Building our in-house expertise in Aboriginal Cultural Heritage

Earlier this year, Peter Ritchie – known to most as PJ – completed significant formal study to become a fully qualified Aboriginal Heritage Officer (AHO). He is now working in the role at GLaWAC.

Alongside this role, PJ coordinates GLaWAC’s Cultural Heritage field staff – and he is not the only one on board with these specialist skills. Fellow team member John Proctor also completed the training and is a fully qualified AHO, currently working as a Cultural Heritage site monitor.

Together, they bring real depth to the work of protecting Country and Culture.

AHOs investigate reports of harm to Aboriginal Cultural Heritage, work with stakeholders to help prevent impacts, and assess compliance with Cultural Heritage Management Plans and Cultural Heritage Permits. It is important, specialist work – and for PJ, the training opened his eyes to just how complex it is.

“I think the biggest thing for me was seeing how much actually goes into an investigation. I found the interviewing side of this very interesting – learning how to ask the right questions and get the information you need, as well as learning how to properly handle and assess potential evidence. It’s not just about finding out what happened, it’s about making sure you’ve got the right evidence to back it all up.”

The training was delivered by ICETS (Investigation Compliance and Enforcement Training Systems) and covered both theory and practice, including real-world scenarios and role plays that connected the learning back to situations staff might actually encounter on the job.

“I’m a lot more structured in how I approach things now. I think more about the evidence, how I’m documenting things and making sure I’m not jumping to conclusions. This training has given me a real interest in investigations and made me want to keep building those skills to see where it could take me.”

The support does not stop once the training is complete. PJ and John take part in regular catch-up sessions – both in person and online – where past students come together with experienced Authorised Officers and Aboriginal Heritage Officers to work through real-world situations. There is also ongoing support available through First Peoples State Relations.

For PJ and John, this is the start of a new area of learning and growth. For GLaWAC, it means more in-house expertise and a stronger foundation for protecting Aboriginal Cultural Heritage on Country.

The photos below show PJ and John working on site with Kate Morton from First Peoples State Relations.