We would like to hear your thoughts on a new draft heritage strategy for NSW.

The NSW Government draft strategy aims to ensure heritage is valued as an integral part of the culture and wellbeing of our communities and our sense of place.

Heritage includes the places, objects and stories we have inherited from the past and want to protect for generations to come. It includes:

  • Aboriginal culture and landscapes spanning tens of thousands of years
  • Natural heritage such as landscapes and ecosystems
  • Historic buildings and structures
  • Gardens, precincts and cultural landscapes
  • Archaeological sites and shipwrecks
  • Moveable heritage such as collections and objects
  • Intangible heritage such as cultural practices and traditions.

We engaged and listened to the views of people from across NSW in the development of the strategy, including the heritage sector, advocacy groups, government and the broader community via workshops, focus groups and a public survey.

Tell us what you think

Share your feedback below by completing a survey, sharing an idea, uploading a submission or completing a quick poll by Sunday 13 July 2025.

For more details, please see the draft NSW Heritage Strategy and our frequently asked questions (FAQs).

The draft strategy document has also been translated into 6 languages other than English – Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Korean and Greek.

To access translated versions of the Have Your Say webpage content, click on the Language drop down menu at the top right corner and select your preferred language. While translations have been made available, submissions in English are preferred.

Survey

Ideas

What actions could the NSW Government take to make the draft strategy vision happen?

Vision: Heritage is valued as an integral part of the culture and wellbeing of our communities and our sense of place. (max 140 characters).

You have 140 characters left
Moderation Policy

30 June, 2025

Marie says:

Please save the Cumberland Plain vegetation. Please save what's left of colonial history, houses and structures in outer western Sydney.

28 June, 2025

Charlotta says:

Save the Brumbies, aerial shooting of these beautiful creatures is horrifying. It is animal cruelty at its highest level. It must be stopped

28 June, 2025

Kristina says:

Protect the KNP brumbies. Slaughtering an Australian icon via aerial shooting is torture and immoral.

21 June, 2025

Melissa says:

Please preserve our Snowy River Brumbies heritage area. They are supposed to have a safe area there for 3000 brumbies. Stop aerial culling

20 June, 2025

Renee says:

Stop killing the brumbies!!!!! Stop clearing the land for Wind Turbines, solar farms and hydropower. There is nothing green about them

20 June, 2025

MH says:

Government needs to value, assess and preserve heritage. Most losses have occurred due to poor governance and conflicts of interest.

14 June, 2025

Sam W says:

PPPs or less formal partnerships w comm'ty grps to harness social capital around public htg sites to codesign & deliver outcomes for comm'ty

11 June, 2025

Cheryl Bon says:

Any development of housing next to heritage buildings needs to have large sets backs, gardens and for the buildings to be low rise or houses

10 June, 2025

Thi says:

Private house heritage is wrong Waste money keep rotten damage ,contamin , asbestos no one admire We live Terrible in heritage area

9 June, 2025

Lily says:

How far in time are we inheriting? concern about confusion inbuilding approval and heritage conservation

9 June, 2025

Lily says:

you want the future generation to know what is so unique about Australia and Australians to help build the nation up as well as the country

9 June, 2025

Lily says:

you need clear goals to achieve or the funding will be misused and the outcomes handed down to the next generations may not be authentic

Submission

Quick poll

Quick Poll

How important is protecting heritage to you?

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

The draft NSW Heritage Strategy sets out a vision and strategic direction for protecting, conserving and activating the heritage of NSW. It outlines a series of high-level actions designed to achieve this vision. Actions will be refined based on public feedback and greater detail will be provided in the final strategy.

The draft NSW Heritage Strategy was developed through an extensive engagement process that began in August 2023. To understand the challenges and opportunities for heritage in NSW, the NSW Government talked to key stakeholders from across the heritage, planning, property, and local government sectors. We also met with a range of community advocacy organisations. A public survey was conducted on the Have Your Say webpage and a series of focus groups with diverse community members were held to better understand how the community views heritage. The draft strategy also draws on the report and recommendations from the 2021 Standing Committee on Social Issues’ Inquiry into the Heritage Act 1977, and the more than 300 submissions made to that Inquiry.

The NSW Government is excited to invite the people of NSW to participate in this important process and have your say on the draft NSW Heritage Strategy. This is the final phase of consultation and your feedback is crucial to ensure that the final strategy captures the diverse perspectives and voices of our state.

You can provide your feedback in four ways:

  • Complete the survey
  • Use the quick poll
  • Add your idea to the ideas board
  • Make a formal submission
  • Public consultation on the draft NSW Heritage Strategy will be open for 8 weeks from 16 May 2025 to 13 July 2025. The feedback, comments and ideas received from public consultation will be used to develop a final version of the strategy.

    The draft NSW Heritage Strategy acknowledges that Aboriginal cultural heritage is the foundation of all heritage in NSW. Actions under the draft strategy focus on recognition and protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage under the Heritage Act 1977 (e.g. state significant Aboriginal cultural heritage sites) and associated programs, such as the NSW Blue Plaques program.

    The NSW Government is committed to reforming Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation, currently managed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Aboriginal cultural heritage reforms are being carried out separately to the development of the NSW Heritage Strategy. The strategy will complement any future changes to the system for identifying and protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage. Further information about the Aboriginal cultural heritage reforms can be found here.

    The Transport Orientated Development program and the Low and Mid-rise Housing Reforms aim to increase the number of well-located homes close to transport and deliver the government’s housing targets. The NSW Government is committed to delivering both new housing and heritage protections.

    The NSW Heritage Strategy will support the housing reforms by considering ways to improve the alignment between the heritage and planning systems. With careful planning, development can be sensitively integrated into our neighbourhoods, protecting heritage character and enhancing the sense of place and liveability of our suburbs. Further information about the housing reforms can be found here.

    Local heritage is managed by local councils across New South Wales and is protected under the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979. The strategy considers local heritage within the context of considering ways to improve the alignment between the heritage and planning systems.

    The strategy is intended to be implemented over five years. Timeframes and implementation steps will be set out in the final strategy document.

    The 2021 Upper House Inquiry into the Heritage Act 1977 made 26 recommendations for legislative and non-legislative reform to the heritage system in NSW. The strategy provides an overarching framework for delivering on many of these recommendations.

    The NSW Government proposes to pursue amendments to the Heritage Act 1977, in line with the recommendations of the 2021 Inquiry, as part of implementing the strategy.

    The draft NSW Heritage Strategy sets out a vision and strategic direction for protecting and conserving heritage in NSW and outlines a series of high-level actions to achieve this vision. During the public consultation period we will be seeking feedback not just on the actions we propose, but on how we might work with communities to implement them.

    These actions will be refined based on public feedback and further detail will be provided in the final strategy.