Whole Act
166 provisions in continuous reading order
Loading the complete Act…
This Act may be cited as the Heritage Act 2011.
This Act commences on the day fixed by the Administrator by Gazette notice.
(1) The object of this Act is to provide for the conservation of the Territory's cultural and natural heritage.
The object is achieved by:
(a) declaring places and objects of heritage significance to be heritage places and objects; and
(b) declaring classes of places and objects of heritage significance to be protected classes of heritage places and objects; and
establishing the Heritage Council; and
(d) providing for heritage agreements to encourage the conservation, use and management of heritage places and objects; and
regulating work on heritage places and objects; and
establishing enforcement and offence provisions.
In this Act:
Aboriginal or Macassan archaeological object, see section 8(2).
Aboriginal or Macassan archaeological place, see section 6(2).
Aboriginal tradition, see section 3(1) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth).
acting in an official capacity, in relation to a heritage officer, means the officer is exercising powers or performing functions under, or otherwise related to the administration of, this Act.
affected person, for:
a reviewable decision – see section 90(2); or
an appealable decision – see section 93(2).
appealable decision, see section 93(1).
appointed heritage officer, see section 141(1)(a).
appointed members, see section 128(1)(a).
approved form means a form approved under section 145.
archaeological object, see section 8(1).
archaeological place, see section 6(1).
assessment period, see section 23.
building includes a structure of any kind.
cause damage, to a heritage place or object, includes:
destroy the place or object; and
diminish the heritage significance of the place or object.
CEO means the Chief Executive Officer.
chairperson means the chairperson of the Council.
connected, for Chapter 5, see section 100.
conservation, of a place or object, see section 12(1).
Council means the Heritage Council established by section 124.
decision maker means:
for an application for major work – the Minister; or
for another application – the Council.
deputy chairperson means the deputy chairperson of the Council.
exempt work, see section 78(1).
heritage agreement, see section 68(1).
heritage assessment criteria, see section 11.
heritage nomination, see section 20(1).
heritage object means:
(a) an object declared under Part 2.1 or 2.2 to be a heritage object; or
an object of a protected class of heritage objects.
heritage officer, see section 141.
heritage place means:
a place declared under Part 2.1 or 2.2 to be a heritage place; or
a place of a protected class of heritage places.
heritage significance, see section 10.
information notice, see section 94.
interested person, for:
a place – means each of the following persons:
(i) the owner of the place and, if the place is occupied by someone else, the occupier;
(ii) for land entered in the land register under the Land Title Act 2000 – the holder of a registered interest in the land under that Act;
(iii) for land covered by a resources interest – the holder of the interest; or
(b) an object – means the owner of the object and, if the object is in the lawful possession of someone else, the person in possession of the object.
interpretation, of a place or object, see section 12(2).
land includes:
land that is, or is at any time, covered by Territory waters; and
Territory waters.
major work means work that is likely to:
cause significant damage to a heritage place or object; or
(b) to significantly alter the heritage significance of a heritage place or object.
member means a member of the Council, and includes the chairperson and deputy chairperson.
object, see section 7.
on, in relation to a place, includes at and in the place.
occupier, of a place:
means:
a person in occupation of the place; or
the person in control of the place; or
(iii) if the place has different parts occupied or controlled by different persons – each person in occupation or control of the part concerned; and
for Chapter 5 – see section 99.
owner, for Part 3.1, see section 67.
place, see:
generally – section 5; or
for Chapter 5 – section 99.
protected class, for a heritage place or object, means a place or object of a class of places or objects of heritage significance declared under Part 2.3 to be a protected class of places or objects.
public consultation period, for:
Part 2.2 – see section 26(2)(b); or
Part 2.3 – see section 45(2)(b); or
Part 2.4 – see section 59(3).
register means the register kept under section 139.
relic, see section 9.
repair order, see section 86(1).
resources interest, in land, means:
(a) a registered licence or permit under the Energy Pipelines Act 1981; or
(b) a geothermal authority under the Geothermal Energy Act 2009 (other than a geothermal exploration permit); or
(c) a mineral title under the Mineral Titles Act 2010 (other than a mineral exploration licence or extractive mineral exploration licence); or
(d) a petroleum interest under the Petroleum Act 1984 (other than an exploration permit).
reviewable decision, see section 90(1).
review notice means a notice given under section 34 of the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2014.
revocation request, for Part 2.4, see section 56(1) and (2).
revoke, for Part 2.4, see section 55.
sacred site, see section 3(1) of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth).
stop work order, see section 80.
Tribunal means the Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
use includes proposed use.
work includes:
(a) a physical act that results in, or may result in, a change to the nature, appearance or physical nature of a heritage place or object; and
the subdivision or consolidation of land.
Examples of work for paragraph (a)
1 Construction, removal or demolition of a building.
2 Alteration or decoration of a building.
3 Archaeological excavation.
4 Removal, destruction or lopping of trees.
5 Removal of topsoil.
6 Erection of a sign or hoarding.
work approval, see section 72(1).
A place is an area of land.
A place includes:
a building or, a part of a building, on the place; and
(b) an item historically or physically associated with the place if the primary importance of the item derives (completely or partly) from that association; and
(c) equipment, furniture, fittings and articles on, or historically or physically associated with, the place.
Examples of places for section 5
1 A reef or a cliff, cutting, gorge, spring or other landform.
2 A plant or animal community.
3 Fossil beds.
4 A park or garden.
5 A lighthouse, church, homestead, railway station or gaol.
6 A stock well.
7 A cemetery, burial site or grave.
8 An airstrip, magazine, storage tunnel or other military installation.
9 The site of a shipwreck or aircraft crash.
An archaeological place is a place that:
relates to the past human occupation of the Territory; and
has been modified by the activity of the occupiers.
(2) An Aboriginal or Macassan archaeological place is a place that:
(a) relates to the past human occupation of the Territory by Aboriginal or Macassan people; and
has been modified by the activity of those people.
An object is a natural or manufactured object that is moveable.
An object includes an archaeological object but does not include a place.
An archaeological object is a relic that:
relates to the past human occupation of the Territory; and
is in an archaeological place.
(2) An Aboriginal or Macassan archaeological object is a relic that:
(a) relates to the past human occupation of the Territory by Aboriginal or Macassan people; and
is:
in an Aboriginal or Macassan archaeological place; or
(ii) stored in a place in accordance with Aboriginal tradition, including, for example, in an Aboriginal keeping place.
A relic is:
an artefact or thing given shape by a person; or
human or animal skeletal remains; or
something else prescribed by regulation.
An artefact or thing can be of any material.
Examples for subsection (2)
1 A secret or ceremonial object.
2 A log or bark coffin.
3 Human remains.
4 Rock or wood carvings or engravings.
5 Stone tools.
However, an artefact or thing made for sale is not a relic.
In addition, a thing prescribed by regulation is not a relic.
The heritage significance of a place or object includes its aesthetic, historical, scientific and social significance.
The heritage assessment criteria for a place or object are as follows:
whether it is important to the course, or pattern, of the
Territory's cultural or natural history;
whether it possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the
Territory's cultural or natural history;
whether it has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the Territory's cultural or natural history;
whether it is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places or environments;
whether it is important in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics;
whether it is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement during a particular period;
whether it has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons, including the significance of a place to Aboriginal people as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions;
whether it has a special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in the Territory's history.
Note for section 11
Under section 24, the heritage assessment criteria are applied to assess the heritage significance of a place or object to decide whether or not to declare the place or object a heritage place or object.
The conservation of a place or object includes the maintenance, preservation, restoration, reconstruction, adaptation and interpretation of the place or object for the retention of its heritage significance.
The interpretation of a place or object is the way of presenting the heritage significance of the place or object.