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The City of Ballarat's manages the City's valuable heritage assets in balance with growth and development across the municipality. The City of Ballarat is required  to protect, conserve and enhance places of local heritage significance under the Planning and Environment Act 1987. ​

Heritage Protection in Victoria is managed by three acts;​

State Protection:​

Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006​

The Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 is managed by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council and Registered Aboriginal Parties. It recognises First Nations people as the primary guardians of their cultural heritage. The Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) for the area are the key decision makers regarding the management of cultural heritage places or objects. ​

The City of Ballarat is on the traditional country of the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung people. The Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) is the Registered Aboriginal Party for Wadawurrung country, Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation are the Registered Aboriginal Party for Dja Dja Wurrung country.​

Heritage Act 2017​

The Heritage Act 2017 is jointly managed by Heritage Council Victoria and Heritage Victoria. Heritage Council Victoria determines what to include on the Victorian Heritage Register and Heritage Victoria is responsible for the management and conservation of the places and objects included on the Victorian Heritage Register​ 

Local Protection:​

Planning and Environment Act 1987​

The Planning and Environment Act 1987 is managed by local councils. The City of Ballarat is responsible for proposing what to include in the local Heritage Overlay and making decisions about changes to places within a local Heritage Overlay. This includes heritage studies, Planning Scheme Amendments, permit applications and enforcing compliance.​ 

Heritage overlay refers to a planning control that is applied to land with heritage significance.​

Its purpose is to:​

• Conserve and enhance places of natural or cultural significance​
• Conserve and enhance elements which contribute to the significance of heritage places​
• Ensure development does not adversely affect the significance of heritage place​
• Conserve specifically identified places by allowing a use that would otherwise be prohibited if this will demonstrably assist with the conservation of the significance of the place​

A free property report can be obtained on the Victorian Government Department of Transport and Planning website - Your place for Victorian land and property information. This report will provide information about the planning controls affecting a property in Victoria.​

The City of Ballarat employs dedicated Heritage Advisors to help guide the decision-making process for places within the Heritage Overlay. Our Heritage Advisor is also able to assist property owners on technical, materials and conservation advice on a range of issues.

More information can be found on the Heritage planning permits page

Heritage Gaps Review Program​

In 2023, the Heritage Planning team initiated the Heritage Gaps Review Program to review the Heritage Overlay and identify places of Heritage significance not currently under heritage protection. This is an ambitious and multi-year program of strategic heritage planning for the whole municipality. Key projects under the Heritage Gaps Review Program are:

• Preparation of new Local Heritage Policy and Heritage Design Guidelines – to be included in the Ballarat Planning Scheme to give a framework for good decision making regarding our heritage places and precincts, supported by Heritage Design Guidelines.
• Heritage Gaps Study – will add new places and precincts to the Ballarat Planning Scheme and will identify, document and protect new heritage places and precincts across the whole municipality through inclusion in the Heritage Overlay of the Ballarat Planning Scheme.
• Heritage Review Study – will undertake a thorough review of our existing heritage places and precincts (already included in the Heritage Overlay if the Ballarat Planning Scheme). The review will ensure that the significance of each place or precinct is adequately documented and well justified. In conjunction with robust local heritage policy, this will result in good decision making which achieve positive heritage outcomes where change is proposed.

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For more information on this project go to the Heritage Gaps Review Program project page.

To nominate a heritage place go to the Heritage Gaps Review Program mySay page.