How Much Does a Statement of Heritage Impact Cost in Sydney?

There is no fixed price for a Statement of Heritage Impact (SHI). What you pay depends on the heritage listing tier of the property, the scope of the proposed works, the extent to which those works affect significant fabric, and the requirements of the consent authority. This article walks through the four cost drivers that actually determine the fee, so the quote you receive is something you can read and compare against another consultant’s.

We don’t publish fixed dollar figures because doing so misleads more often than it helps — a residential alteration inside a Heritage Conservation Area is a different exercise from an alteration to a State Heritage Register item, and quoting one number invites the wrong project at the wrong price. What follows is the structure we use when scoping a SHI ourselves.

Cost Driver 1 — Heritage Listing Tier

The single biggest driver of SHI fees is the listing status of the property. From least to most expensive, the tiers are:

• —Contributory building within a Heritage Conservation Area. Significance is generally derived from the streetscape and period rather than from the individual property. The SHI focuses on streetscape impact and contributory fabric.
• —Locally listed heritage item (LEP). Significance is established at the local level. The SHI must address the LEP listing details and the council’s heritage DCP provisions.
• —State Heritage Register item. Significance is established at state level and approval may involve Heritage NSW as well as Council. The SHI is more substantial and often draws on a Conservation Management Plan.

Cost Driver 2 — Scope of Works

A SHI for a like-for-like window replacement is a smaller exercise than a SHI for a rear addition that removes a chimney. The 2023 Heritage Council of NSW guideline expects the report to be proportionate to the works — a strength of the new framework, but it does mean fees scale with the architectural drawings. As a rough ordering:

• —Minor works — like-for-like maintenance, painting in the existing palette, internal works that don’t affect significant fabric.
• —Moderate works — rear additions, dormer windows, openings in non-significant walls, secondary dwellings.
• —Major works — partial demolition, removal of contributory buildings, change of use, substantial internal reconfiguration.

Cost Driver 3 — Impact on Significant Fabric

The depth of the heritage impact assessment scales with how much of the significant fabric the proposal touches. Two projects with similar architectural drawings can produce very different SHIs: one is straightforward because the work is in non-significant spaces (a 1980s rear extension, say); the other requires careful argument because the work involves removing original timber joinery or sandstone elements. The heritage analysis — mitigation options, alternative design responses, justification against the four guideline questions — takes longer where the impact is greater.

Cost Driver 4 — Council and Consent Authority

Different councils ask for different things. Some have detailed heritage DCP provisions that the SHI must address clause by clause; others rely on the LEP and the NSW Heritage Manual. Conservation Areas like Paddington (Woollahra), Glebe (City of Sydney) and Marrickville (Inner West) each have their own DCP heritage chapters and expectations. Where the property is on the State Heritage Register, the SHI must also address Heritage NSW’s requirements, which adds scope.

How to Get a Useful Quote

A heritage consultant cannot quote accurately without three things:

• —The property address and its heritage listing details (LEP item number, SHR listing, or HCA designation).
• —A current set of architectural drawings or a clear description of the proposed scope.
• —Any existing heritage documents that affect the project — a Conservation Management Plan, a previous SHI, a council pre-DA letter, or a heritage objection from a neighbour.

With those three inputs we can give a fixed fee with confidence. A quote based on address alone will either be too high (we have assumed the worst case) or too low (we will need to vary). For background on whether your property even needs a SHI, see our guide to when a Statement of Heritage Impact is required; for the SHI service itself, see our Statements of Heritage Impact page.