2002

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUSTRALIAN HERITAGE COUNCIL BILL 2002

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, 
The Hon. Dr David Kemp MP)

AUSTRALIAN HERITAGE COUNCIL BILL 2002
GENERAL OUTLINE
The objects of this Bill are to:
•	establish the Australian Heritage Council;
•	prescribe the functions of the Council in relation to the protection and conservation of heritage; and
•	prescribe the composition of the Council and its requirements for meetings.
Establishment of the Council
The Bill prescribes the functions of the Council, which are to:
•	assess nominations in relation to the listing of places on the National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritage List;
•	advise the Minister on specified matters relating to heritage; 
•	promote the identification, assessment and conservation of heritage; 
•	keep the Register of the National Estate; and
•	perform any other functions conferred on the Council by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Composition of the Council
The Council consists of the Chair, six members and up to two associate members at any one time. The Bill also sets the requirements for appointing and terminating Council members and sets out their terms and conditions of office.
Meetings of the Council
The Bill sets out requirements for the holding of Council meetings. It also includes requirements for dealing with disclosure of interests by Council members.
Register of the National Estate
The Bill sets out how the Australian Heritage Council must keep the Register of the National Estate. The Bill includes the listing criteria for the Register and outlines the consultation requirements for the Council when adding or removing places from the Register.
Acts replaced
This Bill is presented in conjunction with the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2002. When passed by Parliament, and the Acts have commenced operation, this legislation will replace the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975.

FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The Australian Heritage Council Bill 2002 and the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2002 will not cost the Commonwealth more than the existing legislative arrangements being replaced.

REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT
A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is included in the Explanatory Memorandum for the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2002.  A separate RIS is not required for this Bill.

AUSTRALIAN HERITAGE COUNCIL BILL 2002 
NOTES ON CLAUSES
PART 1 – PRELIMINARY
Clause 1: Short Title
1	This clause provides for the Act to be cited as the Australian Heritage Council Act 2002.
Clause 2: Commencement
2	This clause is about the commencement of the Act, and provides for sections 1-2 of the Act to commence on Royal Assent and sections 3 to 25 of the Act to commence at the same time as Schedule 1 to the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2002 commences.
Clause 3: Definitions
3	Clause 3 defines the meaning within the Act of certain expressions. Other expressions have the meaning as set out in section 528 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
PART 2 – ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL
Clause 4: Establishment
4	This clause establishes the Australian Heritage Council.
Clause 5: Functions
5	The functions of the Council are specified in this clause. The primary function of the Council is to undertake assessments and provide advice to the Minister on conserving and protecting places included in, or being considered for, inclusion in the National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritage List. The Council is also responsible for maintaining the Register of the National Estate. The Council is also able to promote the identification, assessment and conservation of heritage on its own initiative and advise the Minister on a range of matters relating to heritage.
PART 3 – CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL
Clause 6: Membership of the Council
6	This clause provides that the Council consists of the Chair and six other members.
Clause 7: Appointment of members
7	This clause provides that the Minister appoints the Chair of the Council who is required to have experience or expertise concerning heritage. The Minister must also appoint six other members of the Council who are required to have appropriate experience or expertise in heritage.  Two of the members must be Indigenous persons with experience or expertise in Indigenous heritage, and a least one of them should represent the interests of Indigenous people.  
 8	The clause also allows the Minister to appoint up to two associate members to the Council.
Clause 8: Term of office of members
9	This clause prescribes that Council members are appointed on a part-time basis, for a specified period not exceeding three years for a member and one year for an associate member. This clause also prescribes that a member cannot be appointed for more than two consecutive periods.
Clause 9: Acting appointments
10	This clause allows the Minister to appoint a member of the Council to act as a Chair during a vacancy in the office of Chair or when the Chair is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the duties of the office. 
Clause 10: Outside employment or other activities that conflict with a member’s duties
11	This clause provides that a member of the Council must not engage in paid employment or any other activity that the Minister is satisfied conflicts with the proper performance of the member’s duties.
Clause 11: Remuneration and allowances of members
12	This clause specifies that Council members will be paid remuneration and allowances entitlements as determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.  If there is no determination by the Tribunal, the member is to be paid the remuneration prescribed.
Clause 12: Resignation
13	This clause provides that a Council member may resign his or her appointment by writing to the Minister.
Clause 13: Termination of appointment of members
14	This clause sets out the circumstances under which the Minister may terminate a Council member’s appointment.
PART 4 – MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL
Clauses 14 to 18 and Clause 20: Times, places and conduct of meetings
15	These clauses specify particular requirements pertaining to meetings of the Council. This includes times, places and notices of meetings; who presides at meetings; what constitutes a quorum; and the voting and conduct requirements of meetings.
Clause 19: Disclosure of interests
16	This clause obliges Council members to disclose pecuniary interest and sets out how members are to behave in relation to Council business relevant to these interests.
PART 5 –REGISTER OF THE NATIONAL ESTATE

Clause 21: Council must keep Register of the National Estate

17	This clause obliges the Council to keep the Register of the National Estate.  

18	Subclause (2) provides that the regulations may make provisions for certain matters including the Council consulting or informing specified persons about the entry or removal of a place in the Register, or the content or form of the Register.

19	The Register will be an information resource for the purposes of heritage 
promotion and education. Furthermore, the Minister for the Environment and Heritage will be required under a new provision (Item 37 of the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2002) to consider, where relevant, information in the Register when making decisions on the impact of an action on the environment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Clause 22: Including places in the Register

20	The Register as first kept will consist of all of the places that were included in the Register of the National Estate immediately before the commencement of this section. 

21	The Council may only include a place in the Register if it has a heritage value as defined in the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2002. Before including the place in the Register, the Council must attempt to advise the owners or occupiers of the place, and each indigenous person who has rights or interests in the place, and provide them with reasonable opportunity to comment.

22	The Council must include a place in the Register, with the boundary and heritage values specified by the Minister, if the Minister directs it to do so after conducting a review under section 24.

Clause 23: Removing places etc. from the Register

23	The Council may only remove a place or part of a place from the Register if the place or part of the place no longer meets the registration criterion. The Council may only remove a value if the place no longer has that value. 

24	The Council must attempt to advise each person who is an owner or occupier of the place, and each indigenous person who has rights or interests in the place, before it removes a place, part of a place or lost value from the Register.  The Council must give these persons a reasonable opportunity to comment in writing.

25	The Council must remove a place, part of a place or lost value from the Register if the Minister directs it to do so after conducting a review under section 24.

Clause 24: Review of Council’s decisions about the Register

26	A person may request that the Minister review a decision by the Council in relation to entries and removals from the Register. The Minister, in reviewing the decision, may only consider whether a place meets or does not meet the registration criterion. 

27	The Minister must, in writing, either confirm the Council’s decision or direct the Council to enter or remove the place from the Register. 

28   The Minister must given written reasons for his or her decision to anyone who  
       asks for it.

PART 6 –REGULATIONS 
Clause 25: Regulations
29	This clause enables the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of the Act.