Heritage Consultants assess the cultural and historical significance of places, buildings, and landscapes, and advise on how those values should be considered when development or change is proposed. They sit at the point where history meets the planning system, translating what makes a place meaningful into practical guidance that architects, developers, and planners can act on.
If you’re curious about history, enjoy research and writing, and want work that connects the past to decisions being made right now, this is a career with a clear sense of purpose.
What skills do I need as a Heritage Consultant?
- Research & analytical thinking
- Clear & precise writer
- Attention to detail
- Knowledge of planning systems
- Curious & historically minded
- Confident communicator
- Collaborative approach
- Objective & evidence-based
What do Heritage Consultants do?
Before you can advise on anything, you need to understand what you’re dealing with. A significant part of your work involves researching the history and cultural context of a place, drawing on archival records, historical maps, photographs, and other sources to build a picture of its significance. This research forms the foundation of everything that follows, and doing it thoroughly is what gives your advice credibility when it’s tested against competing development interests.
Day to day, you’ll prepare heritage impact statements and reports that assess how a proposed development or change would affect a place’s heritage values. These documents need to be clear, well-evidenced, and defensible, because they’re often submitted as part of a formal planning process and may be scrutinised by councils, heritage authorities, or planning tribunals. You’ll also liaise regularly with planners, architects, developers, and government agencies, explaining your findings and helping project teams understand what heritage considerations mean for their work in practical terms.
Periodically you’ll work on more complex projects involving significant heritage places, contested assessments, or the adaptive reuse of historic buildings where heritage values and contemporary needs need to be carefully balanced. Some Heritage Consultants develop areas of specialisation in particular periods, building types, or cultural contexts. Others focus on specific aspects of the work such as conservation advice, indigenous heritage, or landscape significance.
What kind of lifestyle could I expect?
Heritage Consultants work for specialist heritage consultancies, architecture and planning firms, local and state government agencies, and statutory heritage bodies. Some work independently, building a practice around assessment and advisory work across a range of clients. The role exists wherever planning and development intersect with places of historical or cultural significance, which means opportunities across urban, regional, and rural settings.
Work is primarily office-based, with site visits to inspect and document places as part of the assessment process. The balance between desk work and fieldwork varies depending on the project mix, but report writing and research are central to the role regardless of the setting. Hours are generally average, and the role offers a reasonable degree of flexibility, particularly in consultancy environments where work is project-based.
Salaries are average, reflecting the scale of the field and the research-focused nature of much of the work. This is a small field with a defined scope, so opportunities are more limited than in broader planning or architecture professions. Demand is steady rather than rapidly growing, tied to the volume of development activity and the regulatory requirements that trigger heritage assessment. For those with genuine interest in the subject matter, the work offers consistent engagement with meaningful and often irreplaceable places.
How to become a Heritage Consultant
- Study a relevant foundation discipline: Entry into heritage consulting comes through a range of backgrounds including heritage studies, history, architecture, and archaeology. Each brings something different to the work, and all are recognised starting points. A degree in any of these areas gives you the research skills, contextual knowledge, and analytical foundation the role requires.
- Build experience in heritage or planning settings: Look for graduate roles or work experience with heritage consultancies, local councils, or state heritage agencies. Early exposure to real assessment work, even in a supporting role, builds the practical skills and professional judgment that study alone can’t provide.
- Develop your knowledge of the planning and regulatory framework: Heritage consulting operates within a specific legal and policy context. Understanding how heritage legislation, planning schemes, and assessment processes work is essential to producing advice that holds up in a formal planning environment. This knowledge develops on the job but is worth pursuing actively from early in your career.
- Build your writing and research skills: The quality of your written reports is central to your professional reputation in this field. Seek out opportunities to write clearly and rigorously, whether through academic work, research projects, or early professional roles. Strong writers who can make complex assessments accessible to non-specialists are consistently valued.
From here, you could move into senior consulting roles managing complex or high-profile heritage assessments, take on project leadership within larger consultancies or government agencies, develop expertise in policy and standards, or build an independent practice around a particular area of specialisation.
What can I do right now?
If you’re in high school and interested in working as a Heritage Consultant, here are some practical steps:
- Visit heritage-listed buildings, historic precincts, and local museums to start developing an eye for what makes places historically and culturally significant, and practise articulating what you notice
- Look for work experience with local council planning or heritage teams, or with historical societies and heritage organisations, to get a sense of how heritage values are assessed and protected in practice
- Focus on building strong skills in research, writing, and history, as these are the core tools of heritage consulting work at every level of the profession
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