Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

A member of the Australian Heritage Council has a duty not to disclose the following to a person other than the Minister, an employee in the Department whose duties relate to the Council or another member of the Council:

an assessment under section 324JH whether a place meets any of the National Heritage criteria, any information relating to the assessment or any information about the nomination (if any) that led to the making of the assessment;

advice under section 324M concerning a place or any information relating to the advice.

However:

the duty not to disclose a thing described in paragraph (1)(a) in relation to a place does not exist after:

publication in the Gazette of an instrument under paragraph 324JJ(1)(a) or subsection 324JQ(1) in relation to the place; or

the Minister decides under paragraph 324JJ(1)(b) not to include the place in the National Heritage List; and

the duty not to disclose a thing described in paragraph (1)(b) in relation to a place does not exist after:

registration under the Legislation Act 2003 of a legislative instrument under section 324L relating to the place; or

publication in the Gazette of an instrument made under section 324LA, 324LB or 324LC relating to the place; or

the Minister decides under section 324M not to remove the place or a part of the place, or one or more of the place’s National Heritage values, from the National Heritage List.

This section does not prevent the Australian Heritage Council from informing a person, or having discussions with a person, about the consequences that result or may result from:

a place being, or not being, included in the National Heritage List; or

National Heritage values of a place being, or not being, included in the List; or

a place or part of a place, or one or more National Heritage values of a place, being removed from the List.

Subsection (1) does not apply to a disclosure of particular information if:

the Chair of the Australian Heritage Council requests the Minister to give permission to disclose that information to a particular person (or persons within a particular group of persons); and

the Minister gives that permission; and

the disclosure is made to that person (or a person within that group).

After a member of the Australian Heritage Council has ceased under subsection (2) to have a duty not to disclose:

an assessment under section 324JH whether a place meets the National Heritage criteria; or

advice under section 324M concerning a place;

If:

a member of the Australian Heritage Council proposes to give a person under subsection (3) a copy of an assessment or advice relating to a place; and

the member is aware that, under section 324Q, it would be sufficient compliance with this Act if the copy included only a general description of the place, its location or its National Heritage values;