The Finocchiaro CLP Government says it will implement proposed safeguards to the Heritage Act 2011 recommended by the Legislative Scrutiny Committee at a later date, including restricting a minister’s ability to delegate powers, and will instead apply the recommendations through ‘administrative policy’ after passing the bill, which comes amid criticism the committee was swamped with legislation and the public was only given one week to voice concerns.

The Heritage Amendment Bill 2026 passed through the Legislative Assembly on Thursday despite the government admitting it would not immediately write key recommendations from its own scrutiny committee into the law, alongside other contentious changes, including the removal of automatic provisional protection for heritage sites during assessment and the removal of a mandatory seat on the Heritage Council for a representative of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority.

Subscribe or Log in to read the rest of this content.