Nominating places to the National Heritage List · protest actionwas heldon the Day of Mourning,...
Transcript of Nominating places to the National Heritage List · protest actionwas heldon the Day of Mourning,...
Department of Environment and Energy Australian Heritage Council
Nominating places to the National Heritage List
A Guide for Indigenous communities
Front and back cover photo credits
The Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps (Baiame’s Ngunnhu), NSW
Vincent Lingiari OAM with the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, NT - National Archives of Australia The Dampier Archipelago (including Burrup Peninsula), WA - Melinda Brouwer
Willandra Lakes Region, NSW - John Houldsworth Wilgie Mia Aboriginal Ochre Mine, WA - Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation Hermannsburg Historic Precinct, NT - Annie Crawford
The Cyprus Hellene Club–Australian Hall, NSW - State Library of NSW
This work is protected by copyright law. Apart from any use permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (including research or study) no part may be produced by any process, reused or redistributed for any commercial purpose or distributed to a third party for such purpose, without prior written permission from the Department of the Environment and Energy. All data included in this document are presumed to be correct as received from data providers. No responsibility is taken by the Commonwealth for errors or omissions, and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility in respect to any information or advice given in relation to, or as a consequence of anything contained therein.
© Commonwealth of Australia first published 2012 - updated 2018.
The Australian Heritage Council acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of all of Australia’s
national heritage places and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to them and
their culture, and to their elders both past and present.
Nominating places to the National Heritage List
A Guide for Indigenous communities
What Is The National Heritage List?
What Is The National Heritage List?
Map of National Heritage Listed Places for Indigenous values 2
Introduction 3
What is heritage? 4
What is the National Heritage List? 5
What is Indigenous heritage? 6
Important information about nominating a place for the National Heritage List 7
Understanding nomination language 8
Nominating a place for the National Heritage List 13
What happens after you have nominated a place? 15
A place on the National Heritage List 17
National Heritage Criteria section 18
Alternative methods of recognition and protection section 30
Heritage contacts section 32
Table of contents
Map of National Heritage listed places for Indigenous values
This Guide for Indigenous communities is a snapshot of the National Heritage List and provides important information about the nomination process to include a place on the National Heritage List.
The Guide aims to help communities understand
some of the language used in a nomination for the
National Heritage List. It is important everyone
understands this language.
It also provides information about other options
available to protect a heritage place and have it
recognised if national heritage listing isn’t the best
option for your place.
If you would like more information about the National
Heritage List nomination process or additional copies
of this Guide feel free to contact the Australian
Government Department of the Environment and
Energy.
Phone number: 1800 803 772
Email: [email protected]
Mail: Heritage Branch
Department of Environment and Energy
GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601
On 20 July 2004, the Gunditjmara traditional owners celebrated Australia’s first place on the National Heritage List – the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape – Mt Eccles Lake Condah Area in far south west Victoria (Photo: Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation)
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Introduction
Heritage includes the places, traditions, events and experiences that we treasure and want to pass on to future generations.
Heritage is important to the Australian community
because it tells the stories of our past, of our nation’s
development, our spirit and our unique living
landscapes.
By identifying our heritage we can protect, manage
and conserve our culture, ensuring that our nation’s
heritage will continue to be enjoyed by future
generations.
There are a number of ways the heritage of a place
can be protected and recognised. In Australia there
are five main types of heritage lists – World, National,
Commonwealth, state/territory and local.
The Australian Government maintains the World,
National and Commonwealth Heritage Lists.
Most of Australia’s state and territory governments
maintain lists or registers of recorded Indigenous
heritage places that are protected under state and
territory laws. Heritage places that may have
Indigenous values can also be listed on non-
Indigenous local and state heritage registers. See
the Alternative Methods of Recognition and
Protection section for more information on other
ways to recognise and protect your place.
It may be useful to talk with Australian, state/territory
or local government agencies. These agencies have
heritage officers who can give you advice.
See the Heritage Contacts section at the back of this
Guide.
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What is Heritage?
The National Heritage List is made up of the places and stories that are recognised to have outstanding heritage value to the nation – these places are important to all Australians, today and into the future.
To be included on the National Heritage List a place
must be one of the best examples of its type when
compared to other similar places in Australia.
Places can be listed for their Indigenous, natural or
historic heritage values, or a combination of these
three types of values. The threshold of outstanding
heritage value to the nation for a place to be added
to the National Heritage List is very high.
It is the heritage values of a place on the National
Heritage List that are protected under Australia’s
national environmental law – the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Any
action that is likely to have a significant impact on the
heritage values of a place requires the approval of the
Australian Government Minister for the Environment.
The boundaries of a nominated place are determined
once the heritage values are known.
As of December 2018, there are 116 places from
around Australia on the National Heritage List.
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What is the National Heritage List?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is an important part of Australia’s history and heritage.
Indigenous heritage places demonstrate the
continuous links between Indigenous people and their
country. Indigenous heritage exists throughout the
lands and waters of Australia and all aspects of
country are important to Indigenous people as part of
their cultural heritage.
Witjira–Dalhousie Springs was included on the National Heritage List on 4 August 2009 for outstanding heritage value for being an integral part of Aboriginal tradition and life in northern South Australia. There is evidence of large camp sites found at the springs, some thousands of square metres in size and vast numbers of stone artefacts. It is the beginning of an exceptionally large number of traditional song lines and story lines in the Witjira National Park. (Photo: Yvonne Webster)
Indigenous heritage places can commemorate
important events such as the Day of Mourning Protest
that took place in the Cyprus Hellene Club –
Australian Hall in Sydney on Australia Day in 1938, or
the Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site near
Bingara in northern New South Wales.
The Cyprus Hellene Club–Australian Hall in NSW was included on the National Heritage List on 20 May 2008 because it was the place where the first national Indigenous protest action was held on the Day of Mourning, Australia Day 1938. (Photo: State Library of New South Wales)
Archaeology can also be a significant part of our
heritage as it provides evidence of how Indigenous
people survived and adapted to changing climates
and landscapes, the tools and technologies they
invented, and how people interacted with each other.
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What is Indigenous heritage?
This section provides important information and explains the nomination process for national heritage listing.
Everyone should know this information before
deciding to nominate a place to the National Heritage
List.
Nominations to the National Heritage List and the
assessment of a nomination is a complex legal
process that involves many steps and takes time – it
can take a number of years.
Anyone can nominate a place to the National
Heritage List. It is important that community elders,
other traditional owners, native title holders and
community members support and agree that the
National Heritage List is the most suitable type of
protection for your place.
Once a nomination is made, the nomination will be
assessed by the Australian Heritage Council, the
Australian Government’s advisers on national
heritage matters.
If a nomination is assessed by the Australian Heritage
Council, by law they must inform the public and ask for
comments from landowners, occupiers and
Indigenous people with rights or interests in the
nominated place.
The Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps (Baiame’s Ngunnhu) in NSW was included on the National Heritage List on 3 June 2005 because the place provides evidence of a sophisticated understanding by Aboriginal people of engineering, physics, the land and its natural resources.
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Important information about nominating a place for
the National Heritage List
The nomination form includes technical language, terms such as values, thresholds, criteria, comparative analysis, condition and authenticity that you need to understand.
These terms are important, as this is how you are
asked to describe your nominated place, to show
how your place has outstanding heritage value to the
nation.
Values Values are the qualities of a place that make it
special; they are the unique characteristics that show
why a place is important to all Australians.
Places can be listed for their Indigenous, natural or
historic heritage values, or a combination of these.
Thresholds A threshold is the level of importance a heritage value
must reach to be included on the National Heritage
List.
The threshold for the National Heritage List is that
places and their stories must have outstanding heritage value to the nation. The values must be so
special that they are considered to be important to
everyone in Australia.
This threshold is very high and fewer places are
included on the National Heritage List than those
places on state/territory or local heritage lists or
registers.
The Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps (Baiame’s Ngunnhu) in NSW is nearly half a kilometre long and consists of a series of dry-stone weirs and ponds arranged in the form of a net across the Barwon River. The size, design and complexity of the Ngunnhu is exceptionally rare in Australia. (Photo: Michael Lindquist)
Condition Condition (also known as integrity) means how well a
place has been cared for and what state of repair it is
currently in.
The condition of a place can be an important
consideration for the Australian Heritage Council
when they assess the heritage significance of a
nominated place.
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Understanding nomination language
The ability of the nominated place to show
outstanding heritage value to the nation sometimes
depends on its condition. If a place has not been
cared for over a long period of time some of its
heritage values may have disappeared or may be in
danger of disappearing.
Authenticity
Authenticity means that a heritage place is the real
thing and hasn’t been re–created. This can be an
important consideration for some types of values,
such as where an important event took place, or is
one of the last of its kind, or is important to the
scientific community, or is one of the best examples of
a type of place or building.
Authenticity of a heritage value can be demonstrated
through historical documents, scientific research and
archaeological material.
It can also be shown through stories that have been
handed down through the generations.
If community has been looking after, or have known
about a place for many generations, then the
authenticity of a place is obvious and undisputed.
The Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial site in NSW was included on the National Heritage List on 7 June 2008 because the massacre is the last time a colonial administration intervened to ensure the laws of the colony were applied equally to Aboriginal people and settlers involved in frontier killings. (Photo: Mark Mohell)
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Criteria
Criteria are a set of standards or categories used to
describe why a place is of outstanding heritage value
to the nation.
The criteria help to explain the reasons why the
community think a place should be included on the
National Heritage List. In writing your nomination you
will need to explain why the place meets one or more
of the criteria.
A nominated place only needs to meet one of the
criteria for it to be considered special and important
enough to be on the National Heritage List. It is better
to make a strong case against one of the criteria than
a weaker case against many.
The nine criteria for a nomination are:
a. The place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s importance in the
course, or pattern, of Australia’s natural or cultural
history.
This means that a place has played an important
part in developing who we are as a nation.
b. The place has outstanding heritage value to the
nation because of the place’s possession of
uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of
Australia’s natural or cultural history.
This means that a place is unusual or one of the
last of its type.
c. The place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s potential to yield
information that will contribute to an understanding
of Australia’s natural or cultural history.
This means that a place has the potential to
provide important information to better
understand Australia’s history or culture.
d. The place has outstanding heritage value to the
nation because of the place’s importance in
demonstrating the principal characteristics of:
i. a class of Australia’s natural or cultural
places; or
ii. a class of Australia’s natural or cultural
environments.
This means that a place is one of the best
examples of a type of either a natural or
cultural place or environment.
e. The place has outstanding heritage value to the
nation because of the place’s importance in
exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics
valued by a community or cultural group.
This means that a place is important because a
community thinks it is beautiful.
f. The place has outstanding heritage value to the
nation because of the place’s importance in
demonstrating a high degree of creative or
technical achievement at a particular period.
This means that a place shows that people have
created an important and successful new idea or
technology.
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g. The place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s strong or special
association with a particular community or cultural
group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
This means that a place is important to a
community or cultural group for social, cultural or
spiritual reasons.
h. The place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s special association
with the life or works of a person, or group of
persons, of importance in Australia’s natural or
cultural history.
This means that a place is associated with
someone who was or is very important in the
development of Australia’s history.
i. The place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s importance as part
of Indigenous tradition.
The criterion ‘importance as part of Indigenous
tradition’ can only be used for places which are
important as part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander tradition.
A detailed explanation of the criteria is included in
this Guide.
Comparative Analysis In a nomination it is important to understand and explain why the place you want to nominate for the National Heritage List is important to the nation when compared to similar places. This is called comparative analysis and is central to a successful National Heritage List nomination.
The Hermannsburg Historic Precinct in the Northern Territory was included on the National Heritage List on 13 April 2006. Hermannsburg was established in 1877 as a religious mission for Aboriginal people. It is the last surviving mission developed by the Hermannsburg Missionary Society. It also reflected the changing policies towards Aboriginal people. Hermannsburg was the home of acclaimed Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira. (Photo: Annie Crawford)
To decide if a place meets the high threshold of
outstanding heritage value to the nation, it must be
compared with other similar places around
Australia to see if the place is truly “outstanding”.
You need to show why your nominated place is
one of the most important, unique or unusual
places of its type.
A nomination is more likely to go to the next step of
assessment if it contains a detailed and realistic
comparative analysis. The claims in a nomination,
particularly the comparative analysis, must be
based on evidence. It is not sufficient to simply
state that your nominated place is special.
Comparative analysis can be difficult for some types of
Indigenous places. For example a place that has been
nominated for its association with Indigenous tradition
will need to be compared with places that represent
similar traditions around Australia.
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The Dampier Archipelago (including Burrup Peninsula) in Western Australia was included on the National Heritage List on 3 July 2007 because the place comprises one of the largest concentrations of rock engravings, standing stones and other stone arrangements in Australia. While other similar features exist in places throughout Australia, when viewed collectively, the Dampier Archipelago (including Burrup Peninsula) emerges as the most extensive collection of engravings. (Photo: Melinda Brouwer)
A nomination must show how your nominated place
compares with similar places and explain why your
place might represent a part of Australia’s story better
than the place you are comparing it with.
When comparing similar places the following
questions should be considered:
• How many other places like this are there in Australia?
• Is the place one of the best examples in Australia?
• Does the place provide new information that cannot be found at other similar places?
• What makes it different from other places?
Places for comparison can be found on national,
state/territory and local government heritage lists or
registers, the Australian Heritage Database and in
heritage reports such as heritage assessments and
cultural heritage surveys. See Heritage Contacts
section at the back of this Guide.
If you think your nominated place doesn’t stand out
compared to similar places across Australia, you
might decide that the National Heritage List is not the
best way to recognise or protect your place.
This does not mean the place is not significant or
important. Remember the threshold is very high for the
National Heritage List. The values must be so special
that they are considered to be important to everyone in
Australia.
There are other ways you can protect your place.
Most of Australia’s states and territories maintain
lists or registers of recorded Indigenous heritage
places that are special at the local or regional level
and are protected under state and territory laws.
Heritage places that may have Indigenous values
might also be listed on non-Indigenous state and
local heritage registers. For more information see
the Alternative Methods of Recognition and
Protection section.
Nominating a place for the National Heritage List
So you’ve decided that you want to nominate your place to the National Heritage List. What do you do now?
You should always talk to people, including elders in
the community, about the place you want to nominate
as it is important that the community supports
nominating a place to the National Heritage List.
It is important to talk with all Indigenous people with
rights and interests in the place you want to
nominate, to consider their views and concerns,
before you start writing your nomination.
Anyone can nominate a place to the National Heritage
List, but it is important that community elders, other
traditional owners and community members support
and agree national heritage listing is the most suitable
type of protection or recognition of your place.
Seeking the views of non–Indigenous owners and
occupiers before beginning a nomination is
advised. Sometimes, for various reasons,
not everyone will agree on a National Heritage List
nomination, but it is advisable that a nomination has
wider community support.
If the community have agreed and support writing a
nomination for a place to be included on the National
Heritage List you will need to obtain a nomination kit.
You can download a nomination kit from this
website:
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/nomi
nating-heritage-place, or call 1800 803 772 for more
information.
The Australian Government’s Min is te r fo r the
Environment calls for and considers nominations
once a year.
The Minister for the Environment decides
which nominations the Australian Heritage
Council will assess based on the information in a
nomination.
Remember:
• A nomination and its assessment are legal
processes that can be complex, involve many
steps and take time – it could take a number of
years.
• You need to show how your place meets the
threshold of outstanding heritage value to the
nation. Use the criteria to provide a detailed
explanation about why you think your place
should be included on the National Heritage List.
• A nominated place only needs to meet the high
threshold of outstanding heritage value to the
nation against one of the criteria for it to be
considered special and important enough to be on
the National Heritage List. It is better to make a
strong case against one criteria than a weaker
case against many.
• The nomination needs to include a detailed
comparative analysis against similar places
elsewhere in Australia. It is not sufficient to simply
state that your nominated place is special.
• You must also include information on the history
and condition of your nominated place.
• Attach any letters of support from community
for your nomination.
It is important that you provide all the information
the community is willing to share for the Australian
Government Minister for the Environment and the
Australian Heritage Council to consider in their more
detailed assessment of your nomination.
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After a nomination is received, the Australian Government Minister for the Environment decides which nominations will be assessed by the Australian Heritage Council.
The Australian Heritage Council may take a number
of years to research and assess a nomination.
In assessing a nomination, the Australian Heritage
Council:
• Will test the nomination to see if the
nominated place may have Indigenous,
natural or historic heritage values (or a
combination of these) of outstanding heritage
value to the nation.
• May want to talk with the community to collect
further information.
• By law, must inform the public about the
assessment and ask for comments from
landowners, occupiers and Indigenous people with
rights or interests in the nominated place, during
the assessment process.
The Willandra Lakes Region in far south western NSW was included on the National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 because it is an extensive area that contains a system of ancient lakes formed over the last two million years. Aboriginal people lived on the shores of the lakes for at least 50,000 years, and the remains of a 40,000 year old female found in the dunes of Lake Mungo are believed to be the oldest ritual cremation site in the world. (Photo: John Houldsworth)
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What happens after you havenominated a Place?
Once the Australian Heritage Council completes its
assessment, they advise the Minister for the
Environment whether the nominated place reaches
the threshold of outstanding heritage value to the
nation against one or more of the national heritage
criteria.
The Australian Government’s Minister for the
Environment makes the final decision for a place to be
included on the National Heritage List.
Before making the final listing decision, the Minister
for the Environment must consider all comments
received, including comments from the Australian
Heritage Council, landowners, occupiers and
Indigenous people with rights or interests. The
Minister for the Environment may take into account
the social or economic impact of including a place on
the National Heritage List.
Unsuccessful nominations If a nomination is unsuccessful and will not be
assessed by the Australian Heritage Council within
two years of its submission, the nomination will lapse.
You will then be informed if your nomination has been
unsuccessful.
You could consider submitting a new nomination with
more information or look into other options for your
place to be recognised and protected through local,
state or territory laws. See the Alternative Methods of
Recognition and Protection section at the back of this
Guide.
If the Minister for the Environment decides to include your nominated place on the National Heritage List, you will be notified.
The heritage values of a place on the National
Heritage List that are protected under Australia’s
national environmental law – the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Any
action that is likely to have a significant impact on the
national heritage values of a place requires the
approval of the Australian Government Minister for the
Environment.
.
A place on the National Heritage List brings
responsibilities to the community, which may include:
• Assisting to develop plans to manage the
heritage values of the listed place.
• Considering the impact of future activity on the
heritage values of a listed place. Economic or
development activities may continue on a listed
place but any action that is likely to have a
significant impact on the heritage values of a
place requires the approval of the Australian
Government Minister for the Environment.
•
National Heritage listing does not change land ownership. National
Heritage listing may, in particular cases, affect
Native Title rights. For more information, please email
The benefits to the community of a place being included
on the National Heritage List may include:
• Protection of the national heritage values of a
place under the EPBC Act.
• Increase in recognition and appreciation of a heritage place.
• Recognition from wider Australian community of
importance of Indigenous heritage to the national story.
• Opportunities for cultural tourism and ecotourism.
To help the community manage a place on the National
Heritage List, the Australian Government administers
the Australian Heritage Grants Program, a
competitive grants program to improve: conservation,
preservation and access to national heritage listed
places; community engagement with listed places; and
awareness of the listed values.
The program may fund work for national heritage
listed places such as conservation management
plans and works to help protect the values – see the
Heritage Contacts section at the back of this Guide.
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A place on the National Heritage List
This section provides more detail about each of the nine national heritage criteria.
Criteria are a set of standards or categories used to
describe why a place is of outstanding heritage value
to the nation.
Criteria help to explain the reasons why the
community think a place should be included on the
National Heritage List. In writing your nomination you
will need to explain why the place meets one or more
of the criteria.
A nominated place only needs to meet one of the
criteria for it to be considered special and important
enough to be on the National Heritage List. Meeting
more than one of the criteria does not necessarily
make a stronger case.
Criterion (a)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the place’s
importance in the course, or pattern, of
Australia’s natural or cultural history.
This criterion should be used for places that represent
or are connected to important events and processes
in Australia’s history. The event must have been
significant and led to important changes to Australia’s
political, economic, or social fabric or to important
developments in its natural or cultural history. The
event may have lasted a short time or may have
extended over a number of years. This can be a
place that demonstrates a characteristic way people
lived or live and the things they left behind. The place
should be the best example of that way of life. This
criterion can be applied to a place, a series of places
or an area of country. There are three different ways
Indigenous places can fit this criterion. These are
places that best:
1. represent different periods of Australia’s
Indigenous history;
2. show a particular way of life important in one or
more periods of the history of Indigenous
Australia;
3. mark a change in the course of Indigenous
history in Australia.
National Heritage Criteria section
1. Places that best represent different periods
of Australia’s Indigenous history.
This can include places that showcase particular
Indigenous economies around Australia,
trade routes, social and political networks and
relationships with people from neighbouring areas or
islands, including places that best demonstrate:
• aspects of Indigenous ways of life typical of one or more periods in Indigenous history;
• Indigenous economic processes, including trade, during one or more times in the past;
• relationships with neighbouring areas, islands or new people.
Mount William Stone Axe Quarry in central Victoria was included on the National Heritage List on 25 February 2008. Greenstone Axe Blanks were a major trading resource for the Wurundjeri people in Victoria and traded over a wide area of south–east Australia. (Photo: Mark Mohell)
2. Places that best show a particular way of life.
This includes places that best demonstrate a
particular part of Indigenous culture and/or history
that is common in Australia and is important in one
or more periods of the history of Indigenous
Australia. This type of place is important in the
history of Indigenous Australia because the features of
the place best demonstrate:
• one or more important economic, political or social process in the history of Indigenous Australia;
• aspects of ceremonies practiced, or beliefs held, by Indigenous people.
The Budj Bim Heritage Landscape in south west Victoria was included on the National Heritage List on 20 July 2004.The place provides evidence of an aquaculture system and the lifestyle, including stone eel traps and channels, including stone house sites and smoking trees which tells the story of how the Gunditjmara community developed an economy to grow and harvest eels and fish
3. Places that mark a change in the course of
Indigenous history in Australia.
The place may represent the development of new
laws, institutions, ways of life or places that
represent a turning point in the history of Indigenous
Australia including:
• a change in policy or approach developed by, or
applied to, Indigenous Australians;
• a protest or other action associated with a
change in the treatment of Indigenous
Australians;
• a protest or action commemorated throughout
Australia.
The Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial site near Bingara in NSW was included on the National Heritage List on 7 June 2008 because the massacre event in 1838 represents a change in Australia’s cultural history. It is the last time the colonial administration intervened to ensure the laws of the colony were applied equally to Aboriginal people and settlers involved in frontier killings. (Photo: Mark Mohell)
Criterion (b)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the
place’s possession of uncommon, rare or
endangered aspects of Australia’s natural
or cultural history.
This criterion applies to places that possess
uncommon, rare, or endangered aspects of
Australia’s history that is of national significance to
Australia. This criterion covers places that show
Indigenous ways of life, customs, processes, land–
uses, functions or designs that were uncommon or
are a rare example of a place that was once more
common. Not all uncommon or rare places will be
included on the National Heritage List. Like other
criteria you must be able to show that the place also
has ‘outstanding heritage value to the nation.’
The Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps (Baiame’s Ngunnhuis) is a rare dry-stone fish trap located on a large river system nearly half a kilometre long and consist of a series of dry-stone weirs and ponds arranged in the form of a net across the Barwon River. The Ngunnhu features a very complex design that exploits an unusual location. The size, design and complexity of the Ngunnhu is exceptionally rare in Australia. (Photo: Michael Lindquist)
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Criterion (c)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the
place’s potential to yield information that
will contribute to an understanding of
Australia’s natural or cultural history.
This criterion applies generally to places with the
potential to provide important information about
Australia’s Indigenous history and culture. For a place
to meet this criterion there must be real evidence or
proven potential that further nationally significant
information can be gained from the place. If there has
already been a significant amount of information
collected about the place it may not have potential to
provide any further information so would not meet the
threshold for this criterion.
This criterion covers places that have a clear potential
to produce important information that would improve
our understanding of:
• one or more periods in the history of Indigenous Australians;
• ways of life or cultures characteristic of Indigenous Australians.
The Ningaloo Coast, located on the remote western coast of Australia, was included on the National Heritage List on 6 January 2010. The Ningaloo Coast has the potential to provide insights into Aboriginal people use of marine resources between 12, 000 and 26, 000 years ago. To date, only a handful of the caves and rock shelters in the region have yet been studied (Photo: Tony Howard)
Criterion (d)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the place’s
importance in demonstrating the principal
characteristics of: i. a class of Australia’s natural or cultural
places; or
ii. a class of Australia’s natural or cultural environments.
This criterion applies to places that are the best
example of a class of place or environment. There are
four different ways places can fit this criterion.
1. A way of life important in the history of
Indigenous Australia;
2. An industrial or technological process important in
the history of Indigenous Australia;
3. A particular design or style important in the
history of Indigenous Australia;
4. A type of land and sea use important in the
history of Indigenous Australia.
1. Places that are the best example of a way
of life.
This includes places that have all of the features (or
the main features) of a particular way of life that are
important in the history of Indigenous Australia. This
includes places that have the main features of
common site types such as occupation sites and
ceremonial places that demonstrate the way
Indigenous people live.
Witjira–Dalhousie Springs was included on the National Heritage List on 4 August 2009 because of its outstanding heritage value being an integral part of Aboriginal tradition and life in northern South Australia. It is the beginning of an exceptionally large number of traditional song lines and story lines in the Witjira National Park. (Photo: Yvonne Webster)
2. Places that are the best example of an
industrial or technological process.
This includes places that have all of the features (or
the main features) of an industrial or technological
process that is important in the history of Indigenous
Australia. Places that show industrial or technological
processes include Indigenous mines, quarries or
places where plant or other resources were
processed.
3. Places that are the best example of a
particular design or style.
This includes places that have all of the features (or
the main features) of a design or style that is
important in the history of Indigenous Australia. This
could include places that best represent a type of
art, settlement or landscape.
The Hermannsburg Historic Precinct in the Northern Territory was included on the National Heritage List on 13 April 2006. It is the last surviving mission developed by the Hermannsburg Missionary Society. The precinct illustrates some of the common themes of Aboriginal mission life in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
4. Places that are the best example of a type
of land or sea use.
This includes places that have all of the features (or
the main features) of a particular land or sea use
that is important in the history of Indigenous
Australia. This could include places that best
illustrate ways Indigenous people influenced, related
to and managed their environment,
or moved across the landscape.
The Dampier Archipelago (including Burrup Peninsula) in Western Australia was included on the National Heritage List on 3 July 2007 because the place comprises one of the largest concentrations of rock engravings, standing stones and other stone arrangements in Australia. (Photo: Dragi Markovic)
Criterion (e)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the
place’s importance in exhibiting particular
aesthetic characteristics valued by a
community or cultural group.
In this criterion ‘aesthetic’ means that the place
has a sense of beauty that is of particular value
to a community of cultural group. Places with
spectacular views or vistas, spectacular natural
features, rock art or stone arrangements could fit
under this criterion.
For a place to meet threshold for this criterion there
must be evidence that the Indigenous community
considers the place to be particularly beautiful
and outstanding in comparison to other similar
places. To date, no place has been included on the
National Heritage List for this type of Indigenous
heritage value.
Criterion (f)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the place’s
importance in demonstrating a high degree
of creative or technical achievement at a
particular period.
This criterion applies generally to places that illustrate
a high degree of creative or technical achievement.
The places may show innovation or creative
adaptation in art, engineering, architecture, design,
landscape design, construction, manufacture,
craftsmanship or some other technical field. There
are three different ways places can fit this criterion.
Places that show a high degree of:
1. achievement in design, art, or craftsmanship;
2. ingenuity or innovative use of material;
3. achievement in combining built features into a
natural landscape to achieve a productive or
aesthetic purpose.
23
1. Places that show a high degree of
achievement in design, art, or craftsmanship.
Places that fit in this type may include images
(including rock art), built features, or a landscape
that has been modified.
The rock engravings in the Dampier Archipelago (including Burrup Peninsula) in Western Australia show exceptional creative diversity and include detailed and finely executed examples of water birds, crabs, crayfish kangaroos, turtles and fish some of which, because of their detail, can be identified to species level. (Photo: Dragi Markovic)
2. Places that show a high degree of ingenuity
or innovative use of material.
This could include places that show clever or
innovative resource extraction and processing sites
ranging from mines and quarries to places that show
processing of toxic plants.
The Sacred Heart Church at Beagle Bay Mission in
the West Kimberley (WA) has a high degree
of creative and technical achievement in the use of
pearl shell and other locally sourced media to
decorate the interior, combining western religious
and Aboriginal motifs.
Built in a remote location from locally sourced
material, the Sacred Heart Church at Beagle Bay
mission is a testimony to the ingenuity and
resourcefulness of the Pallottine brothers and the
Aboriginal residents of the mission who built and
decorated it. The use of pearl and other shells to
decorate the interior of the church, particularly the
sanctuary, demonstrates a high degree of artistic
excellence and technical skill. The place continues
to be highly valued by the
Beagle Bay Aboriginal community today because of
the considerable Aboriginal involvement in its
construction and decoration.
The Beagle Bay Sacred Heart Church, part of the national heritage listed place of the west Kimberley of Western Australia, has pearl shell inlays which represent Aboriginal and Christian symbols. (Photo: Andrew Tatnell)
3. Places that show a high degree of
achievement in combining built features into a
natural landscape to achieve a productive or
aesthetic purpose.
This could include places where material has been
deposited or arranged in the landscape to extract
and process resources or has been created to
represent pictures or symbols.
The Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape – Mt Eccles Lake Condah Area in south west Victoria provides evidence of an eel trap system, an excellent example of a creative achievement that is a combination of natural and built features. (Photo: John Baker)
Criterion (g)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the
place’s strong or special association with a
particular community or cultural group for
social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
The cultural aspect of the criterion means the
Indigenous cultural aspect, the non–Indigenous
cultural aspect or both.
This criterion applies to places to which a community
or cultural group shows a strong or special
attachment at the national level and include religious
or spiritual places, mythological places,
or places important in establishing and maintaining
group identity. The place has to be important
because of the community’s or group’s attachment
to the place that is outstanding in comparison to
others valued by Indigenous communities.
Communities may be any group of people whose
members share a locality, government, or cultural
background. They can be locally based, regional,
metropolitan or national groups, but should be a
recognised community.
The Cyprus Hellene Club–Australian Hall in NSW was included on the National Heritage List on 20 May 2008 because many Indigenous people today still have a strong or special association with the Cyprus Hellene Club – Australia Hall in Sydney for its role in the Day of Mourning Protest. (Photo: State Library of NSW)
Criterion (h)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the
place’s special association with the life or
works of a person, or group of persons,
of importance in Australia’s natural or
cultural history.
This criterion applies to places associated with
significant people. While this criterion is about
recognising important people in Australia’s history,
there must be a strong link between the important
person/group and the nominated place.
To reach threshold for this criterion, the person or
group must be of demonstrated importance in
Australia’s cultural history.
While that person may be connected with a number
of places, the nominated place should be the one
the person is most strongly associated with. This can
be demonstrated where the place has had a strong
effect on their beliefs, profession, practices or
events. It may also include places associated with
the major achievements of important people.
There are two different ways places can fit this
criterion. The place:
1. has strongly influenced the life of a nationally
recognised person or group;
2. is identified as the place where the major
achievements of a nationally recognised person or
group occurred.
1. The place has strongly influenced the life of
a nationally recognised person or group.
The place must be significant for its association with a
person or group of people of national importance.
The Wave Hill walk–off route in the Northern Territory was included on the National Heritage List on 9 August 2007. The route is associated with the work of Vincent Lingiari, who combined leadership on industrial issues with high authority in Aboriginal tradition and dignity in impoverished circumstances. On 15 August 1975 the Gurindji became the first Aboriginal community to have land returned to them by the Commonwealth Government. (Photo: National Archives of Australia)
2. The major achievements of a nationally
recognised person or group occurred at
this place.
The place must be associated with the work or major
achievement of a person or group of people of
national importance.
Heritage Story The West Kimberley was included on the National Heritage List on 31 August 2011. The place has outstanding heritage value to the nation for its association with Jandamarra, whose campaign of resistance was unprecedented in Australian history, as was the ferocity of the police and settler response. The late timing of the settlement and the impenetrable nature of the Devonian Reef helped create the man and the legend of Jandamarra – a man brought up in two worlds, whose detailed knowledge of European methods to contain Aboriginal resistance and his capacity to pass those skills on to his Bunuba countrymen and women, severely threatened the colonising project.
While Jandamarra did not act alone, his abilities to
disappear and avoid capture, and to appear to
even cheat death itself, made him a much feared
adversary to Europeans and a powerful leader
amongst his own people.
Criterion (i)
The place has outstanding heritage
value to the nation because of the place’s
importance as part of Indigenous traditions.
The criterion ‘importance as part of Indigenous
tradition’ can only be used for places which are
important as part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander tradition. However Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander heritage places do not have to be
nominated for this criterion. An Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander heritage place can be important under
any of the nine criteria from (a) to (i).
This criterion applies to places that are important as
part of Indigenous tradition. For the National
Heritage List, Indigenous tradition is defined as ‘the
body of traditions, observances, customs and
beliefs of Indigenous persons generally or of a
particular group of Indigenous persons’. This is the
handing down from generation to generation,
especially by word of mouth or by practice. It is
recognised that Indigenous traditions are living and
dynamic – they adapt and develop through time.
To reach the threshold for this criterion, a place must
be part of an Indigenous tradition and there must be
something about the tradition that makes it unusual or
exemplary at the national level. Like the other National
Heritage List criterion a comparative analysis with
other similar places will be done to determine if the
place is nationally outstanding, however given the
nature of Indigenous traditions comparative analyses
may not always be appropriate.
In some cases there may not be enough
information about the Indigenous traditions
associated with a place to decide whether it is of
‘outstanding heritage value to the nation.’
This does not mean that the place is not important as
part of Indigenous tradition; rather it may be difficult to
determine if the place reaches the National Heritage
List threshold from the information available. It also
means that many sites of high importance in
Indigenous tradition which are by nature ‘private’,
‘secret’ or ‘restricted’ will appropriately remain so.
There are three different ways places can fit this
criterion. Places that show Indigenous traditions
associated with:
1. creation beings and spirits,
2. people,
3. land and water.
Given the relationships between creation beings,
people and land and water there is likely to be
significant overlap between these three groupings.
The examples below show that one place may
encompass two or more of these types.
1. Places that show Indigenous traditions
associated with creation beings and spirits.
This includes exemplary or unusual places formed by
creation beings during their journeys, or places where
creation beings ‘put themselves’ into country during a
significant event that occurred during their journey
across the land. It also applies to exemplary or
unusual places inhabited by spirits.
27
The types of places where creation beings still live
or places that retain their essence, can
include rock deposits, lakes, rivers, hills and trees.
Their essence may also be a part of rock art and
other images such as Wandjina, Lightning Brothers
and Baiame. The power of creation beings may be
dangerous and special behaviours may be required
when going to places associated with them.
The way that creation beings behave(d) may affect
the country they created. Safe access is restricted to
certain categories of people (by gender or levels of
initiation) or it may make a place sick or healthy. For
Indigenous people, the land may be populated by
spirits that are mischievous or malicious and
observing protective practices is necessary for
people’s safety and well-being. These spirits may be
embodied in, or associated with, particular features
of the land such as wetlands.
Wilgie Mia Aboriginal Ochre mine in West Australia, the largest red Ochre was worked by Aboriginal men and Ochre exchanged as far afield as Queensland and the Nullabor Plains in South Australia. (Photo: Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation)
Heritage Story
The national heritage listed Wilgie Mia Aboriginal
Ochre Mine in Western Australia is the best example
of Indigenous traditions associated with ochre sites.
Wilgie Mia has outstanding heritage value to the
nation for its importance as part of a continuing
Indigenous tradition.
In the tradition, Wilgie Mia was created by an
ancestral being, Marlu the red kangaroo, and the
different coloured ochres found at the place relate to
different parts of the Marlu’s body. This is the only
known tradition to account for the different coloured
ochres that occur within the one site. When compared
with the other major mining sites in Australia, Wilgie
Mia has the most complete records of the rituals and
ceremonies associated with ochre mining in Australia.
While other major Aboriginal mine sites are associated
with creation beings, Wilgie Mia has the most diverse
relationship with spirit beings. In particular, the role of
the Mondong guardian spirits in regulating the
behaviour of people is best exemplified at Wilgie Mia.
Wilgie Mia is a men’s site and access has been
controlled through tradition and ritual. The red ochre at
Wilgie Mia, the blood of Marlu the red kangaroo, is
particularly prized. It has a striking pinkish hue and
silvery sheen which combine to produce a sacred
colour of particular potency. It is for these reasons that
the red ochre from Wilgie Mia is an important part of
Aboriginal ceremonial life, past and present. It is still
traded for use in traditional ceremonies including
important law ceremonies.
2. Places that show Indigenous traditions
associated with people.
This includes exemplary or unusual places where
people go through rites or ceremonies. These
processes may be associated with specific places
where spirits enter a woman or where departed spirits
travel after death.
Ceremonies conducted to change the social status of
living people – for example boy to man, or girl
to woman – often express power, authority and
relationships at an individual or community level. The
places where these ceremonies occur may have
spiritual power.
To date, no places have been included on the
National Heritage List for this type of Indigenous
heritage value.
3. Places that show Indigenous traditions
associated with land and water.
This includes exemplary or unusual places where
techniques to manage the land are practiced by
Indigenous people. These techniques often derive
from creation beings that entrusted a group with the
responsibility for caring for a particular country.
This could include traditions such as fire
management, ceremonies to increase species and
natural phenomena like rain, the observance of
specific prohibitions, and rituals associated with
resource extraction. The techniques may be
associated with rock art, standing stones or other
physical features. There are also traditions associated
with the sharing and trading of resources between
groups.
These include specific places on song lines where
neighbouring groups came together to trade items.
Heritage Story
The Wanjina-Wunggurr tradition features painted
images of Wanjina and the Wunggurr Snake
in rock shelters across the West Kimberley
national heritage place in Western Australia.
The Wanjina-Wunggurr tradition provides testimony
to a complex association of socio-religious beliefs
that continues to be central to the laws and
customs of the Wanjina-Wunggurr people. Painted
images on rock and other features in the land,
sea and sky, including natural rock formations and
man–made stone arrangements, are manifestations
of the Wanjina and the Wunggurr Snake. In order
to sustain the ongoing cycle of life, members of the
Wanjina–Wunggurr community continue to engage
in a range of ritual practices established in Lalai
(The Dreaming). While Wanjina-Wunggurr people
believe that the Wanjina ‘put’ themselves onto rock
surfaces as paintings, they also believe that as the
human descendants of these Wanjina, it is their
duty to maintain the ‘brightness’ or ‘freshness’ of
the paintings by re-touching them with charcoal
and pigments. By keeping the paintings ‘fresh’ the
world will remain fertile – the annual rains arrive,
plants and animals will reproduce and child spirits
will remain available in whirlpools and waterholes
throughout the Wanjina-Wunggurr homeland.
Indigenous heritage places can also be recognised
and protected through local, state, or other
commonwealth laws.
Local Government
Local governments often develop their own heritage
strategies which provide a framework for
management of local heritage. This can include legal
protection of significant local heritage places and
development controls to ensure their ongoing
protection. Talk to your local shire to see if they have
developed a heritage strategy that includes
Indigenous heritage places.
Information on Local Government resources is at:
http://www.heritageinfo.gov.au/government.html.
State and Territory Governments
States and territories have primary responsibility for
the protection and management of Indigenous
heritage places. While all states and territories have
legislation that provides blanket protection to
Indigenous heritage sites, the level of protection for
broader heritage places varies. Most of
Australia’s states and territories maintain registers of
Indigenous heritage sites.
Information about Indigenous heritage legislation
can be found at http://www.environment.gov.au/
heritage/laws/indigenous/protection-laws.html.
Australian Government
The Commonwealth Heritage List is a list of
Indigenous, natural and historic heritage places owned
or controlled by the Australian Government. These
places are assessed against nine criteria similar to the
national heritage criteria, but the threshold is
lower and is generally of local significance rather than
state or national significance. You can see which
places are currently included on the Commonwealth
Heritage List here:
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/
about/commonwealth/index.html.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage
Protection Act 1984 enables the Australian
Government to respond to requests to protect areas
and objects that are particularly significant under
Indigenous tradition (for example sacred sites and
objects) from specific threats of injury or desecration as
a last resort if it appears that state or territory laws have
not provided effective protection.
Alternative methods of recognitionand protection section
The government can make special orders, called declarations, to protect significant Aboriginal areas,
objects and whole classes of objects from threats of
injury or desecration. The government cannot make a
declaration unless an Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander person (or a person representing an
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person) has
requested it.
To make a declaration the government must receive satisfactory evidence of culture and or heritage that
explains:
• the nature of the threat of injury or desecration
• particular significance of the area, object or class of objects to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
A declaration operates for a defined period of time, and must be revoked if a state or territory
subsequently provides effective protection for the
area, object or class of objects under its own laws.
The power to make declarations is meant to be used
as a last resort, after the relevant processes of the
state or territory have been exhausted.
A copy of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 can be found at
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00937. An
application is able to be submitted in writing, orally or in
parts, so if you would like further information, please
contact the Department of the Environment and Energy at
Promotion
In addition to heritage protection through legislation,
promoting the significance of a place may help to
protect it. Greater awareness of the importance of a
place, what it means, how to use it and how to protect
it can increase a community’s interest and
involvement in its survival.
National/State/ Territory
Legislation (Laws) and links
Responsible agency and links
Australian Government
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/index.html
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2005C00228
Nominating Places to the National Heritage List: A Guide for Indigenous Communities https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/organisations/australian-heritage-council/nominating-heritage-place
Australian Heritage Grants Program http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/grants-and-funding
Australian Heritage Places I t
Department of the Environment and Energy
Ph: 1800 803 772 Email: [email protected] www.environment.gov.au
National Heritage http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/about/ national/index.html
Australian Heritage Council
Australian Heritage Council Act 2003 http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A01169
Department of the Environment and Energy
Ph: 02 6274 1111 Email: [email protected]
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ahc/index.html
ACT
Heritage Act 2004 http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/2004-57/default.asp
Heritage Register http://www.environment.act.gov.au/heritage/heritage_regist
ACT Government - Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate e Ph: 132 281 Email: [email protected]
// /
NSW
Heritage Act 1977 https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1977/136/full National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1974/80
Information on Indigenous heritage https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nswcultureheritage/AboriginalPeopleAndCulturalLife.htm
State Heritage Inventory https://www environment nsw gov au/heritagea
Office of Environment and Heritage Heritage Division, Ph: 02 9873 8500 Email: [email protected]
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritage
NT
Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989 https://legislation.nt.gov.au/en/Legislation/NORTHERN-TERRITORY-ABORIGINAL-SACRED-SITES-ACT
NT Heritage Act 2012 https://legislation.nt.gov.au/Legislation/HERITAGE-ACT
Register https://nt.gov.au/property/land/heritage-listings/heritage-register-
h f l bj t
Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority Ph: 08 8999 4365 Email: [email protected]
http://www.aapant.org.au/
Heritage contacts section
National/State/ Territory
Legislation (Laws) and links
Responsible agency and links
QLD
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2003-079
Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003 https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2003-080
Register https://culturalheritage.datsip.qld.gov.au/achris/public/home
Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Cultural Heritage Unit Ph: 137468 https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/ Department of Environment and Science Ph: 13 74 68 Email: [email protected] http://www.des.qld.gov.au/
SA
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/ABORIGINAL%20HERITAGE%20ACT%201988.aspx Heritage Places Act 1993 http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/HERITAGE%20 PLACES%20ACT%201993.aspx
Register http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/Heritage/SA_Heritage_Register
Department of Premier and Cabinet Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) Division Ph: (08) 8226 8900 https://dpc.sa.gov.au Department of Environment and Water Ph: 08) 8204 1910 www.environment.sa.gov.au http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/Home
Tasmania
Aboriginal Relics Act 1975 https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1975-081/
Register https://www.aboriginalheritage.tas.gov.au/about-us/aboriginal-heritage-register
Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania Ph: 1300 487 045 Email: [email protected]
VIC
Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/51dea49770555ea6ca256da4001b90cd/481F4F0770858034CA257169001D1F4A/$FILE/06-016a.pdf Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Register https://achris.vic.gov.au/#/dashboard Heritage Act 2017 http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/f932b66241ecf1b7ca256e92000e23be/3297D78C7620B8DDCA2580E4000B8857/$FILE/17-007aa%20authorised.pdf Heritage database http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/
Office of Aboriginal Affairs Victoria Ph: 1300 366 356 Email: [email protected] https://www.vic.gov.au/aboriginalvictoria.html
Heritage Victoria Ph: 03 9938 6894 Email: [email protected] https://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/
WA
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (under review) https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/law_a3.html Register https://maps.daa.wa.gov.au/AHIS/
Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage Ph: 08 6551 8002 or 1300 651 077 Email: [email protected] https://www.daa.wa.gov.au/
Steps towards a National Heritage List place
The National Heritage List is made up of the places and stories that are recognised to have outstanding heritage value to the nation – these places are important to all Australians, today and into the future.
The heritage values of a place on the National Heritage List are protected under Australia’s national environmental law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Any action that is likely to have a significant impact on the heritage values of a place on the National Heritage List requires the approval of the Australian Government Minister for the Environment.
Talk with traditional owners, other people in the community and heritage experts about whether the National Heritage List is the best option to recognise and protect your special place.
If traditional owners and the community agree to nominate your special place for the National Heritage List, download a nomination kit from call 1800 803 772, visit
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/nominating-heritage-place or email [email protected] for more information.
Write your nomination. Attach letters of support from people in the community.
Once a year, the Australian Government Minister for the Environment decides which nominations
will be assessed by the Australian Heritage Council.
A nomination and the Council’s assessment of it are legal processes and involve many steps – it could take up to five years.
The Australian Heritage Council looks at the heritage values of a nominated place and asks for comment from the public including landowners, occupiers and Indigenous
people with rights or interests in the nominated place.
The Australian Heritage Council advises the Australian Government Minister for the Environment whether a nominated place should be included on the National Heritage List.
The Australian Government’s Minister for the Environment makes the final decision for a place to be included on the National Heritage List.
© Commonwealth of Australia Updated 2018