The legacy of policies of dispossession, resettlement, protectionism and assimilation is reflected in the disadvantage experienced today by many Aboriginal people. Alcohol continues to have a devastating effect.
Western education can carry with it the undermining of traditional social structures.
Reliance on the payment of welfare benefits in cash and the availability of store-bought food affect kin obligations and responsibilities and reduce traditional forms of economic independence. New technologies, particularly satellite communications, are likely to affect Aboriginal cultural identity in unforeseen ways. The creation of Aboriginal Councils has partly redefined power relations. While factors such as these can tend to undermine Aboriginal law and authority, this tendency is not universal. The outstation movement has been seen as a revival of Aboriginal traditions and cultures, and in some communities holders of traditional authority remain influential.