This Heritage Management Plan (HMP) has been prepared to meet the requirements of the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) in relation to places listed on the World Heritage List (WHL) and National Heritage List (NHL). Specifically, the HMP addresses the requirements of a management plan pursuant to Schedules 5, 5A, and 5B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000.

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This HMP sits at the top of Fremantle Prison’s overarching management framework. Where there is an inconsistency between the HMP and those other documents within that framework this HMP will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

This HMP is designed as a high-level management tool. It equips the managers of Fremantle Prison with a policy framework within which management decisions should be made. It includes recommendations for the preparation of ‘second tier’ management documents in the future (for example, Conservation Management Strategies). It is envisaged that those documents will contain more specific management guidance for discrete locations and activities. This HMP also contains policy and guidance to inform future masterplanning for Fremantle Prison.

Fremantle Prison is listed on both the WHL and NHL for embodying a range of heritage values. It is also included on the Western Australian State Register of Heritage Places (SRHP) for meeting a broader range of heritage assessment criteria. This poses particular challenges for the managers of Fremantle Prison who must balance the imperative to conserve the place’s OUV against the conservation needs of its National Heritage values and state significance. The HMP avoids the application of a universal ‘rule’ for decision-making in this environment. Rather, it assumes that conservation management decisions will need to be made on a case-by-case basis, balancing the co-existing heritage values.

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It is envisaged that the HMP will be reviewed five years from the date of its adoption by Fremantle Prison.