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 Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. They recognise, protect and celebrate 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. They decide on registration and advise on the impact of development on heritage sites.
Council members
Council members are chosen for their knowledge and expertise and their ability to represent different parts of the community. They might be from universities, businesses, and communities, including the First Nation’s community.
The Council has:
- 3 members 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 can’t vote).
- 6 experts who 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
- making sure people know about 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 3 years. The Minister chooses a chairperson and deputy chairperson from the members.
The Council members are:
With expertise in architecture, he's a top Australian and global expert in heritage conservation with 40 years' experience. He's worked with the Australian Heritage Commission as the General Secretary of the Australian Council of National Trusts and has been a heritage consultant since 1993. He has led many projects to plan the conservation of heritage buildings and areas in the ACT. These include Old Parliament House, Lanyon and Cuppacumbalong Homestead Precincts, CSIRO Black Mountain, and St John's Church in Reid. In 2020, he was given the title of Member of the Order of Australia for his work in heritage conservation.
A community representative, she has 20 years' experience in senior roles in the Australian and Queensland public services. She's also worked as a consultant on natural resource management, cultural heritage, and change management. She understands heritage issues well, especially from dealing with tough situations. As an executive in the Queensland government from 1999 to 2012, she handled world heritage nominations and managing programs to protect heritage sites. This often involved sorting out tricky and important issues, like reviewing heritage processes and talking with people who care about heritage.
Representing the property ownership, management and development sector, she 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, O'Neill Consulting, since May 2014. Her firm has prepared planning reports for residential, mixed-use, commercial, education and heritage applications, plans and submissions.
An expert in archaeology and Aboriginal culture, he's a qualified archaeologist with 30 years' experience at senior levels in heritage management. He's worked with NSW and Victorian governments, and Commonwealth as Executive Officer of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area. He built strong relationships with First Nations people and gained experience working with Aboriginal cultural sites. He's also been on many committees related to heritage. This included advising on managing wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park.
She is an expert in archaeology with qualifications in archaeology and historic building conservation. She has 30 years' experience working in building conservation and heritage management both in Australia and the United Kingdom. She's had roles advising on heritage for governments, including NSW from 2008 to 2014 and the Welsh Government from 2014 to 2020. She was also part of the Australia Heritage Council in 2013 and 2014. She has worked in roles where she's applied heritage conservation rules within the law. This includes giving advice for the Council for British Archaeology and English Heritage, making policies for the Heritage Lottery Fund, and leading heritage teams for the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, NSW Heritage, and Cadw, the Welsh Heritage organization.
An architect and built heritage specialist with 18 years' experience, she's 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.
An architect who has worked in heritage management for 20 years, he's written reports and advised the ACT Heritage Council, Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council and Goulburn Mulwaree Council. He's also written reports on restoration and sensitive adaptation of heritage buildings. This includes the preparation of Assessments of Heritage Significance, Statements of Heritage Impact, and Conservation Management Plans. He knows a lot about significant Canberra buildings and places.
A retired architect who has worked with the ACT and NSW Governments, he 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.
ACT Heritage
ACT Heritage is a branch of the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. It works with the Council and 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