The former Perth General Post Office is on the Commonwealth Heritage List. Our client proposed alteration and adaptive re-use of the building, which required a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), and referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) to the Department of the Environment and Energy.

element provided initial design advice to the client to achieve a successful adaptive re-use. We prepared a Development Application to the City of Perth which set out the scope of proposed adaptation. This was referred to the Heritage Council of Western Australia (HCWA) in accordance with the Heritage Act 2018.  In conjunction with the State process, element also prepared the EPBC referral documentation to support the application. This entailed a detailed HIA that explored the potential impact on the significant cultural heritage values expressed under the Commonwealth listing against State and national heritage values.

With element acting as the client’s primary liaison between the three statutory authorities; HCWA, City of Perth, and the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Energy; the heritage values of the place were the foremost consideration during the planning and construction phases. Our design advice achieved a successful adaptive re-use resulting in an acceptable amount of change to accommodate the new function without impacting on the heritage values of the place. Our HIA was sufficiently detailed for the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Energy to make a positive conclusion that the proposal did not have an impact and could be supported.

• Design advice
• Heritage Impact Assessment  
• Development Application  
• EPBC referral documentation