WA Government to repeal 40 year old discriminatory legislation
As reported in Perth Now issued on the July 5th 2012, “THE WA government plans to repeal 40-year-old legislation that deals with the estates of Aboriginal people in a discriminatory way”.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Peter Collier said the state government intended to reform part of the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972, which covered the distribution of the estate of an Aboriginal person who died without a valid will.
Currently, WA has two separate systems for managing and distributing the estates of people who die without a will: one for Aboriginal people and one for non-Aboriginals.
"The estate of an Aboriginal person without a will vests automatically to the Public Trustee, who then distributes the estate under the provisions of the Administration Act 1903," Mr Collier said.
"This transfers Aboriginal people into a largely confusing, convoluted and unfair process, whereby the right of families to administer the estate of a deceased Aboriginal relative may be denied."
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