Purpose:

To conserve the environmental heritage of New South Wales by promoting understanding, encouraging conservation, identifying and registering significant items, providing interim protection, and assisting owners with conservation efforts.

Objectives:

• To promote an understanding of the State’s heritage.
• To encourage the conservation of the State’s heritage.
• To provide for the identification and registration of items of State heritage significance.
• To provide for the interim protection of items of State heritage significance.
• To encourage the adaptive reuse of items of State heritage significance.
• To constitute the Heritage Council of New South Wales and confer on it functions relating to the State’s heritage.
• To assist owners with the conservation of items of State heritage significance.

Key Provisions:

• Establishes the Heritage Council of New South Wales, outlining its constitution, membership, and functions related to heritage conservation, research, education, and maintenance of the State Heritage Inventory.
• Authorises the Minister and councils to make interim heritage orders for items of State or local heritage significance, providing immediate, temporary protection.
• Mandates the keeping of the State Heritage Register by the Heritage Council for items of State heritage significance, with procedures for listing and removal.
• Allows the Minister to enter into heritage agreements with owners of listed items to facilitate their conservation, covering aspects like financial assistance, use restrictions, and required works.
• Provides for the protection of historic shipwrecks through declaration by the Minister and the requirement for permits for movement, damage, or destruction.
• Controls activities affecting items subject to interim heritage orders or State Heritage Register listing, requiring approval from the Heritage Council or relevant council for specified actions like demolition, damage, development, or alteration.
• Specifies procedures for applications for approval, including public notice requirements for applications that materially affect heritage significance.
• Establishes the Heritage Conservation Fund and Heritage Incentive Fund to provide financial assistance for heritage conservation, promotion, education, research, and administration.
• Imposes minimum standards for the maintenance and repair of listed buildings, works, and relics, and empowers the Heritage Council to issue orders to remedy non-compliance.
• Provides for heritage valuations of land subject to State Heritage Register listing for rating and taxing purposes, aiming to reflect heritage restrictions.
• Allows the Minister to curtail or modify other laws that restrict the conservation of listed items if deemed necessary.
• Requires excavation permits for disturbing land where relics are known or suspected to be present, and mandates notification of relic discoveries.
• Outlines enforcement mechanisms, including orders of the Court to remedy or restrain breaches, and specifies offences and penalties under the Act.
• Requires government instrumentalities to maintain a “Heritage and Conservation Register” for items under their control and to manage them in accordance with approved principles and guidelines.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Application for Approval:
  • Submit applications in the approved form to the Heritage Council (for Minister’s interim heritage orders or State Heritage Register listings) or the council that made the order (for council interim heritage orders) for any controlled activities related to a place, building, work, relic, moveable object, or land that is subject to an interim heritage order or State Heritage Register listing. Controlled activities include demolition, damage, despoiling, moving, destroying, excavating land to expose/move relics, carrying out development, altering, displaying notices/advertisements, or damaging/removing vegetation.
  • Accompany the application with the prescribed fee.
  • If the application would materially affect the significance of a heritage item, public notice will be given by the approval body, and submissions from the public may be received; applicants should be prepared for this process.
  • For deferred commencement approvals, provide evidence to the approval body sufficient to satisfy it as to specified matters within any period specified by the approval body.
  • For modification of an approval, submit an application in the approved form.
• Maintenance and Repair:
  • Ensure that any building, work, or relic listed or within a precinct listed on the State Heritage Register is maintained and repaired to standards that are not less than the minimum standards imposed by the regulations. These standards primarily relate to weatherproofing (roof, doors, windows), fire prevention/protection, security (fencing, surveillance to prevent vandalism), and essential maintenance/repair to prevent serious damage/deterioration.
  • Comply with any orders issued by the Heritage Council (or Chairperson) to remedy failure to maintain or repair. These orders will specify the required actions and a reasonable period for compliance (or immediate compliance in serious risk cases). Non-compliance may result in the Heritage Council carrying out the work and recovering costs as a debt.
  • If an occupier of land, permit the owner to carry out work specified in an order from the Heritage Council within 2 days of service, if such work is necessary for the owner to comply with their maintenance/repair order.
• Excavation and Relic Discovery:
  • Obtain an excavation permit from the Heritage Council before disturbing or excavating any land if there is knowledge or reasonable suspicion that the action will or is likely to result in a relic being discovered, exposed, moved, damaged, or destroyed.
  • If a relic is discovered or exposed during any land disturbance or excavation (whether or not a permit was initially issued), cease work and obtain an excavation permit before continuing the disturbance or excavation.
  • Submit applications for excavation permits in the approved form and accompanied by the prescribed fee.
  • If aware or believing a relic has been discovered or located, notify the Heritage Council of the relic’s location within a reasonable time, unless already aware.
  • Furnish the Heritage Council with any reasonably required information concerning the relic within the period required by the Heritage Council.
  • If a relic is obtained from an excavation carried out under a permit, notify the Minister of its existence as soon as practicable.
  • Furnish the Minister with any reasonably required information concerning the relic obtained from excavation.
  • If directed by the Minister, deliver a relic (especially historic shipwrecks obtained without permit or relics from land excavated without permit) to a specified person or body (e.g., a museum) for conservation.
• Stop Work Orders:
  • Comply with any stop work order affixed to a building, work, relic, moveable object, or place. The order will require work to cease and prohibit further work (other than specified work) for 40 days.
• Corporate Liability:
  • Directors and individuals involved in the management of agricultural corporations must ensure compliance with the Act and regulations, as they can be held liable as accessories for corporate offences.
• Notices to Show Cause:
  • If convicted of an offence involving demolition, damaging, or despoliation of a heritage item, respond to any written notice from the Minister within 21 days to show cause why restrictions on development or use of the land should not be imposed.
• Record Keeping:
  • Government instrumentalities (including State-owned corporations) involved in agriculture must establish and maintain a “Heritage and Conservation Register” detailing environmental heritage items of a prescribed class that they own, occupy, or control.
  • Annually review and amend the Heritage and Conservation Register as necessary.
  • Furnish copies of the register and any amendments to the Heritage Council according to its directions.
• Reporting Requirements for Government Instrumentalities:
  • Give the Heritage Council not less than 14 days written notice before removing an item from the Heritage and Conservation Register, transferring ownership of a registered item, or ceasing to occupy/demolishing any registered place, building, or work.
• Measurement Standards/Guidelines for Government Instrumentalities:
  • Maintain registered items and land under care, control, or management with due diligence in accordance with “State Owned Heritage Management Principles” approved by the Minister and “heritage asset management guidelines” issued by the Heritage Council. These guidelines may cover maintenance, repair, alteration, transfer of ownership, and demolition.
• Inspection/Audit Requirements:
  • Authorised persons (with a certificate of authority from the Minister) may carry out inspections of buildings, works, relics, moveable objects, and places believed to contain environmental heritage items. Owners/occupiers should facilitate such inspections after reasonable notice or with consent. Produce the certificate of authority if required by the person in charge.

Metadata Keywords:

Heritage, Conservation, New South Wales, Legislation, Cultural Heritage, Archaeology, Historic Shipwrecks, Environmental Heritage, Relics, Government Instrumentalities.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 21 November 2024 (current version to date) Version number: No 136

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Rural interests

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/pdf/inforce/2025-04-22/act-1977-136 →