In 2015, The Aboriginal Hritiage Office released a report titled Filling a Void: history of word ‘Guringai’ A review of the historical context for the use of the word ‘Guringai’

The report concludes with the following:

It is unfortunate that the term Guringai has become widely known in northern Sydney and it is understandable that people wish to use it as it is convenient to have a single word to cover the language, tribe/nation, identity and culture of a region.

However, it is based on a nineteenth century fiction and the AHO would argue that the use of the term Guringai or any of its various spellings such as Kuringgai is not warranted given its origin and previous use.

It is not authentic to the area, it was coined by a non-Aboriginal person and it gives a misleading impression of the connectivity of some original clan boundaries.

It is part of the story of this place that there is no certainty over tribal names, language groups or dreaming stories …” (p.40-41).

In 2019 the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC) in NSW urged people to cease misapplying the name Guringai.

MLALC chief executive Nathan Moran went further, saying “the Land Council is aware of a number of individuals who identify as Guringai and claim to be traditional owners of Northern Sydney. 

“This is a fallacy,” Mr Moran said, “and totally disrespects the required process to qualify for traditional ownership under the respective NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act and Commonwealth Native Title Act.”

In 2020 Mr Moran was forced again to correct the record:

In spite of all this, these so-called GuriNgai remain,

claiming Culture that is not theirs,

claiming Ancestors that are not theirs,

and wringing money out of a gullible, hapless, even (possibly) well meaning members, public and the local public service.

Through Guringai Tribal Link Aboriginal Corporation,  Guringai Tribal Link, Awabakal and Guringai Pty Ltd, Guringai Tours, Guringai Tours Pty Ltd, and Wannangini Pty Ltd, and many more entities, corporate and otherwise, these people fill their pockets, taking advantage of real Aboriginal History and Culture through a complicated financial shell game.

It is frankly embarrassing that non-Aboriginal authorities are not already knocking on these people’s doors.

20 years is too long for this farce to continue, and enough is well and truly enough.