At the October council meeting general manager Stephen Harding recommended the council enter into a permanent loan agreement to transfer ownership of the fossils to the museum, which will take on the responsibility of registering and digitising the slabs in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 

Mr Harding advised council the museum is committed to the fossils staying in the Cabonne Shire, where they can be displayed, managed, researched and promoted for the benefit of the region.

He said the director of the museum’s research institute Dr Rebecca Johnson had also indicated the museum is committed to assisting with the curation of the fossils at the Age of Fishes Museum to achieve their deserved scientific recognition.

“There are long-term mutual benefits to this collaboration, including insurance of the fossils, curatorial expertise, promotion to the scientific community,” Mr Harding said.

Dr Johnson told council the museum proposed scanning the fossils with latest 3D equipment, allowing high resolution rendering and 3D printing which will increase access of the fossils to the whole community.​