Heritage
We aim to champion Sydney’s unique character and strike a balance between heritage conservation and urban development.
Why we’re doing this
Heritage plays an important role in creating a lively, interesting and diverse city. It’s a crucial factor in sustainable development, keeping us connected to the past and engaged with the present. There are many kinds of heritage places in our city, such as buildings, statues, landscapes and archaeological sites.
We help our communities recognise and maintain our heritage by regularly updating our planning rules, carrying out studies and developing guidelines.
Our goal is to be a city whose heritage is cared for, recognised and honoured for future generations.
How these pages can help you
Our heritage resources aim to help you:
Heritage listings and conservation areas
Learn about how a property, area or landscape feature contributes to Sydney’s character and heritage significance.
- Sydney LEP 2012 heritage items mapFind out if your property is heritage listed or in a conservation area.
- Sydney DCP 2012 building contributions mapIf your property is in a heritage conservation area, this map will show how it contributes to the area's character according to the Sydney Development Control Plan 2012.
- State Heritage Register mapSome properties and conservation areas are listed on the State Heritage Register and protected under the Heritage Act. This map shows their locations.
- State heritage inventoryThis online search tool lets you explore heritage-listed places, areas and objects in NSW. You can search the inventory to see if a place is heritage listed on the Sydney Local Environment Plan, located in a conservation area or included on another heritage register.
Heritage terrace housing on Portman Street in Zetland, 2015.
Image: Adam Hollingworth / City of SydneyHeritage legislation
In NSW heritage is managed under international, federal, state and local legislation.
Most planning decisions that affect heritage places, Aboriginal heritage and archaeology in our area are managed under the Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012. The Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 provides detailed guidance and design requirements for the development of heritage places and conservation areas.
Other laws, such as the Heritage Act 1977 and National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, also apply to managing Aboriginal cultural heritage, heritage places of state significance and archaeological remains.
Local environmental plans
Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012Sydney LEP 2012 applies to most of the local area.Published 14 December 2012Development control plans
Sydney Development Control Plan 2012For development where the City of Sydney Council and Central Sydney Planning Committee is the consent authority, Sydney DCP 2012 applies.Published 14 December 2012Development control plans
Heritage Development Control Plan 2006This plan applies to a limited number of sites in our local area. For most sites, the Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 applies.Published 22 December 2006- Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979Sets out the NSW planning system’s structure and provides the regulatory framework for planning decisions, including managing and conserving heritage.
- Heritage Act 1977Represents the legal framework for managing heritage places of state significance and archaeological remains in NSW.
- National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974The primary legislation for preserving, managing and protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW including national parks and some historic sites.
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 Australia’s primary environmental law protects places of world and Commonwealth heritage significance, including some places in our local area.
Applying for permits and approvals
You might need approval to change or maintain your property, depending on the type of heritage place you own or manage.
Still not sure?
We can provide guidance and advice for proposed changes to heritage items and buildings in heritage conservation areas through our duty planner and pre-lodgement advice services.
Looking after heritage places
These guidelines help owners and caretakers of heritage places manage, maintain and change their properties. Changes to some heritage places are also guided by conservation management plans and management recommendations in heritage inventory sheets.
Heritage guidelines & studies
Heritage conservation areas: Repainting guidelinesDirection for colour schemes, highlighting details and painting buildings in groups.Published 19 July 2019Development guidelines & policies
Development application exception for solar panels in heritage conservation areas – GuidelineYou may not need a DA to install solar panels in heritage conservation areas if the works are in line with this document.Published 19 November 2025Heritage guidelines & studies
Main street heritage paint scheme for King Street and Enmore RoadProvides suggestions for appropriate colours above awning level for building facades along King Street and Enmore Road in Newtown and Enmore.Published 29 October 2018- Heritage maintenance guidesHeritage NSW have sourced and developed a series of guides for conserving, repairing and using heritage buildings and other items.
- Sustainable heritage buildings guideThis Heritage NSW guide supports owners and managers to transition their buildings towards net zero, using energy performance strategies that are sensitive to heritage significance.
- Heritage NSW publicationsHeritage NSW offers many other resources to inform the conservation, management and recognition of heritage places.
Cultural support & funding
Heritage floor space schemeProvides a financial incentive to conserve and maintain heritage buildings in central Sydney.
Heritage terrace housing on Elizabeth Street in Zetland, 2015.
Image: Adam Hollingworth / City of SydneyHeritage studies and local histories
These studies provide planning frameworks for managing and recognising heritage in our local area. You can also access earlier heritage assessments and historical studies by searching the City of Sydney Archives.
Heritage guidelines & studies
Industrial and warehouse buildings heritage studyAs one of Australia's former industrial heartlands, our local area retains the largest concentration of historic industrial and warehouse buildings in NSW.Published 30 October 2014Heritage guidelines & studies
Modern movement architecture in central SydneyBuilding on the Heritage Council's state-wide history of the built environment in 2013, this study investigated the heritage value of central Sydney's modern architecture.Published 30 March 2019History
Aboriginal historiesAboriginal peoples have lived in Sydney for thousands of years and the City celebrates their historic ties to the land.Published 20 October 2017Development guidelines & policies
The Central Sydney Archaeological Zoning PlanThis report documents the survey and assessment of the archaeological potential of the City of Sydney.Published 1 November 1997
