NSW Heritage Strategy: a new direction for the state’s shared history

The New South Wales (NSW) Government has released the state’s first Heritage Strategy, setting out a five-year framework to modernise how heritage is recognised, protected and celebrated across the state.

Developed over two years, with consultation with more than 1,750 people and organisations, the strategy reflects a significant shift in the understanding and management of heritage in NSW. It adopts a people-centred approach, acknowledging heritage as central to cultural identity, community wellbeing and sense of place.

Aboriginal cultural heritage sits at the forefront of the Strategy, acknowledged as the living foundation of heritage in NSW. The commitment to truth-telling, Aboriginal perspectives and stronger partnerships is especially important as the NSW Government continues work on long-awaited standalone Aboriginal Cultural Heritage legislation.

The Strategy’s three objectives provide a practical framework for change.

Tell the stories of NSW — so a greater diversity of communities can see themselves reflected in the state’s heritage and more easily access and participate in it.

Key initiatives include expanding the range of heritage represented on the State Heritage Register and introducing an intangible heritage program to recognise cultural practices, stories and traditions that may not be tied to physical places.

Simplify heritage systems — by providing clearer, more supportive processes for government, communities, owners and custodians.

This objective responds to contemporary pressures, including housing demand and climate change. It proposes more efficient approvals and better guidance to encourage conservation, activation and adaptive reuse of heritage places. It also flags a modernised, fit-for-purpose Heritage Act and stronger compliance measures for State Heritage Register listed properties.

Help owners and custodians — by strengthening the support available to those who care for heritage places.

Recognising the vital role of those who care for heritage places, the Strategy outlines plans for updated guidelines and resources, including for climate resilience, to assist in protecting places into the future. It also explores sustainable, long-term funding models to enable proactive heritage management. State government agencies will also receive guidance to help prioritise conservation efforts.

For the heritage sector, several signals in the Strategy are particularly important.

Strengthened compliance for State Heritage Register items is an important and overdue area of reform, particularly where neglect or poor management places significant sites at risk. In the context of heritage exemption self-assessments, a stronger compliance focus is timely.

The National Trust (NSW) has noted the Strategy needs to be accompanied by adequate funding to ensure its actions can be achieved, just as the 1996 NSW Government Heritage Policy included a $30m Heritage Fund commitment.

Notably, the Strategy directly references the NSW Government’s commitment to delivering 377,000 new homes by 2029 and makes it clear that ‘heritage is part of the housing solution.’ The Strategy also flags development of a modernised, ‘fit-for-purpose’ Heritage Act. The direction a reformed act will take remains to be seen.

The Strategy highlights the need to better protect and support the 3,500 items on the State Heritage Register, many of which are government owned. However, it does not countenance the care of the more than 10,000 heritage items protected under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979).

The NSW Heritage Strategy provides a vision for the future of the state’s heritage, with a focus on inclusivity, communities, and Country. It flags initiatives at a range of levels, from on-the-ground programs to legislative reform, reflecting the broad scope of the vision and its aim to better integrate those involved in the creation, appreciation and protection of heritage.

It will be implemented over the next five years, with progress reviews to be published on the NSW website.