An Aboriginal Passport refers to various travel documents of varying degrees of legality issued to or by Indigenous Australians.

Western Australia

When the Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 the new nation excluded Aboriginal people from participating in the new nation, including being counted in census figures.^[1] Under the Aborigines Act of 1905, Western Australian Aboriginal people had to apply for "citizenship" and were issued Aboriginal "passports" by the Western Australian Government.^[1][2][3] Without the passport Indigenous Australians could not work where they wanted, spend money how they wanted, receive health care or enter many public buildings such as hotels or restaurants.^[1] The Act was repealed in 1963 and replaced by the Native Welfare Act.^[4] The 1967 referendum allowed for Aboriginal to be included in census figures.^[1][5][6]

Use by activists

In the late 1980s Tasmanian activist Michael Mansell introduced an Aboriginal Passport. The passport was issued to a delegation that visited Libya in 1988. The passports were used to get into Libya and Mansell in an interview said that it was the "first time I've had any other country recognise the fact that I'm not Australian".^[7] On the delegation's return to Australia they were detained by immigration officials until they produced Australian documentation. The Aboriginal Provisional Government, an organization seeking to create an Aboriginal nation, continued to issue Aboriginal Passports into the 1990s.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Under Australian's Migration Act of 1958 everyone entering the country must have a legal travel document, which under the act is termed as a passport. Barbara Hocking claims that under Australian law a passport is deemed to be a document which looks like a passport.^[9] Therefore since the APG issues Aboriginal passports that look like passports Hocking claims that customs agents cannot refuse entry while using Aboriginal passports because under the terms of Australian law they have a travel document issued by the APG that looks like a passport.^[9]

References