Place Names Act 1967 (NT)
NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
PLACE NAMES ACT 1967
As in force at 3 March 2023
northern territory of australia
As in force at 3 March 2023
PLACE NAMES act 1967
An Act relating to the naming of places
This Act may be cited as the
This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the Administrator by notice in the
(1) The
Nomenclature (Public Places) Ordinance 1945 and theNomenclature (Public Places) Ordinance 1966 are repealed.(2) Notwithstanding the repeal effected by subsection (1), where, by virtue of section 5 of the
Nomenclature (Public Places) Ordinance 1945 , a public place was, immediately prior to the commencement of this Act, known by a particular name, that public place shall continue to be known by that name unless and until the name of that public place is altered as provided by this Act.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
(1) A place includes:
(a) a geographic or topographic feature (whether or not covered by water); and
(b) a county, hundred, town, community, suburb or locality within a town or a site for a town; and
(c) a highway, road, street, lane, trail or thoroughfare that is open to or used by the public; and
(d) a park, garden, reserve, recreation or sporting ground that is open to or used by the public; and
(e) a public cemetery as defined in the
Burial and Cremation Act 2022 ; and(f) public infrastructure associated with transport facilities, educational institutions, medical institutions or nursing homes; and
(g) a place, structure or building that is or may be of public or historic interest.
(2) A place does not include:
(a) a division within the meaning of the
Electoral Act 2004 ; or(b) a local government area or a ward; or
(c) a place that is given or that may be given a name under another law in force in the Territory.
5 Place Names Committee (1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a Place Names Committee for the Northern Territory.
(2) The Committee shall consist of 4 members.
(3) The Minister, in writing, may appoint:
(a) 2 persons to be members, and may appoint one of those persons to be the Chairperson of the Committee; and
(b) one person to be a member from among 3 persons nominated by the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory.
(4) The Surveyor-General shall be a member of the Committee.
When the office of Chairperson is vacant or in the event of the absence, illness or other incapacity of the Chairperson, the Surveyor-General shall have the powers, exercise the functions and perform the duties of the Chairperson.
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a member (other than the Surveyor-General) holds office for such period not exceeding 3 years, as is specified in the instrument appointing him or her, and is eligible for reappointment.
(2) The appointment of a member (other than the Surveyor-General) may be terminated at any time by the Minister by notice in writing.
(3) A member (other than the Surveyor-General) may resign his or her office by notice in writing to the Minister.
(1) A member (other than the Chairperson or the Surveyor-General) may by writing under his or her hand appoint a person to be his or her deputy for the purpose of attending a specified meeting of the Committee.
(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) has, at the meeting in respect of which he or she is appointed, but not otherwise, all the powers and functions of the member of whom he or she is the deputy but shall not preside at the meeting.
(3) An appointment under subsection (1) is revocable by writing served on the deputy before the time fixed for the meeting in respect of which the deputy is appointed but if not so revoked prevents the member making the appointment from exercising his powers and performing his functions in person at the meeting.
(1) Subject to this section, the Committee may, from time to time as occasion requires, make reports to the Minister containing recommendations in relation to the naming of or the altering of the name of a place.
(1A) Before making a report under subsection (1), the Committee must request the following persons seek the views of interested persons and provide a report to the Committee of those views:
(a) if a person requested the naming or altering of the name of a place – the person;
(b) any other person the Committee considers appropriate.
(1AB) However, the Committee may on its own initiative, seek the views of interested persons.
(1B) The Committee must not make a recommendation under subsection (1) in relation to naming or altering the name of:
(a) a road, street, lane, trail or thoroughfare that is not vested in the Territory or a local government council – unless the owner of the road, street, lane, trail or thoroughfare agrees to the recommendation being made; or
(b) a building – unless the owner of the building agrees to the recommendation being made.
(2) The Committee shall forward to the Minister with each report under subsection (1) any communications and particulars of any representations received by it in relation to the naming of or the altering of the name of a place to which the report relates.
(3) A reference in this section to the altering of the name of a place shall be read as including a reference to the substitution of another name for the name of the place.
(4) In this section:
interested persons include the following:(a) if the report relates to a place within a local government area – the local government council established for the area;
(b) if the report relates to a place outside a local government area – the Land Council, within the meaning of the
Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), established in respect of the area where the place is located;(c) if the report relates to a place within an area covered by an agreement with the Territory that includes provisions relating to the naming of places – the organisation required under the agreement to be consulted with in respect of the naming of the place;
(d) if the report relates to the naming of land – the owner or developer of the land;
(e) the family or descendants of a person proposed to be commemorated through the naming of a place.
10 Meetings of Committee (1) The Chairperson of the Committee:
(a) may convene a meeting of the Committee at any time on the Chairperson’s own initiative; and
(b) must convene a meeting of the Committee when requested to do so by the Minister.
(1A) Subject to this Act, the Committee is to determine the procedures to be followed at or in connection with its meetings.
(2) At a meeting of the Committee:
(a) the Chairperson shall preside;
(b) 3 members form a quorum;
(c) all questions shall be decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting; and
(d) the Chairperson shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, shall have a casting vote.
11 Powers of Minister (1A) The Minister may, in relation to the naming of or the alteration of the name of a place, direct the Committee to consider certain names or recommend specific names, and the Committee shall make recommendations thereon in accordance with section 9.
(1) Upon receiving a report under section 9, the Minister may:
(a) approve, either without alteration or subject to such alteration as he or she thinks fit, any recommendation contained in the report;
(b) reject any recommendation contained in the report; or
(c) return the report to the Committee for further consideration and the submission of another report under that section.
(2) The Minister must notify the Committee of a recommendation approved under subsection (1).
(1) The Minister may, in writing, delegate to the Chairperson of the Committee or the Surveyor-General the Minister’s powers under sections 11(1)(a) and (2) and 11D(1).
(2) A person who is delegated the Minister’s power under section 11(1)(a) may only exercise the power where a report of the Committee under section 9 recommends:
(a) changes to the boundaries or geographical description of a place that has been named under this Act; or
(b) the naming of an extension to a highway, road, street, lane, trail or thoroughfare that has been named under this Act; or
(c) the naming or altering of the name of an Aboriginal community when the request has been made by an organisation representing the community; or
(d) the naming or altering of the name of a place appearing on map sheets and charts of the Territory the name for which has been in general use in the community for at least 10 years; or
(e) the naming or altering of the name of a geographic or topographic feature the name for which has been commonly used by the community or landowner in the area of the feature for at least 10 years; or
(f) the altering of the road type part of the name of a highway, road, street, lane, trail or thoroughfare that has been named under this Act.
Example for subsection (2)(a)
Altering the location of a road named under this Act if the boundaries of the road change after it is named.
Example for subsection (2)(f)
Altering Godfrey Court to Godfrey Circuit.
(1) The Committee must establish a register.
(2) The register may be kept in any form the Committee determines.
(3) The Committee must record in the register a name approved under section 11 as soon as practicable after being notified under section 11(2).
(4) The Committee must ensure that the register is able to be inspected by the public.
The name approved for a place under section 11 is the name of the place from the date the name is recorded in the register kept under section 11B.
(1) The Minister may publish in the
Gazette a notice of the naming of a place.(2) The Committee may develop guidelines as to which categories of places should be notified under subsection (1).
The Administrator may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
On the commencement of the
1 KEY
Key to abbreviations
2 LIST OF LEGISLATION
Assent date | 8 September 1967 | ||
Commenced | 22 November 1967 ( | ||
Assent date | 13 March 1973 | ||
Commenced | 11 October 1973 ( | ||
Assent date | 11 December 1973 | ||
Commenced | 11 December 1973 (s 12(2)) | ||
Assent date | 26 August 1974 | ||
Commenced | 11 December 1973 (s 3(2)) | ||
Assent date | 24 October 1974 | ||
Commenced | 11 December 1973 (s 3) | ||
Assent date | 28 June 1976 | ||
Commenced | ss 1, 2 and 6: 28 June 1976 (s 6(2)); ss 3 and 4: 11 December 1973; s 5: 24 October 1974 | ||
Assent date | 9 December 1977 | ||
Commenced | 1 January 1978 (s 2) | ||
Assent date | 1 July 1978 | ||
Commenced | 1 July 1978 (s 2) | ||
Assent date | 5 September 1978 | ||
Commenced | 5 September 1978 | ||
Assent date | 14 January 1980 | ||
Commenced | 8 February 1980 ( | ||
Assent date | 12 February 1982 | ||
Commenced | 12 February 1982 | ||
Assent date | 8 November 1983 | ||
Commenced | 8 November 1983 | ||
Assent date | 31 December 1993 | ||
Commenced | 1 June 1994 (s 2, s 2 | ||
Assent date | 21 December 2004 | ||
Commenced | 7 September 2005 ( | ||
Assent date | 14 November 2008 | ||
Commenced | 1 July 2008 (s 2) | ||
Assent date | 2 June 2014 | ||
Commenced | s 16: 1 July 2014; s 18: 1 December 2014; rem: 2 June 2014 (s 2) | ||
Assent date | 31 August 2021 | ||
Commenced | pt 6: 2 October 2021; rem: 29 September 2021 ( | ||
Assent date | 14 April 2022 | ||
Commenced | pt 7: nc; rem: 25 May 2022 ( | ||
Assent date | 9 August 2022 | ||
Commenced | 28 November 2022 ( | ||
Assent date | 2 March 2023 | ||
Commenced | 3 March 2023 (s 2) | ||
3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS
General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table of amendments to this reprint) are made by the
4 GENERAL AMENDMENTS
General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table of amendments to this reprint) are made by the
5 LIST OF AMENDMENTS
lt amd No. 4, 1982, s 3; No. 70, 2004, s 10
ss 1 – 3 amd No. 4, 1982, s 3
s 4 amd No. 6, 1973, s 4; No. 4, 1982, s 3; No. 55, 1983, s 3; No. 84, 1993, s 6; No. 70, 2004, s 4; No. 28, 2008, s 3; No. 19, 2014, s 26
s 4A ins No. 70, 2004, s 5
amd No. 28, 2008, s 3; No. 19, 2014, s 26; No. 16, 2022, s 222
s 5 amd No. 51, 1977, s 3; No. 54, 1978, s 3; No. 4, 1982, s 3
sub No. 55, 1983, s 4
amd No. 70, 2004, s 10
s 7 amd No. 51, 1977, s 3; No. 54, 1978, s 4; No. 4, 1982, s 3
sub No. 55, 1983, s 5
amd No. 70, 2004, s 10
s 7A ins No. 55, 1983, s 5
amd No. 70, 2004, s 10
s 8 rep No. 9, 1980, s 6
s 9 amd No. 6, 1973, s 5; No. 51, 1977, s 3; No. 54, 1978, s 3; No. 55, 1983, s 6; No. 84, 1993, s 6; No. 70, 2004, ss 6 and 10; No. 19, 2014, s 26; No. 5, 2022, s 110
s 10 amd No. 51, 1977, s 3; No. 54, 1978, s 3; No. 4, 1982, s 3; No. 55, 1983, s 7; No. 70, 2004, s 10; No. 19, 2021, s 86
s 11 amd No. 51, 1977, s 3; No. 54, 1978, s 3; No. 4, 1982, s 3; No. 55, 1983, s 8; No. 70, 2004, ss 7 and 10
s 11A ins No. 70, 2004, s 8
amd No. 19, 2021, s 87; No. 4, 2023, s 23
ss 11B – 11D ins No. 70, 2004, s 8
s 12 amd No. 95, 1978, s 4; No. 4, 1982, s 3
s 13 ins No. 70, 2004, s 9
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