Anniversary of the 2022 Kakadu Land Handback

24 March

On 24 March 2022, Traditional Owners received the deeds for four land-claim areas within Kakadu National Park at a ceremony at Cooinda. The handback covered 9,733 square kilometres, nearly half of the park, and brought nearly all of Kakadu into Aboriginal ownership.

Country and recognition

The ceremony recognised relationships with Country that long predated the national park and the land-claim process. It did not create those relationships or mark the beginning of Aboriginal custodianship.

Traditional Owners and the Northern Land Council had pursued formal recognition over many years. Contemporary reporting described the handback as completing decades of unfinished work. The anniversary therefore recognises the persistence of communities and families as well as the transfer of legal title.

What the handback changed

The returned land was leased back to the Director of National Parks, with rental income flowing to Traditional Owners. Aboriginal ownership and arrangements for managing a national park are related but distinct: the handback concerned ownership, while the lease supported the park’s continued operation.

The Australian Government’s contemporary statement described the handback as strengthening the partnership between Traditional Owners and Parks Australia. ABC reporting also recorded Traditional Owners’ expectations of greater involvement in decisions and opportunities associated with park management.

This was not the first return of land within Kakadu. Describing it as the return of the entire park would obscure earlier handbacks and overstate the scope of the 2022 ceremony.

Reflecting on the anniversary

This date offers a way to think about the relationship between conservation, ownership and cultural authority. Caring for a place is not only a technical or environmental activity. Questions of who makes decisions, whose knowledge guides the work and who benefits are also important.

Visitors and learners can use the anniversary to seek out Traditional Owner perspectives and understand appropriate ways to visit Country. Respect for cultural authority includes following local guidance about access, photography and places that are not open to visitors.

Sources and further learning

Australian Government: Historic day as Kakadu land returns to Aboriginal hands. Contemporary account of the four land claims and lease arrangements.

ABC News: Kakadu land handback ceremony. Reporting from the ceremony and perspectives from Traditional Owners and the Northern Land Council.

Our related products and resources

Somebody’s Land, by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing, introduces younger readers to Country and the idea of terra nullius. It is a thematic learning resource, not a historical account of this particular event.