❓ Mr Zempilas asks about the average time for section 18 consent determinations under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 1972. The Minister provides data from 2015-2025, noting a period where the 2021 Act was in effect.
AnsweredQoN 865Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the section 18 consent process under the Aboriginal
Cultural Heritage Act 1972 (WA) undertaken by the Aboriginal Cultural
Heritage Committee, and I ask: (a) What was the average time taken for a section 18 consent to be determined by the Committee, from lodgement through to the Minister’s decision, in the following years: (i) 2015; (ii) 2016; (iii) 2017; (iv) 2018; (v) 2019; (vi) 2020; (vii) 2021; (viii) 2022; (ix) 2023; and (x) 2024?
Cultural Heritage Act 1972 (WA) undertaken by the Aboriginal Cultural
Heritage Committee, and I ask: (a) What was the average time taken for a section 18 consent to be determined by the Committee, from lodgement through to the Minister’s decision, in the following years: (i) 2015; (ii) 2016; (iii) 2017; (iv) 2018; (v) 2019; (vi) 2020; (vii) 2021; (viii) 2022; (ix) 2023; and (x) 2024?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 November 2025
Responded by
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Response time
9 days
(a) (i)-(x) Average processing times from the date of the notice given to the Committee under section 18(2) of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 to the Minister’s decision under section 18(3) are as follows:
1 July 2015-30 June 2016 – 124 days
1 July 2016-30 June 2017 – 126 days
1 July 2017-30 June 2018 – 144 days
1 July 2018-30 June 2019 – 124 days
1 July 2019-30 June 2020 – 104 days
1 July 2020-30 June 2021 – 168 days
1 July 2021-30 June 2022 – 126 days
1 July 2022-30 June 2023 – 150 days
1 July 2023-14 November 2023 – Not applicable as the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 was in effect.
15 November 2023-30 June 2024 – 111 days
1 July 2024-30 June 2025 – 99 days
1 July 2015-30 June 2016 – 124 days
1 July 2016-30 June 2017 – 126 days
1 July 2017-30 June 2018 – 144 days
1 July 2018-30 June 2019 – 124 days
1 July 2019-30 June 2020 – 104 days
1 July 2020-30 June 2021 – 168 days
1 July 2021-30 June 2022 – 126 days
1 July 2022-30 June 2023 – 150 days
1 July 2023-14 November 2023 – Not applicable as the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 was in effect.
15 November 2023-30 June 2024 – 111 days
1 July 2024-30 June 2025 – 99 days
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.