2026, published 9 June 2026). wa.gov.au (PDF)
3. Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Targeted review of Native Title, cultural heritage processes released (media statement, 9 June 2026). wa.gov.au
4. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, New chair for Native Title and Heritage Standards Working Group (media statement, 14 September 2026). wa.gov.au
5. ACIL Allen for the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, The Cost of Complying with Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Requirements: 2025 AMEC Member Survey (report, 28 November 2025). amec.org.au (PDF)
6. Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (campaign page, last modified 23 June 2026). amec.org.au
7. Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc., letter to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs responding to the Native Title and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Processes Review (23 June 2026). aacai.com.au (PDF)