A British museum has handed back Aboriginal remains to a group of Indigenous Australians.

The four skulls were given to the Foundation for Aboriginal and Island Research Action by the Manchester Museum.

The museum has had the remains for nearly 100 years.

The remains will be returned to Victoria and Western Australia.

Tasmania's ATSIC commissioner Rodney Dillon said from the ceremony, that he hopes the Manchester Museum will serve as an example to other institutions around the world.

"This is not the first but this is good that this is happening, every museum that hands it back puts pressure on the big museums resisting this," he said.

"So I think it's good when you've got a museum that's got the status in the world of Manchester Museum handing back remains saying we no longer want to have these remains, we think it's right for these remains to go back."