FAQs

Heritage is important in understanding the story of an area – its history, identity and diversity, and how it has shaped us and our world today. Heritage is diverse and consists of places such as buildings, monuments, gardens, cemeteries, cultural landscapes and archaeological sites. As a community, we share the responsibility to identify and protect what is important and pass on these places to future generations, so they will understand what came before them.

The City’s Local Planning Scheme No. 4 requires us to compile a list of individual properties that are of cultural heritage significance to Fremantle and worthy of conservation. There are currently 2500 heritage listed places within the City. The list only contains the property address; however, further information on each place can be found in the inHerit database, which is managed by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. Inclusion on the Heritage List means that planning approval is required for many types of works, including some that are exempt for non-listed places. The current Heritage List is available on the City’s website here.

The Local Heritage Survey (formerly the Municipal Heritage Inventory) is a database of heritage places in the City of Fremantle, which have been assessed for their aesthetic, historic, social or scientific value. It contains an invaluable collection of heritage information for more than 5000 places across the local government area; a record of each place can be found in:

• the Heritage Place Records stored in the Fremantle History Centre 
• the inHerit database, which is managed by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage.

The purposes of a Local Heritage Survey are to:

• Identify and record places that are, or may become, of cultural heritage significance in the district.
• Assist the City in making and implementing decisions that are in harmony with cultural heritage values.
• Provide a cultural and historical record of the district.
• Provide an accessible public record of places of cultural heritage significance to the district.
• Assist the local government in preparing a heritage list or list of heritage areas under a local planning scheme.

The Local Heritage Survey does not, by itself, have any legal implications for the protection and development of places.

Following the gazettal of Western Australia's first Heritage Act in 1990, Council first adopted its initial Local Heritage Survey (then called a Municipal Heritage Inventory) in September 2000 and subsequently adopted a Heritage List based on the Inventory through the provisions of Local Planning Scheme No.4 (gazetted in 2007).

The Heritage Act 2018 requires that local governments prepare and maintain a Local Heritage Survey (LHS) of places that in its opinion are, or may become, of cultural heritage significance. The survey is required to be periodically updated and reviewed. Places on the LHS are recognised but do not automatically receive statutory protection. The LHS is an information database that records and provides information on all places of cultural heritage significance in Fremantle.

A selection of places in the LHS are afforded statutory protection by inclusion on the Heritage List. To maintain the City's approach to heritage conservation with modern best practice and ensure its places receive appropriate recognition and protection, it is important to review the LHS and Heritage List regularly.

The Heritage List contains approximately 2,380 places that are considered to have some heritage value to the City of Fremantle for their individual aesthetic, historic, social or scientific significance (Burra Charter values), and/or their contribution to the streetscape, local area and Fremantle.

Heritage is an important part of our city’s identity and our point of difference. Alongside Fremantle’s many unique and highly significant individual heritage places, we are also fortunate to have a large concentration of houses, bungalows, terraces, duplexes, cottages, commercial buildings and industrial buildings from different eras. These buildings and places all contribute to the character of the City and its streetscapes, and contribute significantly to what makes Fremantle, Fremantle. It is important that we identify what does and does not have heritage significance in order to protect that which is significant and guide appropriate development in the future.

The Heritage List contains approximately 2,380 places that are considered to have some heritage value to the City of Fremantle for their individual aesthetic, historic, social or scientific significance (Burra Charter values), and/or their contribution to the streetscape, local area and Fremantle. 

The Management Categories (which rank levels of heritage significance) for various places are being reviewed to ensure that these are appropriate for the significance of the places. The Level 4 - Historic Record Only category is also being applied consistently to places that are currently labelled "limestone feature" in most instances or to places that are currently recorded as the former site or archaeological site associated with places of heritage significance.

Management category - Level 1a – Exceptional Significance – State Listed 

The City of Fremantle has identified this place as being of exceptional cultural heritage significance in its own right within the context of Fremantle. This place is entered onto the State Heritage Office of Western Australia’s Register of Heritage Places. All development applications must be referred to the State Heritage Office for approval. 

Management category - Level 1b – Exceptional Significance – Not State Listed 

The City of Fremantle has identified this place as being of exceptional cultural heritage significance in its own right within the context of Fremantle and its conservation is required. It is recommended that this place be considered for entry in the Heritage Council of Western Australia's Register of Heritage Places. 

Management category - Level 2 – Considerable Significance 

The City of Fremantle has identified this place as being of considerable cultural heritage significance in its own right within the context of Fremantle and its conservation is a priority. 

Management category - Level 3 – Some Significance 

The City of Fremantle has identified this place as being of some cultural heritage significance for its contribution to the heritage of Fremantle in terms of its individual or collective aesthetic, historic, social or scientific significance, and/or its contribution to the streetscape, local area and Fremantle. Its contribution to the urban context should be maintained and enhanced. 

Management category - Level 4 – Historic Record Only 

The City of Fremantle has identified places on this place as being of interest for historical reasons and/or for structures that no longer exist. These places are part of Fremantle's rich cultural heritage but are not included on the Heritage List. 

Listing is the way our heritage places are identified and managed through the planning process. This helps look after the environmental, economic and social benefits of our heritage buildings for current and future generations. Listing assists with conservation of a place, but it is not intended to stop all change.

If your property is heritage listed or is within a heritage area, it does not mean that development is prohibited. It is a common misconception that if a place is included on the Heritage List or in a heritage area then that place cannot be altered in any way. This is not the case. The City of Fremantle recognises that the best way to protect heritage places is to have them occupied and in use. This means that development of heritage places to accommodate contemporary requirements and uses is encouraged, provided that it is done in a sensitive manner and noting that there are limitations.

The majority of development proposals affecting a heritage-protected place are considered against the City's Local Planning Policy 1.6 - Heritage Administration and Procedures and Local Planning Policy 3.6 - Heritage-Protected Places, Built Form and Land Use. Some works are exempt from requiring planning approval, and are outlined in Local Planning Policy 1.7 - Exemptions.

If you are considering developing or conducting works that affect a heritage listed place and wish to obtain further guidance, please reach out to the City.

To ensure that your request is considered for the 2027 annual update of the Heritage List and Local Heritage Survey, please fill out and submit the following form to the City:

Request to Amend Heritage List and Local Heritage Survey