Heritage Places Act 1993

A person must not, without a permit from the Council—

excavate or disturb any land (not designated as a place of archaeological significance) for the purpose of searching for or recovering archaeological artefacts of heritage significance; or

excavate or disturb any land (not designated as a place of archaeological significance) knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that the excavation or disturbance will or is likely to result in an archaeological artefact of heritage significance being discovered, exposed, moved, damaged or destroyed.

Maximum penalty: $75 000.

A person who is aware or believes that he or she may have discovered or located an archaeological artefact of heritage significance (other than a person acting under the authority of a permit) must—

cease to excavate or disturb the place where the relevant object has been discovered (if relevant);

within the period specified by the regulations—

notify the Council of the location of the relevant object, unless the person has reasonable grounds to believe that the Council is aware of the location of the relevant object; and

furnish the Council with such information as the Council may reasonably require;

take no further action in relation to the recovering of the relevant object without a permit or other authorisation from the Council;

if required by the Council, surrender the relevant object to the Crown.

Maximum penalty: $25 000.

The

Council may, by notice in the Gazette, create exceptions to this section, either conditionally or unconditionally, in respect of any of the following:

any object of a specified kind or description;

any excavation or disturbance of a specified kind or description;

any excavation or disturbance of land in a specified location or having specified features or attributes;

any excavation or disturbance of land in respect of which an archaeological assessment approved by the Council indicates—

that there is little likelihood of there being any archaeological artefacts in the land; or

that any archaeological artefacts in the land are unlikely to be of heritage significance;

any other circumstance determined to be appropriate by the Council.

Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to a person who discovered the relevant object before the commencement of this section.

This section does not prevent a person from excavating or disturbing land in accordance with an authority or permit under—

the

Aboriginal

Heritage Act 1988;

or

the

Historic

Shipwrecks Act 1981;

or

any other Act prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.