The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) has released updated guidelines in relation to its Aboriginal Heritage Survey Assistance Program announced in November 2023 (guidelines).
The program was introduced by DMIRS to address the increasing costs of conducting Aboriginal Heritage Surveys (AHS) in Western Australia.
In this article, we discuss the program, including eligibility criteria and information on how to apply.
About the program
The program, first announced in November 2023, will run for five years, and will apply to AHS costs incurred from 1 July 2023.
The program is targeted at exploration and prospecting companies and individual explorers and prospectors that are actively undertaking exploration and prospecting and incurring AHS costs.
Who can apply for the heritage assistance?
Assistance under the program is available for eligible holders of exploration and prospecting licenses, provided they have an annual gross production value of less than $600 million.
Explorers
During the first three years of the program, assistance is expected to be available to exploration licence holders, capped at a maximum of 50% of the annual rent payable on the affected tenement for the relevant expenditure period. This limit will be reduced to 25% of the annual rent payable for the remaining two years of the program.
Prospectors
Holders of prospecting licences are able to apply for a rebate of AHS costs incurred, capped at the total of the annual rent payable on the affected tenement for the relevant expenditure period.
How to apply
An exploration or prospective licence holder can apply for a rebate by completing and lodging a Heritage Assistance Rebate Form (which is annexed to the guidelines) with their Form 5 – Operations Report (Application). The Application will need to include evidence of completion of the survey, invoices showing the incurred costs and a map of the surveyed area.
To be eligible for assistance under the program, an exploration and prospective licence holder must have lodged their Form 5 after 1 July 2023 and within the prescribed 60-day period.
Assessment by DMIRS
Upon receiving the relevant Application and supporting evidence, DMIRS will verify the documentation and may, at its discretion, audit such information contained in the Form 5.
The guidelines indicate that applicants will be unsuccessful if they are unable to provide evidence of the survey being conducted or of the costs being incurred, or if an audit of the Form 5 reveals discrepancies between the application and what has actually occurred on the tenement.
The guidelines do not provide a timeframe in which applications will be assessed and rebates will be paid. As of 7 March 2024, no rebates have yet been paid under the fund.
Conclusion
The introduction of the program will offer welcome assistance to explorers and prospectors in mitigating the increasing costs of conducting Aboriginal Heritage Surveys in Western Australia and to promote the continuation of fulsome surveys to ensure the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage in Western Australia.
The guidelines provide proponents with a helpful overview of the program and the application process.