Early Engagement 

This is a proactive pre-project planning meeting to ensure that steps are taken to mitigate harm to Sites of Significance and Cultural Heritage on Taungurung country. 

During this meeting, you will have a chance to share your projects plans with Traditional Owner Field Service Officers, Archaeologists, and our admin team. 

Advice provided in this meeting, will be in line with Section 61 matter and will help clients to streamline the CHMP process. 

At the commencement of the Early Engagement Meeting, you will have to option to receive a Statement of Engagement letter to confirm your meeting with TLaWC.  

Further to this, you will have the option to receive a Letter of Advice. 

The Letter of Advice signifies early engagement and provides advice on the cultural heritage, legality and protocols of engaging Taungurung Land and Waters Council in Heritage works. This first step engages Traditional Owners prior to outside stakeholders to uphold the values and vision of Taungurung peoples and advocate for self-determination by community lead projects. 

The letter of advice provides the following outcomes/deliverables: 

Location  

• Mapping of the location in the context of the broader landscape/vegetation 

Section 61 matters  

• Your legal obligations as per the Aboriginal Heritage Act (2006) 

• What to expect through the CHMP process and advice for engaging a Heritage Advisor 

• Best Practice cultural heritage management protocols 

Land use history  

• Desktop research on the history, ethnography, and potential heritage. 

• Summary of landform, geomorphology, and prior land use.  

Cultural aligned management strategies  

• Advice on potential environmental/fire risks 

LUAA 

• Advice on obligations to the Land Use Agreement Act 

Engaging with the Taungurung Land and Waters Council  

• Engaging with various departments in TLaWC to understand how else you can support traditional owner lead businesses  

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Cultural Heritage Management Plan 

A CHMP is a collaboration between Taungurung Land and Waters Council and Proponent / Heritage Advisor, which aims to prevent or reduce harm to Cultural Heritage during development works. 

In accordance with the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 and the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018 a CHMP would be triggered when: 

1. The activity is listed as a High Impact Activity under the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018.
2. The activity area, or part of the activity area is listed as an area of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sensitivity.

When your development on Taungurung Country triggers a CHMP it is advised that you engage with a Heritage Officer, a list of which you can access HERE. Your Heritage Advisor will then guide you through the process of officially engaging with Taungurung Land and Waters Council. 

 

Cultural Heritage Permit 

A CHP is a collaboration between Taungurung Land and Waters Council and Proponent / Heritage Advisor, which aims to prevent or reduce harm to Cultural Heritage during development works. 

The permit is a statutory requirement under 35A of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 for when there is known heritage in the area where works are to occur or to do work on known heritage.  

Section 36 of the act states: 

1. A person may apply to an approval body for a cultural heritage permit authorising the person to do one or more of the following—
   (a) disturb or excavate any land for the purpose of uncovering or discovering Aboriginal cultural heritage;(b) carry out research on an Aboriginal place or Aboriginal object, including the removal of an Aboriginal object from Victoria for the purposes of that research;
   (c) carry out an activity that will, or is likely to, harm Aboriginal cultural heritage;
   (d) sell an Aboriginal object;
   (e) remove an Aboriginal object from Victoria;
   (f) rehabilitate land at an Aboriginal place, including land containing burial grounds for Aboriginal ancestral remains;
   (g) inter Aboriginal ancestral remains at an Aboriginal place. 

When your development on Taungurung Country triggers a CHP it is advised that you engage with a Heritage Officer, a list of which you can access HERE. Your Heritage Advisor will then guide you through the process of officially engaging with Taungurung Land and Waters Council.