All sacred sites in the Northern Territory are protected by the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act.
The Authority maintains records of all sacred sites that it has identified in the Northern Territory. There are strict secrecy provisions in the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act and Aboriginal cultural traditions covering these sites.
The sites that the Authority holds records for are recorded and registered sacred sites. Recorded sacred sites are sites that have been made known to the Authority from a variety of sources. In many cases these sites have not been comprehensively documented and evaluated and they have not gone through the formal registration process.
Registered sacred sites are sites that Aboriginal custodians have asked the Authority to protect. They have been comprehensively documented and evaluated by the Authority, including information on their locations and boundaries.