Response from the Sea Country Alliance to the Future Gas Strategy: draft offshore guidelines consultation (Exploration Work Bid)

The Alliance maintains that FPIC compliance is both a legal requirement under international law through the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (which Australia endorsed in 2009) and established Commonwealth Government policy. The submission calls for the final guidelines to explicitly require evidence of agreements that ensure Traditional Owners are consulted prior to applications, fully informed about projects and alternatives, adequately resourced to participate in negotiations, and able to provide genuine consent without coercion.