Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

The Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) represents the Wadawurrung people, who are members of the Kulin Nation from the coastal country in the west of Port Philip Bay. 

The WTOAC was formerly named the Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative Limited and incorporated under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976 (Cth) (now the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)).

On 21 May 2009, it achieved Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) status, under the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic).

The key objectives and responsibilities of WTOAC are to:

• evaluate Cultural Heritage Management Plans;
• provide advice on applications for Cultural Heritage Permits;
• make decisions about Cultural Heritage agreements;
• provide advice or applications for interim and ongoing Protection Declarations; and
• preserve the values of culture of the Traditional Owners.

Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) status in Victoria

The WTOAC was appointed by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council (the Council) as a RAP on 21 May 2009 under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006. 

Area of responsibility 

In its role as a RAP, WTOAC is responsible for land and waters in central Victoria and Port Phillip Bay. The area of responsibility stems from Aireys Inlet in the South, traverses north-east along the Surf Coast towards Queenscliff and St Leonards, and then north towards Bacchus Marsh. The area's boundary then proceeds west towards Beaufort, and incorporates land as far south as Lismore, Shelford and Winchelsea. A map of the area is attached below.

The first RAP application from WTOAC was approved on 21 May 2019, and in 2013 the original area was extended to include additional land north of Ballarat. See the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council's website for a detailed decision history. 

Activities as a RAP

WTOAC undertake a range of activities, including providing the following:

• Cultural Heritage Assessments, Agreements and Management Plans
• Landscaping, Plant Selection and Land Management Consultancy
• Construction Methodology
• Consultation with Government on behalf of Developers
• Salvage and Repatriation of Ancestral Remains and Artefacts
• Advice on the Preservation of Aboriginal Culture
• Cultural Education
• Wadawurrung Language services

See more about the services that the WTOAC provides via the url above.

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