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Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register

The register holds information about known Aboriginal cultural heritage places and objects within Victoria.

The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Register and Information System (ACHRIS) is the online tool that is used to access the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register. (ACHRIS supports Chrome and Firefox browsers. Chrome is recommended.)

The register is a central repository for Traditional Owners to store information about cultural heritage and includes:

The following documents are kept on the register:

Who can access the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register?

The Register can only be accessed by people or organisations who need detailed information on cultural heritage places and objects to protect and manage them.

The Register is not a publicly accessible register as it contains culturally sensitive information.

How to access or get information from the register

Contact us:

First Peoples - State Relations staff provide assistance for ACHRIS on weekdays from 9:30am to 4:30pm:

Why do we have the register?

The Department of Premier and Cabinet is required to maintain a register of Aboriginal places and objects under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006. The quality and type of information available to users of the Register is fundamental to the management of Aboriginal heritage now and into the future. Over 39,000 Aboriginal objects and places have been recorded on the Register and many of these places and objects are located on private property. There are still many Aboriginal places and objects yet to be discovered.

Guides and information sheets

Standards for recording artefact scatter and low density artefact distributions
PDF 622.37 KB
(opens in a new window)
Standards for recording scarred trees
PDF 548.63 KB
(opens in a new window)
Standards for Recording Shell Middens
PDF 553.73 KB
(opens in a new window)
Standards for Recording Object Collections
PDF 536.29 KB
(opens in a new window)

Sections within the standards for recording Victorian Aboriginal heritage places and objects have been updated and are no longer applicable. Please refer to the updated sections above for current standards for recording this Aboriginal cultural heritage. Other sections of the standards are currently being reviewed and will be updated accordingly.

Standards for recording Victorian Aboriginal heritage places and objects
PDF 1.41 MB
(opens in a new window)
Sensitive Aboriginal heritage information
Word 66.18 KB
(opens in a new window)
Victorian Aboriginal heritage register place inspection form guidelines
PDF 350.06 KB
(opens in a new window)

Forms and resources

Form to recommend sensitive Aboriginal heritage information on the Register
Word 43.92 KB
(opens in a new window)
Low density artefact distributions recording form
Excel 47.26 KB
(opens in a new window)
Preliminary report form - Possible Aboriginal heritage
Word 60.34 KB
(opens in a new window)
Aboriginal cultural heritage place assessment: Archaeological survey and excavation attributes form
Word 61.5 KB
(opens in a new window)
Scarred trees: An identification and recording manual
PDF 3.66 MB
(opens in a new window)
A Guide to Shells Commonly Found in Aboriginal Shell Middens
PDF 1.78 MB
(opens in a new window)
Midden Census & Shell Genus Catalogue
Excel 24.56 KB
(opens in a new window)
Guide to Midden Census & Shell Genus Catalogue
PDF 147.11 KB
(opens in a new window)

Recording form templates

Heritage professionals should access ACHRIS to record or change the details of a place on the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register.

The details of Aboriginal places are recorded on the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register using online digital forms accessed through ACHRIS.

The content of these forms is set out in the documents below to assist heritage professionals in collecting the required information of Aboriginal places and objects prior to registration:

Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register Form
PDF 172.76 KB
(opens in a new window)
Place inspection form
PDF 278.09 KB
(opens in a new window)
Artefact scatter
Word 153 KB
(opens in a new window)
Earth feature
Word 120 KB
(opens in a new window)
Aboriginal ancestral remains
Word 163.5 KB
(opens in a new window)
Quarry
Word 120.5 KB
(opens in a new window)
Rock art
Word 155.5 KB
(opens in a new window)
Scarred tree
Word 196 KB
(opens in a new window)
Shell midden
Word 143 KB
(opens in a new window)
Stone feature
Word 128.5 KB
(opens in a new window)
Object collection form
PDF 59.46 KB
(opens in a new window)
Aboriginal cultural place form
Word 123.5 KB
(opens in a new window)
Aboriginal historical place form
Word 123 KB
(opens in a new window)

Updated