To comply with the National Heritage Resources Act, anyone who wishes to modify historical structures must apply to Heritage Western Cape (HWC) for permission. A historical structure is defined as a building older than 60 years.
Legally, owners of privately held collections of fossils, artefacts and meteorites that were collected under previous legislation had until 1 April 2002 to register their collections with the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).
There are a number of advantages to creating a register of these items: