{"id":"C2008A00080","name":"Military Memorials of National Significance Act 2008","slug":"military-memorials-of-national-significance-act-2008","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"80 of 2008","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8061,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2008A00080-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Military Memorials of National Significance Act 2008","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nMilitary Memorials of National Significance Act 2008\n\n \n\nNo. 80, 2008\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for certain memorials to have the status of Military Memorials of National Significance, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Definition\n\nPart 2—Declaration of Military Memorials of National Significance\n\n4 Declaration of Military Memorials of National Significance\n\n5 Approval of alterations\n\n6 Revocation of declarations\n\n7 Making applications\n\n8 Consultation\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n9 Commonwealth not responsible for declared memorials\n\n10 Regulations\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nMilitary Memorials of National Significance Act 2008\n\nNo. 80, 2008\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for certain memorials to have the status of Military Memorials of National Significance, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 12 July 2008]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Military Memorials of National Significance Act 2008.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Definition\n\n  In this Act:\n\nState or Northern Territory authority means:\n\n (a) a State or the Northern Territory; or\n\n (b) a local government body, or other authority, established by or under a law of a State or the Northern Territory.\n\n\n\n\nPart 2—Declaration of Military Memorials of National Significance\n\n \n\n4  Declaration of Military Memorials of National Significance\n\n (1) The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare a memorial to be a Military Memorial of National Significance if:\n\n (a) an application for the memorial to be so declared has been made in accordance with section 7 (subject to subsection (2) of this section); and\n\n (b) the Minister is satisfied that the memorial meets the criteria specified in subsection (3); and\n\n (c) the Prime Minister has, in writing, agreed to the making of the declaration.\n\n (2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply in relation to the Australian Ex‑Prisoners of War Memorial in Ballarat.\n\n (3) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(b), the criteria are as follows:\n\n (a) the memorial is of a scale, design and standard appropriate for a memorial of nationally significant status, and is appropriately dignified and symbolic;\n\n (b) the memorial commemorates Australia’s military involvement in a significant aspect of Australia’s wartime history, and that is its sole purpose;\n\n (c) the memorial has a major role in community commemorations;\n\n (d) Commonwealth flag protocols are observed in relation to the memorial;\n\n (e) the memorial is owned or managed by a State or Northern Territory authority that has responsibility (including financial responsibility) for the ongoing maintenance of the memorial, and for any refurbishments;\n\n (f) the memorial complies with applicable planning, construction and related requirements;\n\n (g) the memorial is located on public land within a State or the Northern Territory;\n\n (h) the memorial is publicly accessible and there is no entry fee;\n\n (i) the memorial is a completed and functioning memorial;\n\n (j) the memorial is not associated with a commercial function that conflicts with its commemorative purpose.\n\n (4) The following are not legislative instruments:\n\n (a) a notice published in the Gazette under subsection (1);\n\n (b) an agreement by the Prime Minister under paragraph (1)(c).\n\n5  Approval of alterations\n\n (1) The Minister may, in writing, approve an alteration to a memorial in relation to which a declaration under section 4 has been made if:\n\n (a) an application for approval of the alteration has been made in accordance with section 7; and\n\n (b) the Minister is satisfied that the memorial will still meet the criteria specified in subsection 4(3) if the alteration is made.\n\n (2) An approval under subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.\n\n6  Revocation of declarations\n\n (1) The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, revoke a declaration made under section 4 in relation to a memorial if:\n\n (a) either:\n\n (i) the Minister is no longer satisfied that the memorial meets the criteria specified in subsection 4(3); or\n\n (ii) the memorial has been altered since the declaration was made, and the Minister has not approved the alteration under section 5; and\n\n (b) the Prime Minister has, in writing, agreed to the revocation of the declaration.\n\n (2) The following are not legislative instruments:\n\n (a) a notice published in the Gazette under subsection (1);\n\n (b) an agreement by the Prime Minister under paragraph (1)(b).\n\n7  Making applications\n\n (1) Subject to this section, an application may be made for:\n\n (a) a memorial to be declared to be a Military Memorial of National Significance; or\n\n (b) approval of an alteration to a memorial that has been declared to be a Military Memorial of National Significance.\n\n (2) The application can only be made by, or on behalf of, a State or Northern Territory authority that owns or manages the memorial.\n\n (3) The applicable requirements of the regulations must be complied with in relation to the application.\n\n8  Consultation\n\n  For the purpose of making decisions under this Act, the Minister may consult any persons or bodies that the Minister thinks it appropriate to consult.\n\n\n\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n \n\n9  Commonwealth not responsible for declared memorials\n\n  The Commonwealth does not have any responsibility (financial or otherwise) for a memorial merely because a declaration has been made under section 4 in relation to the memorial.\n\n10  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 19 March 2008\n\nSenate on 24 June 2008]\n\n(63/08)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is narrowly focused on recognising memorials as Military Memorials of National Significance and providing administrative rules for declaration, alteration approval and revocation. The provisions (eligibility criteria, application limited to State/NT authorities, no Commonwealth liability, and delegation to regulations) align with that narrow objective. There is no indication in the text provided that the Act has been expanded beyond this original, limited purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act: 10 sections (concise text)","One defined term in interpretation (\"State or Northern Territory authority\")","Multi‑factor eligibility test with 10 subcriteria in s4(3) (a)–(j)","Discretionary ministerial decision plus requirement for Prime Minister's written agreement (s4(1)(c), s6(1)(b))","Approval and revocation pathways with conditional logic (s5, s6)","Regulations can add procedural requirements (s7(3), s10)","Notable procedural rule: Gazette notices and PM agreements excluded from being legislative instruments (s4(4), s5(2), s6(2))","Optional consultation power (s8) introduces potential variability in implementation timing and process"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act creates a federal process to declare certain completed military memorials \"of National Significance,\" requiring the Minister’s assessment against design, access, ownership and commemorative criteria and the Prime Minister’s written agreement. Only State or Northern Territory authorities that own or manage a memorial may apply.\n\nThe designation is largely symbolic: it imposes maintenance/refurbishment responsibility on the owning authority, limits commercialisation, and does not create Commonwealth funding or ordinary parliamentary disallowance for related Gazette notices."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of creating a declaration mechanism for military memorials. The scope has not expanded beyond the core function of recognising memorials of national significance while maintaining state/territory ownership and financial responsibility."},"complexity_factors":["Only 1 defined term ('State or Northern Territory authority') in the interpretation section","Straightforward sequential structure with just 10 sections across 3 Parts","Minimal cross-referencing—primarily internal references to section 4(3) criteria","Simple conditional logic: single gateway test in section 4(1) with 3 cumulative requirements","No nested exceptions or complex provisos","Single explicit exemption (Ballarat memorial in section 4(2))","Legislative instrument exclusions are explicit and simple (sections 4(4), 5(2), 6(2))","Short length—approximately 1,500 words of substantive text"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a special national status called \"Military Memorial of National Significance\" for certain war memorials around Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Allows the federal government to officially recognise important military memorials that are owned by states or territories (not the Commonwealth)\n- Sets up a formal application process where state/territory authorities can ask for this status\n- Requires the Prime Minister's personal sign-off for any declaration or revocation\n- Creates rules for approving any changes to declared memorials\n- Explicitly states that the federal government won't pay for maintenance—the state/territory owner remains responsible\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- State and territory governments who own or manage military memorials\n- Local councils and other state/territory authorities with war memorials\n- The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial in Ballarat (which gets automatic eligibility without needing to apply)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis gives certain memorials a \"badge of honour\" at the national level without the federal government taking over ownership. It's a way of saying \"this memorial is important to all Australians\" while keeping practical and financial responsibility with the states. The strict criteria (no entry fees, must be on public land, no commercial conflicts) ensure these memorials remain dignified community spaces rather than tourist attractions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/military-memorials-of-national-significance-act-2008","history":"/api/acts/military-memorials-of-national-significance-act-2008/history","analysis":"/api/acts/military-memorials-of-national-significance-act-2008/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/military-memorials-of-national-significance-act-2008/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/military-memorials-of-national-significance-act-2008/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/military-memorials-of-national-significance-act-2008/documents"}}