In Australia legal protection of architectural heritage comes under federal jurisdiction when it concerns the national domain and state jurisdiction for other cases. In federal jurisdiction, it is the Australian Heritage Commission Act of 1975 that comes into force. Its main purpose is to inventory and inscribe monuments on the Register of National Estate. In the case of state properties protection is more or less assured depending on whether or not a complementary law has been enacted. This legislation is often unpopular with private owners and speculators, who are frequently unwilling to admit that protection and financial interest are not incompatible. -- AATA