Heritage Council of Victoria
Strategic Plan
Heritage Council hearings
Heritage Council Address
Heritage Council of Victoria
Heritage Council of Victoria provides the highest level of legal protection for cultural heritage places and objects in Victoria.
As an independent statutory authority, Heritage Council of Victoria is the State's main decision-making body on cultural (non-Indigenous) heritage issues.
10 members are appointed by the Governor-in-Council upon the recommendation of the Minister for Planning.
Heritage Council of Victoria receives professional advice and administrative support from Heritage Victoria, and both organisations work together on a range of committees.
Functions
- Acts as the primary source of advice to the Minister for Planning on heritage issues
- Decides which places and objects are added to the Victorian Heritage Register, and operates in accordance with the Victorian Heritage Act.
- Hears appeals on permit applications determined by Heritage Victoria
- Approves or rejects recommendations for loans and grants from the Heritage Fund for registered heritage places
- Promotes public understanding of Victoria's cultural heritage and conducts community education and information programs.
Victorian Heritage Register
To be included in the Victorian Heritage Register, places and objects must meet the assessment criteria of the Heritage Council. Places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register are generally considered to be of 'statewide' significance. In other words, of importance to understanding the history of Victoria.
What can be included on the Victorian Heritage Register
- Buildings and places
- Objects
- Gardens and trees
- Cemeteries
- Precincts
- Archaeological places and relics
- Shipwrecks, relics and protected zones
For more information about Heritage Council of Victoria, download Registration by the Heritage Council of Victoria
Strategic Plan
The Heritage Council launched its Strategic Plan for 2011-2015 on 8 September. Read the Strategic Plan in full.
Annual Heritage Council Address
When Ray Tonkin retired as Executive Director of Heritage Victoria in June 2009, his reflection on 30 years of heritage conservation formed the inaugural Heritage Council address, now held annually.
The 2012 Address, given by Emeritus Professor of History Graeme Davison AO, was entitled 'Heritage in a Modern Society'. Read the transcript of the 2012 Annual Heritage Council Address.