What does a complex assessment include?
65 What does a complex assessment include?
For the purposes of section 53(2) of the Act, a complex assessment of an activity area is an assessment involving the disturbance of all or part of the activity area or an excavation of all or part of the activity area to uncover or discover Aboriginal cultural heritage.
A complex assessment may also include the collection and review of oral history relating to the activity area.
A disturbance or an excavation for a complex assessment must be supervised by a person appropriately qualified in archaeology and be carried out in accordance with proper archaeological practice.
The stratigraphy and general sub surface nature of the area being investigated must be established by controlled excavation before any other disturbance or excavation is carried out.
If machinery is used in a disturbance or an excavation, the disturbance or excavation must be conducted on a detailed stratigraphic basis.
If the use of machinery in a disturbance or an excavation results in the finding of occupation deposits or features, the deposits or features must be uncovered and assessed by controlled excavation.
In this regulation, controlled excavation means an archaeological investigation to uncover deposits or features using accepted stratigraphic methods and—
standard hand-held archaeological equipment, such as trowels, spades, sieves and brushes; or
if it is not practicable to use the equipment referred to in paragraph (a), mechanical equipment that can be used to proceed with the investigation in as careful a manner as an excavation carried out using the equipment referred to in paragraph (a).
The statute text is free to read above. View subscription options to unlock the case-law research tools for each provision.