First Nations cultural heritage and engagement

Woodside’s Cultural Heritage Management Procedure sets out how we give effect to the intent of our First Nations Communities Policy in respect of cultural heritage. It contains our approach to the identification, management and protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, with the intent to avoid impacts, or where avoidance is not possible to minimise and manage those impacts.

We strive to ensure Traditional Owners and Custodians are central to heritage management so that their cultural values are understood and remain protected.

For example, we prepare CHMP’s for our projects, and conduct heritage audits and surveys, with input from Traditional Owners and Custodians as well as from independent heritage experts. Woodside is also committed to ensuring the ongoing management of any identified cultural heritage is transparent, thorough and continues to benefit from the input and engagement of First Nations communities.

This approach is illustrated in our consultations for Environment Plans for oil and gas activities, our heritage surveys for the proposed Woodside Solar project in the Pilbara, and support for the Murujuga Cultural Landscape World Heritage Listing.

Woodside’s activities are the subject of environmental assessments by a range of regulators including the Australian National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).

Woodside has consulted with First Nation peoples on a variety of activities in 2024. These consultations have included discussions about the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the environments in which we plan to operate, as well as the environmental values.

During 2020 to 2022, we worked with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) to develop the Scarborough Cultural Heritage Management Plan. This Plan was accepted in 2023, and is publicly available.

The Scarborough CHMP is designed to ensure that impacts to heritage sites and values, including to Murujuga’s National Heritage Listed and World Tentative Heritage Listed values, are adequately protected in a manner agreed between Woodside and Traditional Owners and Custodians represented through MAC. It aims to preserve the tangible and intangible heritage values and protect the cultural and spiritual values of the Traditional Owners and Custodians.

Woodside is also progressing the agreement of a CHMP with Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation for the development of a proposed solar photovoltaic farm on the Maitland Strategic Industrial Estate.

Woodside continues to engage with Traditional Custodians and heritage experts to investigate the potential for Aboriginal archaeological material that may remain on the sea floor from a time when sea levels were lower and it is understood that the land would have been exposed and inhabited.

Building on previous groundbreaking research in the waters off Murujuga, we have proactively sought to understand the existing and potential tangible and intangible cultural heritage values of the submerged cultural landscape for our activities on the ancient landscape. We do this through (for example) seabed mapping, review of side scan sonar data and direct inspection of landscape features nominated by Traditional Custodians using remotely operated vehicles. These works continue to inform our project implementation so that underwater cultural heritage is identified, protected and managed for our activities.

In October 2021, Woodside commenced engagement with the South West Land and Sea Council on behalf of the Gnaala Karla Booja Aboriginal Corporation (GKBAC), in relation to the proposed H2Perth and Hydrogen Refueller @H2Perth projects in Rockingham and Kwinana (Australia). Early consultation is consistent with the principles of seeking Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

Woodside entered into a Noongar Standard Heritage Agreement with GKBAC in 2022, which provided a respectful framework for engaging on cultural heritage issues in the project area. Woodside has since received cultural heritage reports from the Traditional Owners and Custodians which will form the basis for protecting and minimising impacts to cultural heritage values in the project areas. In May 2024, in collaboration with GKBAC, a Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the Hydrogen Refueller @H2Perth was developed. Woodside continues to strengthen our relationship with GKBAC through ongoing engagement and through management of cultural heritage in the Hydrogen Refueller @H2Perth project area.

In October 2022, Woodside and the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) entered into a bilateral Indigenous Land Use Agreement and a modern benefits sharing and relationship agreement relating to lands that are planned to be used for the proposed Woodside Solar project in the Pilbara . Woodside plans to supply approximately 50 MW of solar energy to Pluto LNG, which would result in a direct reduction in Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions from Pluto LNG, subject to securing an acceptable transmission solution and associated commercial arrangements to proceed with a final investment decision on this project.

This project is proposed to initially generate electricity from a large scale solar farm, complemented by a battery energy storage system. The lands upon which the solar farm is proposed are within part of the Ngarluma people’s native title determined area located in Maitland, 15 km south-west of Karratha (Australia). The agreements set out a framework for the delivery of social and economic benefits to NAC and the Ngarluma people in connection with this opportunity. These agreements also outline how Woodside and NAC will work together to develop this opportunity, including the management of cultural heritage. Early engagement with NAC supports the project design to avoid heritage impacts. The framework is consistent with Woodside’s objectives for the integration of renewable energy into Woodside operated facilities and First Nations cultural heritage and engagement achieving positive outcomes for the First Nations communities where we are active. Woodside has been engaging with NAC regarding this opportunity since 2019 and the agreements are a milestone to be celebrated. Woodside is committed to working closely with the Ngarluma community and other stakeholders to progress the project.

Woodside signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 29 July 2022 with Murihiku Regeneration, the representatives for the Ngāi Tahu iwi in Murihiku-Southland. Murihiku Hapū and Ngāi Tahu iwi are key collaborators in any future projects in Murihiku-Southland. Woodside is committed to continuing to build the partnership with Ngāi Tahu iwi.

A key commitment of our Reconciliation Action Plan is the establishment of a First Nations Advisory Group (FNAG). The role of the FNAG is to provide Woodside with expert knowledge, advice and recommendations on matters affecting First Nations peoples and communities that are of regional, national and international importance. FNAG participants are selected based on their expertise relevant to the topics being discussed at each meeting. The FNAG shares knowledge, insights, context and perspectives with Woodside and works collaboratively to identify commendable features of our work, recommend areas for improvement, help inform decision-making processes and strengthen relationships with communities. Further to previous FNAG roundtables, in 2024 we held three roundtable discussions. The topics discussed in 2024 were:

• Youth Empowerment
• Economic Participation
• Biodiversity

The First Nations experts involved have come from various locations around Australia. At each discussion there has been a representative from an Indigenous community in Western Australia. The attendees from Woodside included members of the Executive Leadership Team, the Head of Communities and First Nations, and representatives from both the Woodside Reconciliation Community and Australian Indigenous Collegiate. Woodside will continue to welcome a diverse range of members so that various perspectives are heard and that the individuals are subject matter experts best placed to discuss the topic at hand. Our commitment is to host roundtable discussions at least twice per year.

Woodside maintains our commitment to ways of working that are consistent with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In December 2024, Woodside updated our First Nations Communities Policy to include engaging with affected communities of First Nations in ways that are consistent with the principles of seeking Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Woodside actively engages in discussions relating to issues which will or may impact our coexistence and relationships with First Nations People. For example, on 2 August 2022 the Senate referred an inquiry into the application of UNDRIP in Australia, to the newly established Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (Joint Standing Committee). The Joint Standing Committee inquired into international experiences of the implementation of UNDRIP, considering options for improving adherence to UNDRIP principles in Australia and assessed how the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart could support the application of UNDRIP. Woodside made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee expressing support for clarity in Australian law in relation to FPIC to support communities and companies to understand their rights. Woodside was the only energy and resources company to make a submission into the inquiry

Our submission can be found at  Government submissions & reports.

On 22 September 2022, Woodside received a Joint Communication (Communication) from the Special Procedures Branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner Human Rights. The correspondence raised issues regarding our activities on the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga) and impacts on climate change and on Aboriginal rock art. Woodside has operated natural gas and liquefied natural gas facilities on Murujuga in Western Australia for more than 40 years, delivering natural gas to customers in Australia and around the world. Woodside has a proven track record of safe and reliable operations. Woodside builds long lasting relationships with the communities in which we are active. We demonstrate respect for the culture and values of the First Nations communities and are proud of the partnerships that we have established. Woodside prepared a submission in response to the matters raised in the Communication to support a wider understanding of the projects in question and the way we conduct our business.

The United Nations Communication is available on their website.
Our submission has been made public on the United Nations website. For more information, please refer to our submission.