Your Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage is something that is personal to you. You do not need a letter of confirmation to identify as an
You can provide a letter of Confirmation from a registered Aboriginal community organisation as proof of Aboriginality.
Letter from an Indigenous organisation or Community Elder
We prefer a letter from an Indigenous organisation to confirm your heritage. However, we will also accept a letter from a Community Elder. Use the Confirmation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent letter to confirm your heritage.
Since legislation for Indigenous people was a state matter, each state found its own definition for 'Aboriginal'. Examples: Western Australia: a person with more than a quarter of Aboriginal blood. Victoria: any person of Aboriginal descent.
“An Australian Aboriginal genome does not exist and therefore to even propose that a test is possible is scientifically inaccurate,” Ms Jenkins said. “The two companies which currently offer this 'service' use sections of DNA called single tandem repeats (STRs) that vary in the number of copies each person has.
This allows us to better understand how health issues for Indigenous Australians might be the same as, or different to, other Australians. The best way to get this information right is for us to ask you the standard Indigenous status question and let you answer for yourself.
The test has three elements, all of which must be proved by the person claiming to be Aboriginal: the person must identify as Aboriginal, the Aboriginal community must recognise the person as Aboriginal, and the person is Aboriginal by way of descent.
One Nation NSW has proposed to abolish self-identification and introduce a “new system” relying on DNA ancestry testing with a result requiring a finding of at least 25 per cent "Indigenous" before First Nations identification is accepted.
In Australia, 812,000 people identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represented 3.2% of the population.
Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use and control their lands, waters and other resources. Governments shall recognise and protect these lands, waters and resources (Article 26).
In 1943, the Aborigines Welfare Board* allowed Aboriginal people to apply for a 'Certificate of Exemption'. This certificate gave Aboriginal people access to the same previously denied benefits as non-Aboriginal Australians, such as pensions, public education, and housing.
At the end of the June quarter of 2016, around 45% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over (220,800 people) were receiving some form of Centrelink income support payment, compared with 26% of non-Indigenous Australians of this age (4.9 million people).
Provides access to Medicare services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. You can identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian by completing the Medicare Voluntary Indigenous Identifier form.
This includes those who identify as First Nations (North American Indian), Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), and/or those who report being Registered or Treaty Indians (that is, registered under the Indian Act of Canada), and/or those who have membership in a First Nation or Indian band.
native title benefits are now considered non-assessable non-exempt (NANE) income and are therefore not subject to income tax (however, income earned from investing a native title benefit is assessable as income)
But Aboriginal people are subject to the same social security laws and entitled to no more (and no less) government sponsorship than any other Australian. There has never been a government program that distributed free houses or cars, and Aboriginal students have to pay for university like everyone else.
Censuses of Aboriginal Australians. Information about Aboriginal Australians has not been collected consistently in censuses. Aboriginal Australians have been counted in some censuses of the Australian population, but have been deliberately excluded from other censuses.
The 1971 Census of Population and Housing was the first time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were included in the population count. This was a symbolic moment in the long struggle for First Nations recognition and rights.
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (see above) provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. The freehold land cannot be sold or transferred, but it can be leased.
The New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme provides ex-gratia payments of $75,000 to living Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families and committed to the care of the New South Wales Aborigines Protection or Welfare Boards.
This means Aboriginal ancestors can only be reliably detected through direct maternal or paternal lines (using mitochondrial and Y-chromosome tests). The only two companies to offer “Aboriginality tests” – DNA Tribes and GTDNA – rely on short tandem repeat (STR) genetic testing.
Between 2014–15 and 2018–19, after adjusting for inflation, the median gross weekly personal income for Indigenous Australians aged 18 and over fell by 5.6%, from $518 to $489 (Figure 1).
Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced.
We ask everyone coming to our hospital if they are from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. This is because we can offer you services that can provide you cultural support through your care.
Funding available
The maximum available is $2,500. This grant can be used toward: Legal fees including the administrative costs of buying a property, and preparing a will. Property valuations.