Six cultural objects of Warumungu origin will be returned to Australia from New Zealand later this year.

The planned return comes after extensive dialogue between the Warumungu community of Tennant Creek, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and representatives from Dunedin's Tūhura Otago Museum.

The collection of culturally significant objects includes a kalpunta (boomerang), palya/kupija (adze) and a selection of marttan (stone knife).

They were first acquired by New Zealand's Tūhura Otago Museum after exchanges with Museum Victoria in 1923 and 1937 and prominent archaeologist and ethnologist Frederick Vincent Knapp in 1910.

The exchange came after the objects were originally collected by James Field, the telegraph station master in Tennant Creek and Baldwin Spencer, a well-known British-born anthropologist sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Senior Warumungu man Michael Jones said his community was appreciative for the return of the objects.

"I'm glad these things are returning back", he said.

"Them old things they were carved by the old people who had the songs for it too."

Mr Jones said the museum's support in returning the objects provides an opportunity to pass down cultural knowledge to younger generations.

"The museums are respecting us, and they've been thinking about us," he said.

"They weren't the ones who took them, they just ended up there.

"We can still teach the young people now about these old things and our culture."

Senior Warumungu man Michael Jones. Image: AIATSIS.

Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said repatriations were critical for cultural maintenance and knowledge transfer.

"The return of cultural heritage material after more than a century is a significant moment for the Warumungu people and fundamental to the processes of truth-telling and reconciliation," she said.

"I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the museum for the good-faith return of these items, a move that recognises the importance of cultural heritage to identity."

The agreement is a result of work completed by AIATSIS' Return of Cultural Heritage team which identifies and advocates for the return of materials of cultural value held in collections outside of Australia.

AIATSIS chief executive Craig Ritchie said the program gave a voice to originating communities in how their heritage was managed by collecting institutions outside of Australia.

"Storytelling is integral to the transmission of our cultural knowledge," Mr Ritchie said.

"Objects created in our communities, both sacred and secular, bear evidence of the skills of those who created them along with evidence of our cultural values.

"We don't want to lose track of such storytelling aids, and our communities want a say in how they are used."

The Return of Cultural Heritage team plan to travel to New Zealand alongside Warumungu representatives to collect the objects later this year.

The Warumungu community plan to display the returned objects at Tenant Creek's Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre.