Frequently Asked Questions
Guide For Owners
Q. What is heritage?Our heritage is our inheritance from the past. It includes the natural environment, the built environment, artefacts (movable cultural heritage) and our customs, language and beliefs. Communities large and small can decide which parts of their inheritance they value and wish to retain for the long term. At one end of the scale, World Heritage listings protect and conserve heritage of global importance, and then there are national, State and local listings. More information on these different levels of protection can be found at the end of this guide. In South Australia, the South Australian Heritage Council and the Heritage Branch of the Department for Environment and Heritage are responsible for non-Aboriginal heritage of State significance, with a focus on the built environment, but extending also to archaeological heritage and to significant geological, fossil and cave sites. Heritage of local significance is the responsibility of local councils. Q. Why conserve our heritage places?Heritage places are important reminders of where we have come from. Each generation has a responsibility to protect significant places for future generations. Built heritage provides us with physical evidence of the past, and links communities with attitudes and values that have shaped their environment. Many current owners do care for their heritage places well, but there is no guarantee that subsequent owners will place the same value on their conservation. Heritage listing will help to ensure places survive for future generations to appreciate.
Q. What is the Heritage Places Act?The Heritage Places Act 1993 provides a legal framework within which the community can conserve its heritage of State significance, relating in the main to non-Aboriginal history and settlement. (Aboriginal heritage is protected by separate legislation administered by the Department for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation.) The Act protects places of aesthetic, historic, architectural, scientific or social significance by enabling their entry in the South Australian Heritage Register. Objects that are intrinsically related to the significance of a listed State Heritage Place can also be protected, including objects that are not located at the place or have a different owner. The Act also provides for an independent South Australian Heritage Council. Q. What is the South Australian Heritage Register?The Register lists the full range of South Australian heritage places within one database, including World Heritage, Australian Government listings, State Heritage Places, State Heritage Areas, local heritage places and Historic (Conservation) Zones. State Heritage Places are legally protected when the Heritage Council enters them in the Register under the Heritage Places Act 1993. All other categories listed in the Register are protected by separate pieces of legislation, and are recorded in the Register for convenience only. This Guide focuses on State Heritage Places and the Heritage Places Act 1993. The Heritage Places Act deals mostly with heritage that is part of the built environment. This includes not only buildings but places such as bridges, wells, monuments, mine sites and cemeteries. Places of State significance may be entered in the Register if they meet one or more of the criteria in section 16 of the Act. For example, a place may reflect an important aspect of our history, such as nineteenth-century copper mining in Burra; or may have a special association with the life or work of a significant person, as does Sir Hans Heysen's studio at Hahndorf. Generally speaking, items of movable cultural heritage are the responsibility of other government agencies including the History Trust, the South Australian Museum, the State Library and State Records. The exception is objects intrinsically related to the heritage significance of a State Heritage Place - such objects can be protected by the Heritage Places Act. In this way, objects that are not fixtures or fittings - and are therefore not legally part of a place - can be protected by entering them in the Register. Objects can include archaeological artefacts and geological, palaeontological or speleological specimens. Q. What is a State Heritage Area?Precincts that possess coherent heritage significance on a broader scale can be protected as State Heritage Areas. Examples include the town of Mintaro and the Church Hill area of Gawler. They have similar legislative protection to individual places, because legally every place in a State Heritage Area is treated as a State Heritage Place. However, the process for creating Areas is different. State Heritage Areas are normally created after heritage survey recommendations are supported by the SA Heritage Council. The Planning Minister then needs to instigate a Plan Amendment Report (under the Development Act) to include the Area and its relevant planning policies ('objectives' and 'principles of development control') in the relevant local council Development Plan. Q. What is the South Australian Heritage Council?The SA Heritage Council is an independent body of seven to nine members with expertise in history, archaeology, architecture, the natural sciences, heritage conservation, public administration, urban and regional planning and property development. The Council provides strategic advice to the Heritage Minister on heritage issues. It also administers the SA Heritage Register, including the entry and removal of State Heritage Places. Q. What is the Heritage Branch?The Heritage Branch is part of the Department for Environment and Heritage. It provides administrative and policy support to the SA Heritage Council and is responsible for administering the State government's program to identify and conserve heritage places of State significance. The Heritage Branch is responsible for administering the Heritage Places Act 1993, the South Australian Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981 and the Australian Government's Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. Q. How are places nominated for the SA Heritage Register?A systematic survey program of the State's built heritage has been underway since 1980, and many places have been recommended for entry in the Register by these surveys. Individuals can also nominate places for the Register. A nomination should be accompanied by as much evidence as possible about a place's significance. You can download the nomination form (18Kb PDF) from the Heritage web site or request one from the Heritage Branch. Criteria for listing can be found in Section 16 of the Heritage Places Act 1993 and at the end of this guide. Q. Does an owner have any say in the registration process?Staff from the Heritage Branch, acting on behalf of the SA Heritage Council, discuss proposed heritage listings with property owners well before the listing process is commenced. A letter is first sent to the owner offering to discuss the proposed listing. If the Heritage Council then decides to provisionally enter the place in the Register, it must write to the owner setting out reasons why it considers the place is of heritage significance. The Heritage Council must also publicly advertise the provisional entry and inform the Heritage Minister and the local council. After a place is provisionally entered in the Register, a period of three months is given to owners and other interested parties to consider the proposal. Any person may make a written submission for or against the entry of a place in the Register, and may then be heard in person by the Heritage Council if they wish. If, after this process, the provisional entry in the Register is confirmed against the owner's wishes, she/he can lodge an appeal with the Environment, Resources and Development Court. Q. What obligations are placed on owners?Naturally any place entered in the Register remains the property of the owner. The public does not gain any right of access to the place. Heritage properties can be altered or developed, but it is necessary to obtain development approval before doing so. This ensures that the process of change is carefully managed, and that the heritage significance of the place is protected. For any place, whether heritage-listed or not, the Development Act requires that any 'development' must be approved by the relevant planning authority (usually the local council). For a State Heritage Place, the definition of 'development' includes demolition, removal, conversion, alteration or painting of, or addition to, the place, or any other work that could materially affect the heritage significance of the place. Before making its decision on a development proposal concerning a State Heritage Place, the planning authority is required to refer the application to the Heritage Minister for advice. This advice is provided by the local heritage adviser or by staff of the Heritage Branch on behalf of the Minister. Adjacent development which may materially affect the setting of a State Heritage Place will also be referred to the Minister. Q. Will the property's value be affected?Probably not. Some people fear that heritage listing will reduce their property's value. This may be the case when an old building is being used for a purpose well below the most commercially valuable use permitted by the zoning: for example, a cottage in a commercial zone on a major road. These cases are not common. A house in a residential zone should not suffer any loss in value. It may even experience a rise because of the certainty of knowing its heritage character is protected, and this benefit can flow on to nearby properties because the listing helps to protect the character of the streetscape. Q. Will insurance premiums be affected?Heritage status, on its own, should have no effect on insurance premiums. Insurance cover should reflect the age, construction and condition of the building, regardless of heritage listing. It is a common misconception that if a heritage place is destroyed, the owner will be required to rebuild it to its original form. In reality, total destruction usually means its heritage value will be lost, and will not be regained by building a replica. There is no legal requirement to rebuild a place destroyed in accidental circumstances. In cases of partial damage, the Heritage Branch will encourage retention of elements that contribute to a place's heritage value. Each situation is evaluated according to its merits. Generally speaking the value of a place will be best retained by carrying out repairs in a manner sympathetic to the original construction. Q. Is there advice available for owners of State Heritage Places?Conservation architects from the Heritage Branch offer free advice to owners of State Heritage Places on maintenance and repair work. There are also heritage advisers in some council areas who will assist owners of local or State Heritage Places with conservation advice. Contact your local council or the Heritage Branch for more information. The Heritage Branch also produces publications containing practical conservation advice on issues such as painting, rising damp, cleaning stone masonry and devising a maintenance check list. Some publications can be downloaded from the publications page on the Heritage web site. Printed copies of some publications are available through the Department for Environment and Heritage Information Line on (+61 8) 8204 1910. Q. What about financial assistance?Owners of State Heritage Places can apply for grants from the South Australian Heritage Fund. Assistance may be provided to conserve those aspects of a place which contribute to its heritage significance, but not for new development. Conservation Plans can also be funded. Other sources of funds and incentives become available from time to time, so it is always worth phoning the Heritage Branch for advice or checking the Grants page on the Heritage web site. Q. Is an owner required to carry out special maintenance?The Heritage Places Act requires people to take 'reasonable care' of a State Heritage Place. As with any property, it is in the owner's interest to carry out ongoing maintenance and repair work to protect the value of the property and avoid expensive remedial work. Q. Is it necessary to employ qualified professionals or tradespeople to carry out building work?There is no legal requirement to do so. However, it makes sense to use experienced professionals and tradespeople when undertaking conservation work. This will protect the heritage significance of the building and help to safeguard the property as a financial investment. The Heritage Branch or local heritage adviser can often refer owners to a skilled tradesperson. Q. Who should be contacted in the case of accidental damage, such as fire, flood or earthquake damage?Contact the Heritage Branch and your local council as soon as possible. If a building is not structurally sound or secure the owner will be given immediate approval for stabilisation and repairs. Q. Is demolition permitted?Demolition of a State Heritage Place will not normally be approved. If demolition was thought to be necessary, a development application would need to be lodged with the local council explaining the reasons in detail. Q. Are there penalties for carrying out work without approval, or demolishing a State Heritage Place without approval?Demolition or other unapproved development, damaging or reducing the heritage value of a place, or ignoring a Stop Order, are serious offences. Penalties are provided for in both the Development Act 1993 and the Heritage Places Act 1993. Heritage Lists with statutory force in South Australia*Local GovernmentPlaces of local heritage significance are managed by local councils under the provisions of the Development Act 1993 and are protected by being listed in a Council's Development Plan through the preparation and gazettal of a Plan Amendment Report (PAR). Enquiries about local heritage listing should be addressed to the relevant council. State GovernmentThe entry of State Heritage Places in the South Australian Heritage Register is administered by the Heritage Branch of the Department for Environment and Heritage in conjunction with the South Australian Heritage Council. Australian GovernmentThe Register of the National Estate was compiled by the Australian Heritage Commission from 1976 to 2003. The Australian Heritage Council is now responsible for keeping it. The Commonwealth Heritage List comprises natural, indigenous and historic heritage places on Commonwealth lands and waters or under Australian Government control which are identified by the Federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage as having Commonwealth heritage values. The National Heritage List is Australia's list of places with outstanding heritage value to our nation. The Australian Heritage Council assesses the values of nominated places and makes recommendations to the Minister about listing. The final decision on listing is made by the Minister. World HeritageThis is a list of places that are important to all the peoples of the world. The places on this list have special universal values above and beyond the values they hold for a particular nation. Only the Australian Government can nominate Australian places for entry on this list. The World Heritage Committee assesses nominated places against set criteria and decides which places will be included on the World Heritage List. World Heritage sites in Australia are fully protected under Australian Government law. * All but the local heritage lists can be accessed through the Australian Heritage Places Inventory on the Australian Heritage Directory web site http://www.heritage.gov.au Non-statutory Heritage Lists in South AustraliaPrior to the creation in 1978 of the Register of State Heritage Items (now the South Australian Heritage Register), the National Trust of South Australia (a non-government organisation) maintained its own Register of Historic Buildings. Once the South Australian Heritage Register was well established the National Trust decided in 1989 to close its Register. The files are retained at the National Trust of South Australia's head office. Other lists are maintained by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and Engineers Australia. Criteria For EntryTo be entered in the Register as a State Heritage Place, a place must satisfy one or more of the criteria in Section 16 of the Heritage Places Act 1993: (a) It demonstrates important aspects of the evolution or pattern of the State's history; (b) It has rare, uncommon or endangered qualities that are of cultural significance; (c) It may yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the State's history, including its natural history; (d) It is an outstanding representative of a particular class of places of cultural significance; (e) It demonstrates a high degree of creative, aesthetic or technical accomplishment or is an outstanding representative of particular construction techniques or design characteristics; (f) It has strong cultural or spiritual associations for the community or a group within it; (g) It has a special association with the life or work of a person or organisation or an event of historical importance. Section 14(2) provides that, in relation to a State Heritage Place, an object can be entered in the Register if it has 'heritage significance', which s16(2) defines as follows:
The object does not have to be located at the place. Further EnquiriesFurther enquiries may be directed to: The Manager Phone: (61 8) 8124 4960 |
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