Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan

The City has an important role as a land manager and an approval body for certain types of development in identifying, assessing, and managing heritage objects and places in the Coffs Harbour Local Government Area.

Rules for the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage have been in place since the introduction on of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. This Act makes it a prosecutable offence should harm be caused to Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Few people are aware of the legal requirements associated with the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage and for those that may be aware, it can be difficult to understand if and where there is a potential risk of harm, and the actions required. It is an offence to harm Aboriginal objects knowingly and unknowingly.

The City has developed a Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Heritage Management Plan (Management Plan) to provide guidance for property owners and developers as part of the planning approval processes managed by the City, with the aim of understanding, respecting, and protecting our indigenous history.

The Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Map has been prepared in consultation with the local Aboriginal community. The data and information gathered during the cultural mapping process was refined into two mapping layers:

1) Known Aboriginal cultural heritage; and

2) Predictive Aboriginal cultural heritage.

The map supports the Management Plan and guides the City in its consideration of Aboriginal cultural heritage as part of its planning processes.

If you are proposing to undertake development on your land which requires planning approval through the development application process and your land is mapped as ‘known’ on the Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Map you will need to follow the steps outlined in Section 3.3.1 of the Management Plan.

f you are proposing to undertake development on your land which requires planning approval through the development application process and your land is mapped as ‘predictive’ on the Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Map you will need to follow the steps outlined in Section 3.3.6 of the Management Plan.

If you are proposing to undertake development on your land which requires planning approval through the development application process and your land is unmapped on the Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Map you will need to follow the steps outlined in Section 3.3.7 of the Management Plan

Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment includes the process to investigate the potential for harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage values and to clearly identify those impacts (both avoidable and unavoidable) in accordance with the requirements of the NSW Government (Department of Planning and Environment - Environment and Heritage Group).

The process includes investigation and assessment to determine the likelihood of Aboriginal cultural heritage values; the location and extent of any cultural heritage objects or place; potential for harm to those values; whether potential harm can be avoided; and where impacts cannot be avoided, to provide context and justification for why the harm is acceptable with appropriate mitigation and management. It includes the assessment of scientific and cultural values and is usually prepared by an archaeologist and heritage consultant with Aboriginal stakeholders.

Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment requires specialist advice. The NSW Government’s Code of Practice for Archaeological Investigation of Aboriginal Objects in NSW (2010) stipulates the minimum qualifications required. An Archaeologist (with the minimum stated qualifications) skilled in Aboriginal cultural heritage is required. The NSW Government’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Consultation Requirements for Proponents (2010) sets out the consultation requirements.

The process of undertaking an Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment is informed by Heritage NSW requirements, including:

• Guide to Investigating, Assessing and Reporting on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in NSW (2011)
• Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Consultation Requirements for Proponents (2010)
• Code of Practice for Archaeological Investigation of Aboriginal Objects in NSW (2010)
• Applying for an Aboriginal Heritage Impact Permit: Guide for Applicants (2011)
• Guide to Aboriginal Heritage Impact Permit Processes and Decision-making (2011).

It is widely recognised at all levels of government that the Aboriginal people are the custodians of their cultural knowledge. This is reflected in all levels of government policy and is a key part of the Management Plan. 

The Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council (Land Council) is entrusted under the provisions of the NSW Land Rights Act, 1983 with taking action to protect the cultural and heritage of Aboriginal people; promoting the awareness of Aboriginal culture and heritage in the Coffs region; and voicing the position of local Aboriginal people.

The City acknowledges and respects the connection of local Aboriginal communities to their ancestral country and the right of Aboriginal people’s interests to inform its planning processes.

The City has worked closely with the Land Council and the local Aboriginal community through the development of the Management Plan to identify Aboriginal cultural heritage in a manner that is acceptable to the Aboriginal people. This has included the development of planning processes that are inclusive and engaging of the Aboriginal community and knowledge whilst integrating with the NSW planning and development assessment framework.

The Management Plan includes planning processes that require consultation with the local Aboriginal community with the Land Council being the first point of contact and the conduit between cultural knowledge holders and the City.

The Land Council Office is located at Wongala Estate, Arthur Street, Coffs Harbour.

Contact details:

PO Box 6150, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450.

Phone: 02 6652 8740.

Email: admin@coffsharbourlalc.com.au

Website: coffsharbourlalc.com.au

The Management Plan should involve consultation with the Land Council at the design stage of proposals (i.e. before submiting a development application) to prevent delays to the application assessment process.

If you are proposing to undertake development on your land which requires planning approval through the development application process, then the Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan applies (refer to Section 3.3 of the Plan).

Some types of low impact development do not require approval under the NSW planning rules or are eligible for a streamlined approval process (refer to FAQ on Exempt and Complying Development). The Aboriginal cultural heritage due diligence requirements under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 do not apply to low impact farming activities such as:

• grazing of animals and/or cropping;
• water storage works (farm dams or water tanks);
• the construction of fences;
• the construction of irrigation infrastructure, ground water bores and flood mitigation works;
• erosion works;
• maintenance of existing infrastructure such as that referenced above; and
• certain types of exempt development or complying development (refer to FAQ on Exempt and Complying Development).

For all other farming activities that do not require planning approval, it is recommended that landowners exercise due diligence to consider the potential risk of harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage. If a person discovers an Aboriginal object while undertaking any of the activities, the person cannot harm the object and must obtain an Aboriginal heritage impact permit.

The Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management (associated map) generally avoids highly developed land in urban areas, except where the nature of the Aboriginal cultural heritage is significant. If your land is in a built-up urban area and is mapped as known or predictive on the Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Map, this is because there is either Aboriginal cultural heritage in the immediate vicinity and/ or site or is within landscapes that are highly likely to contain Aboriginal cultural heritage.

A common misconception is that where there has been disturbance of the land, such as the construction of dwellings, there is no further risk of harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage. This is not necessarily the case. There are many examples within the Coffs Harbour Local Government Area where there has been historic ground disturbance and Aboriginal cultural heritage values have been identified (i.e. highly modified landscapes such as Moonee Beach).

The NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, known as the ‘Code SEPP’, identifies certain types of low impact development that do not need planning approval (Exempt Development) or low impact development that is suitable for a streamlined assessment process (Complying Development).

Certain types of development are excluded from being exempt and complying under the Code SEPP if the proposal is on land within an ‘environmentally sensitive area’. An environmentally sensitive area includes land as being of high Aboriginal cultural significance. The draft Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan considers land mapped as known Aboriginal cultural heritage the same as high Aboriginal cultural significance. If your land is identified as known Aboriginal cultural heritage, the Code SEPP may not apply.

The NSW planning framework guides planning and development decision making in NSW. The Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) is the overarching law which controls planning and development in NSW. There are three main parts of the EP&A Act that are relevant to the development of land referenced in the Management Plan, and these include:

• Part 3 of the EP&A Act, which addresses strategic land-use planning maters that set out long-term plans for communities (eg. rezoning land);
• Part 4 of the EP&A Act, which addresses development application assessment and approval (eg. development and/or subdivision of land); and
• Part 5 of the EP&A Act, which addresses the environmental assessment of works undertaken on public owned or managed land as well as state significant development (eg. activities such as flood mitigation works / roadworks / footpaths etc.).