The Heritage Minister has told the ACT Heritage Council to suspend its work while it is the subject of a snap review, prompted by "deep concern" over the way the council has been working with government staff.
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Rebecca Vassarotti has commissioned Nous Group, an international management consultancy, to review the council and report back with recommendations for improvement by September.
The council has faced a 122 per cent increase in demand for heritage advice relating to urban infill projects in the last eight years, pushing out processing times for applications from 60 days to between 80 and 120 days.
Ms Vassarotti said she had been made aware of concerns about the relationship and effectiveness of the ACT Heritage Council with heritage unit staff.
"There have been unacceptable delays for many stakeholders and I have heard significant frustration in the delay of approvals," Ms Vassarotti said.
"Information provided to me led to strong concerns about current operational activities, interpersonal relationships and engagement between council members and ACT Heritage staff, combined with an increasing and challenging workload."
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Ms Vassarotti said she believed these circumstances had affected the council's ability to perform its role, and had recommended all meetings and businesses activities be suspended.
Ms Vassarotti wrote to the nine-member Heritage Council on August 8 and told The Canberra Times she had received a positive response.
Ms Vassarotti said the subject matter of the review was sensitive but the subsequent actions would be critical to support the council's work in an evolving and complex city.
Nous Group was selected to perform the review because it was already providing strategic advice to the territory's heritage staff and council.
The terms of reference for the review said Ms Vassarotti wanted it to "identify the causes of the Council's current situation and provide ... recommendations on courses of action to address the findings".
The review will consider the "nature and effectiveness of the relationships between members of the Heritage Council" and the nature and effectiveness of the council's relationship with the government's heritage unit staff.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
