The Department of Planning, Lands & Heritage is the department of the
Government of Western Australia
The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...
responsible for planning and managing all land use and heritage considerations within the state. The Department was formed on 28 April 2017 as a merger of the former departments of Planning, Lands Management, the
Heritage Council
The Heritage Council ( ga, An Comhairle Oidhreachta) is an organisation created by the Irish government to "engage, educate and advocate to develop a wider understanding of the vital contribution that our heritage makes to our social, environmenta ...
and the heritage and land management functions of the former
Department of Aboriginal Affairs
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and March 1990.
History
The Department had its origins in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA), which was established ...
.
Background
Political pressure for new legislation on Town Planning had been part of the post war Western Australia and led to the creation of the Town Planning Department in 1954.
The department operated under the same name with varying responsibilities until the establishment of the Department of Planning and Urban Development in September 1989. The department was renamed the Ministry for Planning in March 1995.
On 1 July 2001 the Department was merged with the Departments of Transport and Land Administration under a single minister as the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. The purpose of the amalgamation was to deliver integrated land use and transport infrastructure planning — however the experiment was short-lived. On 1 July 2009 the department was superseded by the Department of Planning and the Department of Transport.
In 2017, a departmental reorganisation led to the consolidation of all state government land use and heritage responsibilities under a single Department of Planning, Lands & Heritage. The department currently exercises various planning decision-making responsibilities under delegation from the
Western Australian Planning Commission
The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that exists to coordinate strategic and statutory planning for future urban, rural and regional land use. The authori ...
.
In May 2021, the department was one of eight Western Australian Government departments to receive a new Director General with Jodi Cant being appointed to the role effective from 31 May 2021 after her predecessor, Gail McGowan, had retired.
Functions and responsibilities
*
Western Australian Planning Commission
The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that exists to coordinate strategic and statutory planning for future urban, rural and regional land use. The authori ...
* State Planning Framework
*
Development Assessment Panels
Development Assessment Panels are independent decision-making bodies with the power to determine high value development applications in Western Australia. The panels contain five members—three industry professionals and two elected members of the ...
* Heritage
* Office of the Government Architect
* Pastoral Lands Board
* Aboriginal Lands Trust
*
Fremantle Prison
Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottage ...
*
Whiteman Park
Whiteman Park is a bushland area located north of Perth, Western Australia. The park is in the suburb of Whiteman, in the Swan Valley in the upper reaches of the Swan River.
It encompasses the source of Bennett Brook - an important place o ...
Ministers
The Department supports four ministerial positions:
* Minister for Planning
* Minister for Heritage
* Minister for Aboriginal Affairs; Lands
See also
*
Metronet Metronet may refer to:
*Metronet (British infrastructure company), who maintained London Underground infrastructure between 2003 and 2008.
*Metronet (Western Australia), government agency formed in 2017, responsible for managing extensions to Perth ...
References
{{Government departments of Western Australia, state=expanded
Planning
Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...
2017 establishments in Australia
Heritage organisations in Australia
Government agencies established in 2017