Cultural heritage management plan process

A sponsor must engage a Heritage Advisor to assist in preparing the CHMP.

Find out about Heritage Advisors.

Before beginning to prepare a CHMP, you must submit a notice of intent (NOI) along with the required information and relevant prescribed fees to:

• the relevant Registered Aboriginal Party/Parties
• the Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet
• the owner/occupier(s) of any land within the CHMP area
• any municipal council within the CHMP area.

RAP(s) have 14 days to respondto the NOI.

If a RAP chooses not to evaluate the CHMP or doesn’t respond within 14 days the Secretary becomes the decision maker.

There are 3 tiers of assessment: desktop, standard and complex. All CHMPs must include a desktop assessment, which researches Aboriginal cultural heritage in or associated with the activity area. Depending on the findings a standard assessment and/or complex assessment may be needed.

The Heritage Advisor will advise you on these steps.

The Heritage Advisor prepares the CHMP, detailing the results of the assessment and potential impacts of the activity. The CHMP also sets out changes to how you will carry out the proposed activity and measures to manage and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.

RAP(s) may choose to participate in this process.

The sponsor must submit the CHMP and statutory fee to the relevant authority.

The relevant authority evaluates the plan within 30 days, considering the objectives and requirements of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, and decides to approve or refuse to approve the CHMP.

If the approval body has to request missing or additional information, the countdown is paused. It restarts when all information has been received

Disputes can be managed through informal and formal processes.

Read more about dispute resolution.