Requirements during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Your permit now includes Covid-safe conditions, such as maintaining hygiene and separation, acting on symptoms and, if you are working, following an acceptable Covid-19 safety plan. Click here to access the NT Government Safety Plan checklist. These conditions align with the principles established by Safework Australia, WorksafeNT and the NT Government.
Applicants who have been in areas of elevated Covid-19 risk should wait 14 days before entering Aboriginal land.
Information for Permit Holders
Tiwi Permit Terms and Conditions
All visitors to the Tiwi Islands are asked to observe the Tiwi Land Council’s Permit Conditions.
Tiwi Communities
Township Leases cover Wurrumiyanga and Wurankuwu on Bathurst Island, and Milikapiti (Snake Bay) and Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) on Melville Island. Permits are required for visitors to spend time within community boundaries and for any visits outside of community boundaries.
Bathurst Island
Melville Island
Tiwi Permit Protocols
Protocols are appropriate ways of behaving, communicating and showing respect for Tiwi people, knowledge, property, history and culture. A breach of protocols can result in permits being revoked by the Tiwi Land Council.
Visitors Travelling Outside of Community Boundaries Protocols
Tiwi Consent Form – Photography and Filming
It is permitted to take photographs of scenery on the Tiwi Islands as long as it is for non-commercial, non-public purposes. However, you must always seek permission from Tiwi people before photographing or filming them. A signed Tiwi Media Consent Form, lodged with the Tiwi Land Council, provides a record of your interaction, respects Tiwi interests, and will help avoid potential misunderstandings.
It should be noted that when on the islands you will be required to have two Tiwi Cultural Advisors, appointed by the Tiwi Land Council, present during any filming, recording, photography or obtaining information. Their rate is $300 per day or part thereof per Tiwi Cultural Advisor.
Quarantine
Introducing feral animals and weeds to the Tiwi Islands places biodiversity at great risk, compromises fledging enterprises, and destroys hopes for an independent Tiwi economy. Please carefully check luggage and freight before travelling to the Tiwi Islands.
Tiwi Islands Quarantine Policy
Fishing
Intertidal waters marked yellow on the Fishing the Tiwi Islands map do not require a Fishing Permit however, the Tiwi Islands are private property and boats can only go ashore at the following locations:
- Fishers can apply for a Camping Permit to stay at three designated campsites – Camp Point and Robertson Creek on Melville Island, and Shaggy’s (Tinkanrow) on Bathurst Island.
- Fishers are permitted to enter Wurrumiyanga and Pirlangimpi to buy fuel and supplies or visit art galleries but must stay within community boundaries.
Permits to fish in the Exclusion Zone, marked red on the Fishing the Tiwi Islands map, are only issued to permanent non-Tiwi residents and their approved guests.
Hunting
Residents of the Tiwi Islands aged over 18 years can apply for a Hunting Permit if they hold a current Shooters Licence. Non-Tiwi Island residents can apply for 14-day Hunting Permits if they hold a current Shooters Licence and their Tiwi host has a valid Hunting Permit. Hunting is prohibited in the areas marked in red on the Information for Hunting Permit holders map. A five kilometre hunting exclusion zone also applies from each community boundary.
Research Project
Permits to conduct research on the Tiwi Islands are only issued once a Research Proposal has been approved by the Tiwi Land Council, and a Research Access Agreement has been signed.
It should be noted that when on the islands you will be required to have two Tiwi Cultural Advisors, appointed by the Tiwi Land Council, present during any filming, recording, photography or obtaining information. Their rate is $300 per day or part thereof per Tiwi Cultural Advisor.