Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Removal of Places from the Commonwealth Heritage List) Instrument 2025 (No. 1)
I, Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water, make the following instrument.
Dated 28 July 2025
Murray Watt
Minister for the Environment and Water
Contents
1 Name
2 Commencement
3 Authority
4 Definitions
5 Removal of places from the Commonwealth Heritage List
Schedule 1—Statement of Reasons for the removal of places from the Commonwealth Heritage List under section 341L of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
1 Name
This instrument is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Removal of Places from the Commonwealth Heritage List) Instrument 2025 (No. 1).
2 Commencement
This instrument commences on the day after it is registered.
3 Authority
This instrument is made under subsection 341L(4) of the Act.
4 Definitions
Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 341C of the Act, including the following:
(a) Commonwealth Heritage List.
In this instrument:
Act means the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
5 Removal of places from the Commonwealth Heritage List
(1) Each place mentioned in an item in the following table is removed from the Commonwealth Heritage List.
Item | Place |
1 | New South Wales Sydney Municipal Council General Post Office 1 Martin Place, Sydney |
2 | Victoria Mornington Peninsula Shire Council Sorrento Post Office 10-16 Ocean Beach Road, Sorrento |
3 | Western Australia City of South Perth South Perth Post Office 103 Mill Point Road, South Perth |
4 | New South Wales Waverley Council Bondi Beach Post Office 20 Hall Street, Bondi |
(2) A statement of reasons is provided in Schedule 1 for the removal of each place mentioned in the table under subsection (1) from the Commonwealth Heritage List.
Schedule 1—Statement of Reasons for the removal of places from the Commonwealth Heritage List under section 341L of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
- I, Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water, provide this statement of reasons for the removal of the following places from the Commonwealth Heritage List under subsection 341L(4) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act): the General Post Office (Commonwealth Heritage place ID 105509), the Sorrento Post Office (Commonwealth Heritage place ID 105632), the South Perth Post Office (Commonwealth Heritage place ID 105370) and the Bondi Beach Post Office (Commonwealth Heritage place ID 107174).
LEGISLATION
- Paragraph 341L(1)(a) of the Act provides that I must remove all or part of a place from the Commonwealth Heritage List as soon as practicable after I become aware that the place or part thereof is no longer in a Commonwealth area.
- Section 525 of the Act provides that a ‘Commonwealth area’, includes, among other things, land owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency.
- A place or part of a place can be removed from the Commonwealth Heritage List by an instrument including a statement of reasons for the removal (subsection 341L(4)).
BACKGROUND
- The General Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 15 July 2004.
- The Sorrento Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 15 July 2004.
- The South Perth Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 8 November 2011.
- The Bondi Beach Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 22 August 2012.
- At the time of inclusion in the Commonwealth Heritage List, each of the four places was in a Commonwealth area as defined by section 525 of the Act.
EVIDENCE AND MATERIAL BEFORE ME
- I considered correspondence from Lovell Chen Architects & Heritage Consultants dated 21 July 2015 and Australia Post’s letters dated 30 May 2017 and 25 March 2025. I also considered title searches provided by Australia Post demonstrating that Australia Post does not own any of the properties. I am satisfied that these documents confirm that Australia Post does not own or lease any of the four properties listed in paragraph 1.
FINDINGS ON MATERIAL QUESTIONS OF FACT
- Noting the above, I found that the places listed in paragraph 1 are no longer owned or leased by the Commonwealth and are not otherwise in a ‘Commonwealth area’ as defined by section 525 of the Act.
- Accordingly, pursuant to paragraph 341L(1)(a) of the Act, I decided to remove the four places listed in paragraph 1 from the Commonwealth Heritage List.