Aboriginal Heritage Assessment Dam Owners Need

A dam project reaches beyond the waterline. Access tracks, clay collection areas, trenches and places where excavated soil will be deposited can disturb ground outside the proposed basin. Heritage checks should address those areas before machinery starts, rather than being left until the excavator reaches an unexpected object.

As of October 2026, NSW and Queensland government guidance requires land users to consider potential harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage under their respective systems. This guide explains practical starting points in those two states. It is general information, not a site-specific legal assessment, an archaeological report or clearance to begin work.

Aboriginal heritage assessment dam owners can act on

The work footprint is the complete area affected by the proposed activity, including supporting works. Draw that footprint before asking whether a heritage assessment is needed. A search based only on the centre of a future dam can miss the access route, a separate clay source or a pipe crossing.

Start with a plan showing the basin, embankment, overflow route, proposed clearing and temporary work areas. Mark existing tracks separately from new ones. Record whether earthworks will stay within previously disturbed ground or extend beyond it, and provide evidence rather than assuming that an entire farm has been disturbed because it has been grazed.

Part of the project	Include in the heritage enquiry	Useful planning record
Basin and embankment	Excavation, filling and associated ground disturbance	Mapped extent and proposed levels
Clay source and soil deposits	Separate extraction and placement areas	Location plan and access route
Tracks and machinery access	New clearing, widening and surface disturbance	Existing and proposed route marked separately
Water-distribution works	Trenches, crossings and installation areas	Pipe alignment and work width

Keep this plan with your farm dam construction planning documents. If the layout changes, check whether the heritage work still covers it. Moving a clay collection area to save machine time can create a new assessment question even when the dam itself stays in the same place.

How does NSW heritage due diligence work?

Due diligence is the process of taking reasonable and practical steps to establish whether an activity could harm Aboriginal objects and how that harm can be avoided. AHIMS is the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System, which holds NSW heritage records. Searching it is one part of the process, not a substitute for considering other information and the land itself.

The NSW Due Diligence Code of Practice sets out a staged process covering ground disturbance, records, known information, landscape features and avoidance. Where necessary, it moves to desktop assessment, visual inspection and further investigation. Do not reduce it to a single database screenshot.

The NSW code identifies activities within 200 m of waters as a landscape-screening trigger where the land is not disturbed land. Its definition of waters includes rivers, streams, lakes, lagoons, swamps, wetlands and natural watercourses.

The same code identifies activities within 200 m below or above a cliff face on land that is not disturbed land. This directs the proponent to the next assessment step; it is not a universal no-build buffer.

Activities within 20 m of, or in, a cave, rock shelter or cave mouth are another NSW screening criterion on land that is not disturbed land. Dune systems, ridge tops, ridge lines and headlands also require attention under the code.

For due-diligence purposes, the code allows reliance on AHIMS search results for 12 months. That period does not turn the result into permission to harm an object or remove the need to respond to new information.

Disturbed land is land whose surface has been changed by human activity, with those changes remaining clear and observable. NSW provides low-impact defences for specified activities, including some farm-dam works, subject to conditions. Neither the word “farm” nor a history of grazing proves that the proposed excavation qualifies; obtain advice on the actual activity, location and disturbance history.

An Aboriginal heritage impact permit, or AHIP, is NSW permission for specified impacts on protected Aboriginal heritage. A declared Aboriginal Place is a place formally recognised under the NSW legislation for its special significance to Aboriginal culture. Heritage NSW’s current harm guidance explains that due diligence does not apply to declared Aboriginal Places and that proposed harm requires the appropriate permit pathway.

Known objects change the position: do not rely on a low-impact defence to knowingly harm them. Moving an object can itself constitute harm. Keep heritage advice separate from NSW dam approval checks; an answer about planning or water approvals does not settle the heritage question.

What is Queensland’s cultural heritage duty of care?

Queensland’s cultural heritage duty of care is the requirement to take all reasonable and practicable measures to ensure a land-use activity does not harm Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage. The Queensland Government’s duty-of-care guidance states that it applies to heritage on freehold land, whether or not the heritage has been identified or entered in a database.

Check the current guidelines against the proposed works and the nature and extent of past land use. A database result is useful information, but absence of a record does not establish absence of cultural heritage. Consultation with the relevant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander party may be necessary where the risk of harm is high.

The government describes several ways of meeting the duty, including compliance with gazetted guidelines, an approved cultural heritage management plan or an applicable agreement. A cultural heritage management plan is a formal plan under the Queensland legislation for managing heritage in relation to an activity. Do not assume every small dam needs one, or import NSW’s distance tests into Queensland as if they were Queensland rules.

Who should be involved before earthworks?

The landholder should bring the proposed activity and property information together. A heritage professional can advise on investigation requirements, while the relevant Aboriginal people contribute cultural knowledge and significance. In NSW, the current government guidance requires consultation with Aboriginal people who hold cultural knowledge where the proposal may harm Aboriginal objects or Places.

Ask the relevant state heritage authority how to identify the appropriate contacts and process. Do not assume that one informal conversation meets formal consultation requirements. Provide a clear work plan early enough for advice to affect the location and scope, rather than asking for agreement after an earthmoving contract has locked in the design.

Our role as dam builders is to describe the proposed construction work and work within the documented limits. That is different from determining cultural significance or issuing heritage clearance. You can discuss your proposed dam footprint with Big Ditch while arranging the required heritage advice separately.

What should the pre-start file contain?

Keep a short, usable record of the decisions and the evidence behind them. The person operating the machine needs to know where work is permitted, what is excluded and who can authorise a change. A long report left in an office does not replace a clear briefing on site.

1. Map the full work footprint, including access, clay sources and soil-placement areas.
2. Gather heritage searches, earlier reports and evidence of previous ground disturbance.
3. Confirm the applicable state assessment pathway with appropriate advice.
4. Complete required consultation, investigations and permits before affected work starts.
5. Mark approved work limits and protected areas without disturbing heritage.
6. Brief contractors on unexpected finds, stop-work contacts and layout-change procedures.

Big Ditch’s records for Lindsey Hughson’s 2019 Wynd dam project at Lorne, NSW, document 76.5 excavator hours and completion of the dam works. Those are construction records, not evidence of a heritage assessment or heritage approval for that project.

The distinction is worth preserving in your own file. A completed dam, a machine timesheet or an invoice cannot prove which heritage checks were undertaken. Keep assessment and consultation records with their dates and mapped areas, then make sure the dam-building equipment plan fits the authorised work rather than expanding it.

What happens if something is found while digging?

Stop the affected work and protect the location from further disturbance. Do not pick up, clean or move a suspected object to make identification easier. Record the location without disturbing it, restrict access and follow the site’s agreed notification process with the relevant heritage authority and advisers.

The NSW code directs work to stop when an Aboriginal object is found and requires notification of previously unrecorded objects. For suspected human skeletal remains, stop immediately, secure the area and contact police as well as the relevant heritage authority. Do not investigate the remains yourself or treat a change of excavation direction as clearance to continue.

Resolve the find and any required assessment or permission before restarting affected work. Avoid publishing locations, photographs or cultural information without appropriate advice and permission. The practical aim is to protect the material and the people connected with it, while establishing what the revised work can lawfully involve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every farm dam need a full heritage report?

No. The required work depends on the jurisdiction, proposed activity, known information and site conditions. Some activities can follow a lower-impact pathway, while others need specialist investigation, consultation or permission. Do not choose the pathway solely from dam size or the fact that the property is agricultural. Document why the selected process applies to the entire work footprint before instructing a contractor to begin excavation.

Does an empty heritage search mean digging can start?

No. A search reports recorded information, not every object or culturally significant area that may exist. NSW due diligence also considers known information and landscape features, while Queensland’s duty applies even to heritage that is not recorded. Keep the result, assess the remaining requirements and respond to any new information. A negative search cannot authorise knowingly harming heritage or override a permit requirement.

Can a dam builder provide cultural heritage clearance?

A construction assessment does not provide cultural heritage clearance. A builder can explain the work footprint, likely machinery access and options for avoiding areas, but cultural significance and legal permission require the appropriate people and process. Engage heritage advice early, give the builder the resulting limits and confirm who can approve changes. Do not confuse a site inspection or construction quote with authority to disturb protected heritage.

Planning the Aboriginal heritage assessment dam owners need? Book a site inspection with Big Ditch to define the work footprint before arranging specialist heritage advice.