National Environment Protection Council Act 1994

1. he parties acknowledge that the primary role of the Australian Heritage Commission is to identify the National Estate and advise the Commonwealth on its conservation.

2. The parties further acknowledge that primary responsibility for land use and resource planning decisions rests with States.

3. The parties agree that the register of the National Estate is one of the factors that the States may consider when making land use and resource planning decisions and that Section 30 of the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 applies only to decisions of the Commonwealth Ministers, Departments and Authorities. The parties recognise however that some applications of s.30 of the Act may have significant land and resource use planning implications.

4. The Commonwealth supports the current practice whereby the Australian Heritage Commission provides information on all places nominated to the Register of the National Estate or which are identified by studies, to the designated agencies in the relevant State. The Commonwealth agrees to support the current practice whereby the Commission seeks and considers the views of the relevant State on all nominated places before making a decision on interim listing.

5. Each State agrees to establish and advise the Australian Heritage Commission on appropriate channels of communication, the persons responsible for consultation and the persons responsible for coordination of responses to the Australian Heritage Commission on matters related to National Estate nominations and listings.

6. The Commonwealth supports the current practice whereby the Australian Heritage Commission provides information to the relevant local government body on places to be given interim listing status at least two months prior to any public notification of that interim listing.

7. The parties agree that systematic, thematic and/or regional assessment is the preferred basis on which to assess the national estate values of an area.

8. The Commonwealth and the States agree to facilitate joint assessment processes between the Australian Heritage Commission and the States where appropriate. In any event, existing data collections and assessment processes that conform to national estate assessment criteria which are set out in the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 can be accredited and relied upon by the Australian Heritage Commission as satisfying the requirements of the Commission.

9. The Commonwealth agrees that any State can negotiate with the Commission on improved forms of consultation concerning development of the Register of the National Estate generally.

10. The Commonwealth and the States agree that there will be consultation and agreement wherever possible on the timing of Australian Heritage Commission and State assessment processes.

11. Where there is an accredited or joint assessment of national estate values of the Commonwealth and/or the States will give full faith and credit to the results of such assessment when exercising their responsibilities.

12. The Commonwealth and the States note that where there is an accredited or joint assessment of national estate values the Australian Heritage Commission will generally not, and in any event will not without consultation with the States, reconsider that assessment except where new and significant information is produced.