Ticket of Exemption

Source A

The Aboriginal ticket of exemption was a document issued in Australia during the era of government policies of forced assimilation, particularly prevalent from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. This document was issued to Indigenous Australians by authorities and allowed them to bypass certain discriminatory laws and regulations that restricted their movement, employment, and other rights. It was a means of control over Indigenous populations, often used to encourage assimilation into the wider non-Indigenous society. However, it also perpetuated systemic discrimination and reinforced the unequal treatment of Indigenous peoples under the law.

What was the ticket of Exemption?

How could it be considered part of the Assimilation policy?

Source B

Imagine the heartbreak of walking past family members in public and ignoring them as if they were complete strangers? Exemption meant not associating with Aboriginal people.Imagine the despair, if you knew people who had been jailed for speaking the language of your ancestors? Exemption meant speaking only in English.

Imagine the fear of a police officer knocking at your door to check the cleanliness of your kitchen? Exemption meant always being ‘Clean, Clad and Courteous’. Aboriginal people both despised and supported exemption. Many derisively called the certificate of exemption a ‘dog licence’, ‘a dog tag’ or ‘beer tickets’ and refused to apply for one. Others saw potential benefits of exemption. They accepted the hefty personal cost of compliance and carried a card that held shameful connotations.

So why did Aboriginal people seek exemption?

Before 1967, most First Nations Australians were classed as wards of the state and lived on reserves or ‘missions’. One way to escape this oppression was to apply for exemption to live independently.

Exemption promised everyday freedoms and choices, including access to education, health services, housing, employment, and public venues such as swimming pools and pubs. It kept children safe away from the welfare. Achieving and maintaining exemption varied from state to state, but it was difficult everywhere, and far from just.

What does Source B reveal about the positives and negatives of attaining a ticket of Exemption?

How did it contribute to Aboriginal exclusion, disconnection from culture and disempowerment?

ABOLITION OF TICKET OF EXEMPTION>

The specific timing of the abolition of the Aboriginal ticket of exemption varied across different regions and jurisdictions in Australia. Generally, the practice of issuing these tickets gradually declined throughout the mid-20th century as attitudes towards Indigenous rights began to shift and as various discriminatory policies were repealed or reformed.

For example, in the state of Victoria, the Aboriginal Protection Act of 1869 was repealed in 1957, marking the end of the formal system of control over Indigenous peoples in that state, including the issuance of exemption tickets. In other parts of Australia, similar policies were phased out or abolished at different times, often in response to changing social and political attitudes towards Indigenous rights and recognition.

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