Advice to applicants - fossils and meteorites factsheet
This factsheet contains advice to applicants on the preliminary assessment of fossils and meteorites.
Background
The revised National Cultural Heritage Control List set out in the amendment to the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Regulations took effect from 1 May 1999. Part 3 of the Control List covers Natural Science Objects including palaeontological objects (paragraph 3.4(a)) and meteorites (3.4(g)) which are of significance to Australia and are not adequately represented in public collections in Australia.
The Secretariat to the National Cultural Heritage Committee has streamlined the administrative procedure for assessing fossils and meteorites to determine which specimens require an export permit.
Initial Enquiries
Persons wishing to export fossils or meteorites should initially contact an accredited expert examiner in their nearest major museum. A list of some of the experts in these fields is available on request. You will need to describe the specimen and its source, send photographs to the examiner and/or arrange for the examiner to view some or all of the material at the museum or another venue.
- In the case of meteorites, a physical examination should always take place.
- In the case of fossils, a good quality photograph may be sufficient to enable identification.
The expert examiner will briefly identify the specimens, consider their actual or likely uniqueness, rarity or other scientific significance and consider whether the specimens are already adequately represented in public collections in Australia.
On the basis of this assessment the examiner will inform you that:
- the material is adequately represented in public collections and/or not of such significance and therefore an export permit is not required, or
- the material may be significant, rare and/or inadequately represented, therefore an export application needs to be lodged so that a more detailed expert assessment can be undertaken.
If the specimen is commonly available and similar specimens are already included in the collections of public museums, then either the expert examiner or the Secretariat will issue you with a letter. This letter states that, on the basis of the material you have provided, the object does not appear to fall under the Control List because it is already adequately represented in public collections and at this time, it is not subject to export regulations under the PMCH Act and you do not require a permit to export the object. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service accepts this letter.
Specimens Requiring an Export Permit
If after a preliminary examination of a specimen or documentation on a specimen an expert examiner considers that:
- the object appears to fall within the Control List on the basis of significance and inadequate representation; or
- a more detailed examination of the specimen or source material and/or consultation with other experts is necessary in order to assess the significance of the object, the examiner will inform you that you need to lodge an export application.
The examiner will provide you with an export application form. Note that usually a different expert examiner will provide formal advice to the National Cultural Heritage Committee on the export application, not the examiner who undertook the preliminary assessment.
For contact details of the assessor nearest to you, please contact:
Cultural Property Section
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Email: movable.heritage@environment.gov.au
Tel: 02 6274 1810
Fax: 02 6274 2731
