International repatriation

Repatriation is a collaborative process. We encourage a holistic approach to repatriation where overseas governments, institutions and private holders work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to return ancestral remains.

The Australian Government has supported international repatriation for over 30 years. We are currently progressing returns from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and New Zealand. We also have a joint arrangement with France and working closely with other countries. This demonstrates the ongoing commitment to work cooperatively to facilitate the repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains to their rightful custodians.

For more information, email repatriation [at] arts.gov.au.

More information

Fact sheet—international repatriation

Published 24th Dec 2019

PDF: Fact sheet—Indigenous Repatriation—International—November 2019 (488.02 KB)

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DOCX: Fact sheet—Indigenous Repatriation—International—November 2019 (196.73 KB)

The Australian Government supports the unconditional return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains through the Indigenous Repatriation Program.

Questions and answers—international repatriation

Published 24th Dec 2019

PDF: Indigenous Repatriation—international—questions and answers—December 2019 (478.75 KB)

DOCX: Indigenous Repatriation—international—questions and answers—December 2019 (204.11 KB)

For more than 150 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains were removed and sent to museums, universities and private collections both in Australia and overseas. They were collected by medical officers, anatomists, ethnologists, anthropologists and pastoralists. At the time of collection, ancestral remains from many Indigenous cultures around the world were highly sought after for scientific research and the value it was believed they added to collections.