Getting on the register
Do you know a place worth listing on the Queensland Heritage Register? Would you like to see it conserved for future generations? A place may be entered in the Register if it's of cultural heritage significance and satisfies one or more of the eight criteria in the Queensland Heritage Act 1992, listed below. You can nominate a place even if you don't own it.Nominating a place is easy. Just send a nomination form to the Environmental Protection Agency, with comprehensive information about the place's cultural heritage significance, history, and physical features.
Then a process will begin to decide whether the place should be entered in the Register.
Entry criteria
A place needn't be old to be entered. A place may be entered in the Queensland Heritage Register if it is of cultural heritage significance because of its aesthetic, architectural, historical, scientific, social or technological significance.
It must also satisfy one or more of the criteria outlined in the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. The criteria are:
- the place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history;
- the place demonstrates rare, uncommon, or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage;
- the place has potential to yield information that will contribute to the understanding of Queensland's history;
- the place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of places;
- the place is important because of its aesthetic significance;
- the place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative achievement at a particular period;
- the place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural, or spiritual reasons.
Nominating a place
Get a form from the Environmental Protection Agency and fill it in. Ensure:
- the form is completed thoroughly;
- details of your name, address, and address of the nominated place are correct;
- photocopies of supportive information are attached;
- photos are attached and marked clearly.
Once a place is nominated for entry in the Heritage Register, a complex registration process begins. After nomination, research officers from the Environmental Protection Agency investigate and examine the place. Then, the officers prepare and submit a draft Entry in the Register to the Heritage Register Advisory Committee. The Entry is prepared according to the criteria contained in the Queensland Heritage Act 1992.
The Advisory Committee considers the draft Entry and makes a recommendation to the Heritage Council. Finally, the Heritage Council considers the nomination. If it fulfils the definition of cultural heritage significance and satisfies the entry criteria, the Heritage Council may enter the place provisionally in the Heritage Register. Once a place is provisionally entered, it is protected under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992.
Can the owner object?
Anybody has the right to object to the inclusion or removal of a place from the Heritage Register. The Heritage Council must notify the owner and the local government in writing and give public notice if a place is to be entered in the Register. Any person has a period of 20 business days to object to the proposal. The only grounds for objecting would be that the place is not of cultural heritage significance or does not satisfy the entry criteria.
When an objection is received, the Council appoints an independent assessor to investigate the objection. After considering the assessor's report, the Council decides to either permanently enter the place in the Heritage Register or remove the provisional entry. Owners who are dissatisfied with the outcome, may appeal to the Planning and Environment Court within 20 business days.
Click here for application details.
Last updated: 21 December 2004
