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Heritage Amendment Bill 2023
Parliament has passed the Heritage Amendment Bill 2023.
The Bill will come into effect on 1 February 2024 or earlier by proclamation.
The Bill:
- ensures key notices and documents can be accessed online
- sets out the process for online hearings by the Heritage Council
- allows for applications to exclude places and objects from the Heritage Register
- makes general improvements to the operation of the Heritage Act
Heritage Act 2017
The purpose of the Act is to provide for the protection and conservation of the cultural heritage of Victoria.
The Act creates a framework to identify the most important non-Aboriginal heritage in Victoria, and regulates changes to those places. The Act also creates offences and other enforcement measures to protect and conserve heritage.
Scope of the Act
The Act sets out procedures to identify places of state heritage significance, and of historical archaeological value. It also establishes the processes for obtaining approvals for changes to those places, enforcing compliance, and other administrative procedures.
History of the Act
The Heritage Act 2017 came into operation on 1 November 2017.
It replaced the Heritage Act 1995, which replaced the Historic Buildings Act 1981 and the Historic Buildings Act 1974.
Key roles and responsibilities
Heritage Victoria regulates the Heritage Act 2017. This includes:
- making recommendations about what to include in the Victorian Heritage Register
- making decisions about changes to places on the Register
- making recommendations about what to include in the Victorian Heritage Inventory
- making decisions about changes to places on the Inventory
- making decisions about access to shipwrecks and other underwater sites
- enforcing the Heritage Act
The Heritage Council of Victoria decides what to include in the Victorian Heritage Register. They are the review body for permit and consent decisions made by Heritage Victoria.
The Minister for Planning may take responsibility for a registration decision, or the review of a permit or consent application, that is before the Heritage Council. The Minister for Planning may refer a review of a permit or consent application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for determination.
Heritage Regulations
The Heritage Regulations 2017
Regulations are statutory rules created by Parliament.
The regulations:
- set fees for certain activities, including permit and consent applications
- set penalties and infringement offences
- require details and results of all historical archaeological surveys to be provided to Heritage Victoria
- establish the rules relating to shipwreck protected zones
- establish the requirements for some documents and forms
- establish waivers for certain application fees
Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018
The purpose of the Act is to protect Australia’s shipwrecks, sunken aircraft, and other types of underwater cultural heritage.
In Victoria, the Act covers all ‘Commonwealth waters’. Commonwealth waters are from three nautical miles from the Victorian coastline, to the outer limit of Australia’s continental shelf.
The Act automatically protects all shipwrecks and aircraft that were sunk in Commonwealth waters more than 75 years ago.
Scope of the Act
The Act ensures our underwater cultural inheritance is protected for future generations by:
- recognising that human remains found within shipwrecks or sunken aircraft must be treated with respect and not as artefacts
- enabling protection of Australia’s underwater cultural heritage in waters outside of Australia from actions by Australians
- broadening protection to sunken aircraft and other underwater cultural heritage sites
- elevating the role of the public by recognising their role in promoting awareness, understanding, appreciation and appropriate use of Australia’s underwater cultural heritage
- modernising and strengthening the range of compliance and investigation powers, while adopting a graduated approach to enforcement
- declaring protected zones to provide additional protection to some sites
- continuing the highly successful delegated framework for day-to-day management in collaboration with the Australian States and Northern Territory.
History of the Act
The Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 came into operation on 1 July 2019. It replaced the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976.
Key roles and responsibilities
The Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 is Commonwealth legislation. It is administered by the Australian Government. Heritage Victoria has a delegated responsibility for day-to-day decisions under the Act.
Page last updated: 06/04/23