In December 1996, the Cultural Ministers Council commissioned the development of a strategic action plan for the return of Indigenous ancestral remains and secret/sacred objects. The RICP Working Group, following detailed consultation with the museums sector, presented its report, Strategic Plan for the Protection and Return of Indigenous Ancestral Remains and Secret/Sacred Objects (internal document), to the Cultural Ministers Council meeting in February 1998.
Objectives of the strategic plan were to:
The report identified that some 7,200 Aboriginal ancestral remains, 11,000 secret/sacred men's business objects and a range of women's business and Torres Strait Islander secret/sacred objects were still held in museums throughout Australia.
The Cultural Ministers Council committed to greater cooperation between governments, their collecting institutions and Indigenous communities to ensure the success of the strategy.
The Cultural Ministers Council acknowledged that progress in the repatriation of Indigenous cultural property was considerable. The Cultural Ministers Council endorsed the strategic plan and agreed to consider, in consultation with member governments, the provision of funds for the continuation of the program.
As a result of the Cultural Ministers Council’s endorsement of the strategic plan, the Return of Indigenous Cultural Property (RICP) program was established in 2000. The RICP program aims to repatriate all ancestral remains and secret/sacred objects from eligible museums to their communities of origin and provides grants to the major museums in each state and territory and the National Museum of Australia.