Making declarations

(1)

The Minister may declare a specified property to be a declared World Heritage property by notice in the Gazette if:

(a)

the property is a property submitted by the Commonwealth to the World Heritage Committee under Article 11 of the World Heritage Convention as suitable for inclusion in the World Heritage List; or

(b)

the Minister is satisfied that:

(i)

the property has, or is likely to have, world heritage values; and

(ii)

some or all of the world heritage values of the property are under threat.

Note 1: The Minister may make more than one declaration relating to the same property. See subsection 33(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .

Note 2: The Minister may make an extra declaration to cover property that is an extension of a property previously submitted to the World Heritage Committee.

Consulting State or Territory before making declaration

(2)

Before the Minister makes a declaration relating to property wholly or partly within a State or self-governing Territory, the Minister must inform the appropriate Minister of the State or Territory of the proposal to make the declaration, and give him or her a reasonable opportunity to comment on the proposal.

Consultation not required if threat is imminent

(3)

However, the Minister need not comply with subsection (2) if:

(a)

he or she proposes to make a declaration in the circumstances described in paragraph (1)(b); and

(b)

he or she is satisfied that the threat mentioned in subparagraph (1)(b)(ii) is imminent.

Failure to comply with subsection (2)

(4)

The validity of a declaration is not affected by a failure to comply with subsection (2) in relation to the making of the declaration.

When a declaration is in force

(5)

A declaration:

(a)

comes into force when it is published in the Gazette ; and

(b)

remains in force (whether amended under section 15 or not) until the earliest of the following events:

(i)

the end of the period specified in the declaration as the period for which the declaration is in force;

(ii)

the revocation of the declaration;

(iii)

if the declaration specifies a property submitted to the World Heritage Committee for inclusion in the World Heritage List—the Committee either includes the property in the List or decides the property should not be included in the List.

Specified period for which declaration is in force

(6)

The Minister must specify in a declaration the period for which it is to be in force. The period must not be longer than the period the Minister believes:

(a)

the World Heritage Committee needs to decide whether or not to include the property in the World Heritage List, in the case of a declaration specifying a property that has been submitted to the Committee for inclusion in the List; or

(b)

the Commonwealth needs to decide whether the property has world heritage values and to submit the property to the World Heritage Committee for inclusion in the World Heritage List, in the case of a declaration specifying a property not yet submitted to the Committee for inclusion in the List.

Declarations because of threat in force for a year or less

(7)

The Minister must not specify that a declaration of a property is to be in force for more than 12 months if:

(a)

the declaration is made in the circumstances described in paragraph (1)(b); and

(b)

the property is not a property submitted by the Commonwealth to the World Heritage Committee under Article 11 of the World Heritage Convention as suitable for inclusion in the World Heritage List.