Suburban Rail Loop will transform Victoria’s public transport system, connecting our suburbs and making travel easier and more convenient.

Suburban Rail Loop will revolutionise Victoria’s public transport system, connecting every major train line from the Frankston Line to the Werribee Line via Melbourne Airport, and improving access to housing, jobs, schools, universities and hospitals in Melbourne’s middle suburbs.

What is a Cultural Heritage Management Plan?

A Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) is a report which explains the results of cultural heritage assessments and outlines conditions that a project needs to comply with before, during and after works to manage and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage in that area.

CHMPs are required when high impact activity is planned to identify areas of cultural heritage sensitivity, as defined by the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018. Areas of cultural heritage sensitivity include registered cultural heritage places as well as certain landforms and land categories.

In these areas planning permits, licences and work authorities cannot be issued unless a CHMP has been approved for the activity.

CHMPs are prepared by a heritage advisor and approved by a Registered Aboriginal Party or First Peoples – State Relations.

Prior to developing a CHMP, site investigations involving a small team of experts (such as archaeologists, members of the local Registered Aboriginal Party and/or First Peoples – State Relations) are carried out to identify any Aboriginal cultural heritage that may be present.

These investigations inform the development of a CHMP, which assesses the potential impact of a proposed activity on Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Why are Cultural Heritage Management Plans important?

Aboriginal cultural heritage is a significant part of Victoria’s cultural past and natural landscape and is of particular importance to Aboriginal peoples.

CHMPs are important as they outline measures to ensure Victoria’s Aboriginal cultural heritage is recognised and safeguarded as projects are built.

The Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 provides guidance to projects, including Suburban Rail Loop to ensure Aboriginal heritage is considered in the planning stages of the project.

Cultural heritage in Victoria

Victoria’s landscape holds the imprint of thousands of generations of Aboriginal people: places where people have lived, passed on creation stories, established alliances and engaged in conflict, celebrated rites of passage and committed the departed to their final resting places.

Following the arrival of Europeans, different places of cultural heritage were created, such as massacre sites, missions, places associated with the Aboriginal rights movement and contemporary places with ongoing uses.

Information about such places may be passed down from one generation to the next or may survive in nineteenth century documents and records.

The endurance of these places and objects is immensely important – they are a fundamental part of Aboriginal community life and identity, and a significant part of the cultural heritage of all Australians.