This paper analyses an important component of the shifting institutional relationships and land management arrangements in Western Australia due to the disruptions to settler colonial land use instigated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander movements for land rights. Native Title processes are entwined with and have, to an extent, driven a change in the relationship between conservation agencies and Traditional Owners that are now transforming Australia’s conservation estate. Since 2005, the West Australian state Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and its predecessors have responded to local Aboriginal groups to establish formal processes and guidelines for joint management of Western Australia’s parks and reserves. This process has actual and potential synergies that respond – in part – to the ecological, socioeconomic and geographical dimensions of settler colonialism. Aboriginal concepts of connection to and caring for Country have alignments and tensions with the Department’s conservation remit. Joint management agreements are a pathway for the negotiation of a formal role in land management, the exercise of customary practices, and Aboriginal employment and training in rural and remote areas of the state. This article investigates and maps Western Australia’s joint management initiatives and reflects on its issues and implications for Aboriginal land and sea management.