Have your say in NSW Aboriginal heritage legislative reform

[Andrew Costello]

Calling all consultants, archaeologists and Aboriginal cultural heritage practitioners who work/have worked/may work in NSW.

In September 2013, the Government released a proposed reform model for new Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation. The model was developed in response to the recommendations of the independent Aboriginal Culture and Heritage Reform Working Party, initial public feedback and practice in other states and territories. The government is currently revising the 2013 reform model in response to public feedback. Public feedback demonstrates there are wide ranging and contrasting views on what a final model for ACH reform should look like. The government is continuing to work through these diverse views and perspectives to revise the 2013 model in a balanced and workable way. The revised model will form the basis of draft legislation to be released later in 2017, with a fourth phase of public consultation. For further information please visit: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/achreform/

As part of this process, the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) has prepared a short survey to gather information about the role and practice of heritage consultants in Aboriginal cultural heritage management, assessment and investigation. For those of you who have worked or plan to work in NSW, I strongly encourage you to undertake this survey on how you currently interact with NSW Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation.

The survey results will be used to inform the policy reform and help identify key issues for future reform discussions with our sector.

The survey will be open until 1 August 2017 and can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/32PMFXT

Survey responses will be treated confidentially and will not be publicly released. If you have any questions, please contact Scott Hickie, Principal Policy Officer at OEH on (02) 9995 6906 or scott....@environment.nsw.gov.au.

Thank you for your participation, your input into the reforms is greatly appreciated.

Note: The survey has been developed with input from the Australia International Council on Monuments and Sites (AICIMOS), Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) and Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc (AACAI).  

Regards,

 

Andrew Costello | Jacobs | Senior Archaeologist| Full Member & Chairman –  AACAI / NSW Chapter

| +61 9928 2269 | +61 458 325 345 | Andrew....@jacobs.com | www.jacobs.com