Aboriginal land and permits

You may need an entry permit and other permits, if you're planning to go fishing, camping, filming, bush walking, hunting, undertaking research or travelling in remote areas of the Northern Territory (NT).

This is because large areas of the NT are Aboriginal land.

Aboriginal land is any area given back to traditional owners under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. There are entry rules and cultural protocols that must be followed.

Read about fishing on Aboriginal land.

How to apply for permits

There are four land councils in the NT that manage applications for permits for specific areas and activities.  If a community is leased under s19A then you should contact the relevant 'approved entity'.

Read about land council roles and contacts.

You should contact a land council to check if you need entry or any other permits if you're a:

• government employee
• government contractor
• member of the public.

Where you don't need an entry permit

You don't need an entry permit to directly access any of the following areas on Aboriginal land:

• airstrips
• landing places
• main access roads into major communities
• public areas within the communities.