Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Removal of Places from the Commonwealth Heritage List) Instrument 2025 (No. 1)

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Legislation au F2025N00640 In force Notifiable Instrument

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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

 

  1.        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

  1.        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.

 

  1.        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.

 

  1.        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

  1.        The General Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 15 July 2004.

 

  1.        The Sorrento Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 15 July 2004.

 

  1.        The South Perth Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 8 November 2011.

 

  1.        The Bondi Beach Post Office was included in the Commonwealth Heritage List by Gazette Instrument on 22 August 2012.

 

  1.        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

  1.    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

  1.    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.

 

  1.    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.

 

Overview

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Removal of Places from the Commonwealth Heritage List) Instrument 2025 (No. 1) was enacted by Murray Watt, the Minister for the Environment and Water, and aims to address the issue of removing certain places from the Commonwealth Heritage List due to changes in their ownership or lease status. This instrument is grounded in subsection 341L(4) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which mandates the removal of places from the Commonwealth Heritage List if they are no longer in a Commonwealth area as defined by the Act. The primary policy objective is to ensure the accuracy and relevance of the Commonwealth Heritage List by excluding places that no longer meet the criteria of being in a Commonwealth area. The instrument specifies the removal of several post offices, providing a statement of reasons for each removal based on evidence that these properties are no longer owned or leased by the Commonwealth.

Scope and Application

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Removal of Places from the Commonwealth Heritage List) Instrument 2025 (No. 1) applies to specific places that are to be removed from the Commonwealth Heritage List, as designated by the instrument. These places include the General Post Office in Sydney, the Sorrento Post Office in Sorrento, the South Perth Post Office in South Perth, and the Bondi Beach Post Office in Bondi. The instrument is made under subsection 341L(4) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which grants the Minister the authority to remove places from the Commonwealth Heritage List if they are no longer in a Commonwealth area, as defined by section 525 of the Act. This instrument applies nationally, encompassing the entire Commonwealth of Australia, and is effective from the day after its registration. The instrument does not specify any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds, and the application of the instrument may be further extended or restricted through subordinate legislation if necessary.

Key Provisions

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Removal of Places from the Commonwealth Heritage List) Instrument 2025 (No. 1) (the Instrument) sets out the provisions for removing specific places from the Commonwealth Heritage List under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act). Section 5 of the Instrument lists the places to be removed, including the Sydney Municipal Council General Post Office in New South Wales, the Sorrento Post Office in Victoria, the South Perth Post Office in Western Australia, and the Bondi Beach Post Office in New South Wales. Each of these places is identified by its address and the local council that administered it at the time of its inclusion on the Commonwealth Heritage List. The Instrument imposes obligations on the Minister for the Environment and Water to remove places from the Commonwealth Heritage List if they are no longer in a Commonwealth area as defined in section 525 of the Act. This includes land owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency. The Minister must provide a statement of reasons for the removal, which is detailed in Schedule 1 of the Instrument. The reasons for removal in this case are based on evidence that Australia Post, the entity that previously leased the properties, no longer owns or leases them, and therefore they are no longer in a Commonwealth area. The Act and the Instrument do not explicitly outline offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance with the requirements to remove places from the Commonwealth Heritage List. However, the Minister’s decision to remove the places is based on the statutory requirement to ensure that only places that meet the criteria of being in a Commonwealth area remain on the list. Failure to adhere to these requirements could potentially lead to legal challenges regarding the validity of the removal decisions, but no specific penalties are outlined in the provided text. The removal of places from the Commonwealth Heritage List is a regulatory action taken to ensure compliance with the Act’s provisions regarding heritage places.

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