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General Information

Permits Conditions Visitor Conduct

Aboriginal land is private land. It is not Crown land, nor public land.

Moreover, Aboriginal people have a special connection with their land, including responsibilities to safeguard the physical health and the spiritual health of the land, such as the protection of sacred sites.

Like other landowners in Australia, Aboriginal people have the legal right to grant or refuse permission to people wishing to enter or travel through their land.

Permits

If you want to visit, drive through or work on Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory, you are legally required to have a permit to do so.

The permit system is designed to help protect the privacy of Aboriginal communities, preserve Aboriginal culture, safeguard the natural environment and promote visitor safety.

Every year, many thousands of people use the permit system to visit or travel through Aboriginal land in the Top End. The Northern Land Council administers the permit system on behalf of the traditional owners of much of this land. Permits are issued only if the traditional owners grant approval.

Separate application forms are required for tourists/transit travellers/workers and those wishing to conduct any research or media activities on Aboriginal land.

Please read the separate Tourists and Workers and Research and Media sections, where you will also be able to download the forms.

Click Here for Regional office phone numbers

For further enquiries contact: permits@nlc.org.au

All areas south of Tennant Creek:
Contact the Central Land Council
PO Box 3321, Alice Springs, NT 0871
Phone: 08 8951 6211, Fax: 08 8953 4343

Conditions

A permit is simply a written permission to visit the private land of a family or group of Aboriginal people.

Permits are subject to conditions. In particular, visitor permits do not allow visitors to fish, hunt or carry out commercial activities, including filming, on Aboriginal land.

There are occasions when permits are not granted or are cancelled. This could be because of a death or a funeral, because a ceremony is being conducted in the area, or it could be because of weather or road conditions. We ask that you accept these possible limitations and respect the situation.

Permits are not needed if you are travelling on the public highways. Travel on some private roads is not permitted at all.

NB: There is a perception that the road between Ramingining and Maningrida is only closed to tourists when ceremonies or funerals are taking place. This is not correct. The road is closed to ALL non-local traffic.

Visitor conduct

Visitors must remember that they are travelling on private land and they need to respect the privacy of people living in the communities.

Aboriginal people tend to be more polite to strangers than most non-Aboriginal groups and are therefore more inclined to "agree" to requests from visitors - for example to take photographs - so it is important to avoid taking advantage of people's hospitality, offending people or intruding into people's lives.