ACT Heritage Council
The ACT Heritage Council helps to recognise, protect, conserve and celebrate the unique heritage places and objects in the ACT.
The ACT Heritage Council works with ACT Heritage, a part of the City and Environment Directorate. It recognises, protects and celebrates the ACT's unique heritage places and objects. The Heritage Act 2004 guides much of their work.
The ACT Heritage Council is an independent body appointed by the Minister for Heritage that identifies, assesses, conserves and promotes heritage places and objects. The ACT Heritage Council decides on registration and advise on the impact of development on heritage sites.
Council members
The ACT Heritage Council is made up of people selected for their knowledge, expertise, and strong community connections. Members bring diverse perspectives from sectors such as universities, businesses, and community organisations, including representatives from First Nations communities. Their roles are to ensure the Council remains informed on issues that matter across all parts of the community.
The Council has:
- 4 community representatives from the public, the Aboriginal community, and people who own, manage, or develop property.
- The Conservator of Flora and Fauna and the ACT Chief Planner (who both can’t vote).
- 6 experts who ideally represent one or more areas:
- Aboriginal culture or history
- archaeology
- architecture
- engineering
- history (that's not Aboriginal history)
- landscape architecture
- nature conservation
- object conservation
- town planning
- urban design
The Council is an independent group with multiple responsibilities under the Heritage Act 2004. These include:
- deciding if places and/or objects should be officially registered as heritage
- approving requests to alter heritage structures, including advice on how it might affect heritage value
- giving advice on building and developing plans where applicable for heritage items
- helping manage heritage places and objects
- supporting awareness of heritage places and things in the ACT and celebrating our local heritage.
ACT Heritage advertises when positions become available on the Council. Members can be on the Council for up to 2 terms of 3 years each. The Minister chooses a chairperson and deputy chairperson from the members.
The current Council members are:
Ms Catherine Skippington, the new Chairperson, brings 2 years of experience to the Heritage Council as its Deputy Chairperson and Community Representative. She brings external governance leadership experience to the Council as Chair of Northside Community Service, Treasurer of the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust, and Secretary of Menslink. Ms Skippington also has more than 15 years of public-sector executive experience. This includes significant roles in the Australian and Queensland governments that featured administration of significant heritage matters.
Since 2021 Mr Mapiva Brown has been Managing Director of Bagariin Ngunnawal Cultural Consulting, which creates and develops high level cultural recommendations to enable First Nation culture to be incorporated in large scale infrastructure. Between 2020 and 2022 he was the ACT Government’s Traditional Custodian Coordinator & Ngunnawal Project Officer, where he supported the operations and functions of the Dhawura Ngunnawal Caring for Country Committee.
He has governance experience with his membership in the Ngunnawal Language Corporation, ACT Place Names Committee, NSW Heritage Committee, United Ngunnawal Youth Council and the Dhawura Ngunnawal Caring for Country Committee.
A retired architect who has worked with the ACT and NSW Governments, Mr Henchman has skills in architecture, planning, nature conservation, town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture. He's worked with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife service for 25 years as regional architect and senior executive. As a consultant, he's helped the ACT Government with developing framework and implementation plans. He's been on several boards. This includes the Lord Howe Island Board, and Ginninderry Conservation Trust Board.
Dr Jasper is a professor of architecture at the University of Canberra (UC) and has had numerous leadership responsibilities on management committees in the UC and the Australian Institute of Architecture. He was an inaugural member of the National Capital Design Review Panel, the peak advisory group to the Australian Government and ACT Government on major development proposals in areas of significance in Canberra as Australia’s national capital. Dr Jasper holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, and a PhD from Deakin University.
An architect and built heritage specialist with 18 years' experience, Ms King has been part of heritage teams including the Kingston Arts Precinct, Gorman Arts Centre, Sydney and Melbourne Buildings, Civic Square Precinct, and MoAD at Old Parliament House. She has given advice to owners of heritage properties, updated seven Conservation Management Plans for ACT heritage sites, and worked with groups like Representative Aboriginal Organisations (RAOs), archaeologists, engineers, ecologists, and ACT Government agencies to make sure they do things the best way possible.
Ms McDonald is a property developer and renovator in the ACT and has a particular interest in restoration of older structures. She is a member of the ACT Aboriginal Community and maintains extensive connections to ACT Country. Ms McDonald has formal governance training as a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holding the ‘GAICD’ designation.
Representing the property ownership, management and development sector, Ms O’Neill has more than 26 years' experience as a town planner in local councils. Her work often involves the protection of indigenous artefacts, requiring collaboration with cultural heritage consultants. She's run her own consultancy firm since May 2014. Her firm has prepared planning reports for residential, mixed-use, commercial, education and heritage applications, plans and submissions.
Mr Schlitz has 25 years of consulting experience in archaeology and heritage preservation, including Aboriginal culture. This experience was obtained in 6 Australian states and territories and overseas. He has consulted to Aboriginal groups and governments, including heritage regulators and private entities. He has demonstrated familiarity of the interactions between regulations, Aboriginal communities, and multiple other stakeholder agendas. He was a Manager at Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, where he was familiar with the workings of that state’s heritage council and its interactions with multiple stakeholders.
Dr Shanahan is an archaeologist and has 20 years of heritage consulting experience, particularly in the service of heritage interpretation for clients. She currently has a leadership and governance role in the major heritage consulting firm Extent Heritage, and was an executive Committee Member of GML Heritage, a consultancy. Dr Shanahan has Aboriginal community connections through her previous work and a demonstrated ability to build similar relationships in the ACT. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holding the ‘GAICD’ designation.
ACT Heritage
ACT Heritage is a branch of the City and Environment Directorate. It works with the Council, provides secretariat support and advises the community on the heritage registration process and its meaning. It also advises how to conserve and manage heritage, including as part of development.
Laws to protect heritage
ACT Government laws protect our heritage for current and future generations. They aim to prevent damage to heritage places and objects. They also hold people responsible for repairs if damage occurs.
Heritage Act 2004
The Heritage Act 2004 is the law that applies to heritage objects and places of the ACT. This legislation creates the ACT Heritage Council and the ACT Heritage Register, determines what counts as heritage, and protects our heritage places and objects.
Planning Act 2023
The Planning Act 2023 also affects heritage management in the ACT.
Where planning and development applications relate to heritage, Territory Planning Authority seeks advice from the Heritage Council, and considers that advice in its decisions.
Heritage reporting
The ACT Government's directorates look after and conserve many heritage sites in the ACT. It's crucial for the government to set a good example in how it cares for and protects these places.
Some key heritage sites managed by public authorities include:
- Civic Merry-go-round
- Street furniture in registered precincts
- Yarralumla Woolshed
- Dickson Library
- Mountain huts
- Kingston Power House
- Giralang School
- Yarralumla Nursery
- Manuka Oval
- Havelock House
- Lanyon Homestead.
Reporting requirements
Under the law, government must report on and manage these heritage places and objects.
Every ACT Government directorate that manages heritage assets must send a written report to the ACT Heritage Council every 3 years. The report must include:
- details of each heritage place or object the authority was responsible for in the past 3 years.
- information about any heritage assets that were disposed during this time.
The Council will then:
- review the reports
- provide feedback
- advise on how to conserve and maintain them.
The Council may also track how the directorates implement their recommendations.
If the details of a place or object haven’t changed since the last report, the Directorate doesn't need to report on it again.
They must also include any actions taken based on the Council's feedback in its annual report.
Conservation Management Plan (CMP)
The Council can ask a government agency to prepare a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for a heritage place or object. The CMP must be approved by the Council and includes:
- policies for conducting work or repairs on a heritage place or object
- work controls to ensure they're properly managed and maintained
- instructions on to protect the heritage value of a place or object.
Regular asset maintenance plans
Directorates are encouraged to create maintenance plans for any heritage assets they manage. The ACT Heritage team can help prepare these plans.
Contact us
Phone: 13 22 81
Email: heritage@act.gov.au