Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (Western Australia)

The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage is the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for planning and managing all land use and heritage considerations within the state.^[1] The Department was formed on 28 April 2017 as a merger of the former departments of Planning, Lands Management, the Heritage Council and the heritage and land management functions of the former Department of Aboriginal Affairs.^[2]

Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

Government Department overview
Formed	28 April 2017
Preceding agencies	Department of Planning Department of Lands Heritage Council of Western Australia Department of Aboriginal Affairs
Jurisdiction	Western Australia
Headquarters	Gordon Stephenson House, 150 William Street, Perth
Employees	865 (2018)
Annual budget	$222 million (2023)
Ministers responsible	John Carey David Templeman Stephen Dawson
Government Department executive	Anthony Kannis, Director General
Child agencies	Western Australian Planning Commission Heritage Council of Western Australia Aboriginal Lands Trust Pastoral Lands Board Office of the Government Architect Fremantle Prison Whiteman Park
Website	www.dplh.wa.gov.au

Background

Political pressure for new legislation on Town Planning had been part of the post war Western Australia^[3] and led to the creation of the Town Planning Department in 1954.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6] The purpose of the amalgamation was to deliver integrated land use and transport infrastructure planning — however the experiment was short-lived.^[7] On 1 July 2009 the department was superseded by the Department of Planning and the Department of Transport.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 and Heritage.^[8] The department currently exercises various planning decision-making responsibilities under delegation from the Western Australian Planning Commission.

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.^[9]

Functions and responsibilities

• Western Australian Planning Commission
• State Planning Framework
• Development Assessment Panels
• Heritage
• Office of the Government Architect
• Pastoral Lands Board
• Aboriginal Lands Trust
• Fremantle Prison
• Whiteman Park

Ministers

The Department supports four ministerial positions:^[10]

• Minister for Planning
• Minister for Heritage
• Minister for Aboriginal Affairs; Lands

See also

• Metronet

References

1. "What we do". Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
2. "Major changes introduced to create a more efficient public sector". Media Statements. Government of Western Australia. 28 April 2017. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
3. "Legislation To "Reconstruct" Town Planning". The West Australian. Vol. 67, no. 20, 378. Western Australia. 10 November 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 22 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
4. see institutional history at https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/town-planning-department-au-wa-a956
5. "35744383 (Libraries Australia Authorities)". Libraries Australia. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
6. "Department for Planning and Infrastructure becomes operational". Media Statements. Government of Western Australia. 5 September 2001. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
7. Law, Nicholas, ed. (2013). "Governing dispersed and concentrated cities". Transforming Urban Transport: The Ethics, Politics and Practices of Sustainable Mobility. Routledge. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9780415529037.
8. "AU WA A1191 - Department for Planning and Infrastructure". State Records Office Online Catalogue. State Records Office.
9. "Renewed leadership for eight State Government departments". www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
10. Annual Report 2018/19 (PDF). Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. 2019.