Heritage Permits

Heritage Places Act 1993

Under the Heritage Places Act 1993, a person must not, without a permit from the SA Heritage Council:

excavate or disturb a State Heritage Place designated as a place of geological, palaeontological or speleological significance; or remove geological, palaeontological or speleological specimens from such a place (section 25)
excavate or disturb a State Heritage Place designated as a place of archaeological significance; or remove archaeological artefacts from such a place (section 26)
excavate or disturb any land (not designated as a place of archaeological significance) for the purpose of searching for or recovering archaeological artefacts of heritage significance; or excavate or disturb any land (not designated as a place of archaeological significance) knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that the excavation or disturbance will or is likely to result in an archaeological artefact of heritage significance being discovered, exposed, moved, damaged or destroyed (section 27)
damage, destroy or dispose of a geological, palaeontological or speleological specimen removed from a State Heritage Place designated as a place of geological, palaeontological or speleological significance (whether removed before or after the entry of that place in the Register) (section 28)
damage, destroy or dispose of an archaeological artefact removed from a State Heritage Place designated as a place of archaeological significance (whether removed before or after the entry of that place in the Register) (section 28)
damage, destroy or dispose of an object entered in the Register (either as a provisional or confirmed entry) (section 28)
alter an object entered in the Register (either as a provisional or confirmed entry) in a way that would materially affect the heritage significance of the object (section 28).

Archaeology and the Heritage Places Act 1993

Archaeological Guideline and Fact Sheets

Heritage South Australia and the South Australian Heritage Council have prepared the Archaeological Provisions Guideline and six complementary Archaeology Fact Sheets to provide best-practice advice for complying with the archaeological provisions of the Heritage Places Act 1993. They are provided to guide developers, owners and archaeologists through the process of assessing the archaeological potential of a site and, if necessary, applying for an archaeological permit under the Act.

Developers and owners will find the Fact Sheets particularly helpful for addressing frequently asked questions about the archaeological provisions of the Heritage Places Act 1993 and their potential impact on development, while the Guideline provides more detailed information about the archaeological process, namely undertaking historical archaeological assessments and investigations when required by the Act.

These documents, along with consultation with Heritage South Australia, will help achieve good management of the state’s historical archaeological resource and the best possible outcomes for sustainable development.

Archaeological Provisions Guideline (PDF, 1.2MB)

Archaeology Fact Sheets:

Historical archaeology and sites (PDF, 1.4MB)
Protection of archaeological objects (PDF, 1.2MB)
What are significant objects?(PDF, 1MB)
Development and archaeology (PDF, 1MB)
When do I need a permit? (PDF, 3.8MB)
What are designated places? (PDF, 1.2MB)

Apply for a permit

Apply for a permit using one of the forms below:

A permit fee is payable prior to a permit application being processed. The fee is reviewed each financial year in line with the Consumer Price Index.

The Permit fee for 2023-24 is $196.00, in accordance with Schedule 1-Fees of the Heritage Places (Fees) Notice 2023.

In some cases, such as for archaeological research, the permit fee may be waived or reduced in accordance with Regulation 6 of the Heritage Places Regulations 2020.

If you require additional information, please contact the Permits Officer on (08) 8124 4933 or email DEWHeritage@sa.gov.au.