Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2021C01223:front:0:p50
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2021C01223
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 150628–153503

to the Minister (Section 341ZB);
          4. Minimise adverse impact on identified Commonwealth Heritage values of the place (Section 341ZC); and
          5. Ensure the Commonwealth Heritage values of the place are protected in the event of the RBA Head office being sold or leased (Section 341ZE).

Heritage Management Plans for Commonwealth Heritage listed places are legislative instruments for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.  Under section 341S of the EPBC Act, the Reserve Bank of Australia is responsible for registering the HMP as a legislative instrument on the Federal Register of Legislation to be compliant with its obligations under the Act.

6.2.4            Approval process
The Consent Authority for works to the building is the Department of Environment and Energy under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act 1999).  The Reserve Bank, as a Commonwealth agency must not take an action that has, will have, or is likely to have an adverse impact on Commonwealth Heritage values of a Commonwealth Heritage place unless there is no feasible and prudent alternative and action is taken to mitigate the impacts[40].

Actions on, or impacting on, Commonwealth land, and actions undertaken by Commonwealth agencies, are subject to the requirements of the EPBC Act. Under the Act, actions on Commonwealth land or undertaken by a Commonwealth agency should be self-assessed to determine if they are likely to have a significant impact on the environment, the definition of which includes heritage values of places.

The process of self-assessment outlined in the Significant Impact Guidelines 1.2 (Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2013) will be followed by the RBA or a heritage specialist before any proposed actions are undertaken.  This will assist the Bank in deciding whether or not the action is likely to have a significant impact on the environment.

It is the Bank's responsibility as the person undertaking an action to consider the extent of impacts on the environment, including heritage values. If the impacts are likely to be significant, or if the Bank is unsure, the action will be referred to the Department of the Environment and Energy.  Only a referral decision from the Department of the Environment and Energy constitutes legal approval under the EPBC Act.  If an action is referred, the Minister for the Environment will decide whether it is likely to have significant impact on the environment and whether approval is therefore required under the EPBC Act. If the Minister decides that the action is likely to have a significant impact, it will be deemed a controlled action and be subject to the EPBC Act assessment and approval process.  Controlled actions are defined as:

      A proposed action that is likely to have a significant impact on: