This assessment is carried out by a number of expert committees who advise the Trust on items to be placed on the Register. These committees are made up of individuals with professional qualifications, such as architects, historians, archaeologists, planners, botanists, lawyers, educationalists and landscape architects, who all give their time freely to the Trust. It is possible to purchase a plaque or certificate from the Trust for your property stating that it is Classified. Classification need not unduly restrict renovations and alterations to Classified placed and there are many examples of sympathetic renovation. The main aim of the Trust is to ensure that all alterations are made in sympathy with the original materials and the original style and that changes do not negate or detract from the heritage value of the property.
Unsympathetic changes can adversely affect the market value of a heritage building.
Most powers of control are vested in local councils, which consider various criteria when they determine building and development applications. The inclusion of a property on such a schedule can impose certain restrictions. For further details, check with your local council. The Heritage Council is the State Government Authority, which administers the NSW Heritage Act. It advises the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning in relation to the placing of Heritage Orders on sites of heritage significance.