Apply for authorisation under Section 16 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act

If you are planning to enter, excavate, examine or remove anything on an Aboriginal site, you are required to seek authorisation under Section 16 (s16) of the Act.

Submit a completed Section 16 Authority Application Form to submissions@daa.wa.gov.au.

To help you to determine if a place is or could be a site under the Act, visit the Site Search.

Complete a search of both registered sites and other heritage information.

If its status is:

  • registered site, then it has previously been assessed to be a site and you will need to submit the Section 16 Authority Application Form and attach a detailed project plan
  • stored data, then it has been previously assessed to not be a site and you do not need to submit a Section 16 Authority Application Form
  • insufficient information or lodged or if it is not listed at all, then it may or may not be a site and it is recommended that you submit a Section 16 Authority Application Form and attach a detailed project plan and a Heritage Information Submission Form for any information that you currently have about the place

As you complete your work, submit an additional Heritage Information Submission Form as new and significant information comes to hand. You may also wish to contact the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage by emailing submissions@daa.wa.gov.au or phoning 61 8 6551 8002.

Page reviewed 2 December 2019