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  • Heritage organisations
    • Australian Heritage Council
      • About the Council
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    • Heritage Chairs and Officials of Australia and New Zealand

National heritage organisations

Government organisations

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

The role of the department is to focus on national environmental issues by:

  • Advising the Australian Government on its policies for protecting the environment and water resources
  • Administering environment and heritage laws, including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
  • Managing the Australian Government's main environment and heritage programmes
  • Implementing an effective response to climate change
  • Representing the Australian Government in international environmental agreements related to the environment and Antarctica.

The Australian Heritage Council

The Australian Heritage Council is a body of heritage experts established by the Australian Heritage Council Act 2003. The Council replaced the Australian Heritage Commission as the Australian Government's independent expert advisory body on heritage matters, when the new Commonwealth heritage system was introduced in 2004 under amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Website: Australian Heritage Council

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) provides information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Institute undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research, holds a priceless collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings, printed and other resource materials for Indigenous Studies, and has its own publishing house.

Website: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

Wet Tropics Management Authority

The primary goal of the Web Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) is to provide for the implementation of Australia's international duty to protect, conserve, present, rehabilitate and transmit to future generations the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area, within the meaning of the World Heritage Convention.

Website: Wet Tropics Management Authority

Non-government organisations

Australian Council of National Trusts

The Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT) was formed in 1965. It represents the interests of the National Trust at the federal level, provides a forum for information exchange and increasingly coordinates the work of the constituent bodies.

Collectively the organisation owns or manages over 300 heritage places (the majority held in perpetuity), and manages a volunteer workforce of 7000 while also employing about 350 people nationwide.

Website: Australian Council of National Trusts

Royal Australian Institute of Architects

The Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) exists to:

  • advance the interests of members, their professional standards and contemporary practice
  • expand and advocate the value of architects and architecture to the sustainable growth of our community, economy and culture.

Website: Royal Australian Institute of Architects

Engineering Heritage Australia

Engineering Heritage Australia (EHA) has carriage of Engineers Australia's concerns for engineering, industrial and technological heritage and provides leadership in its protection, conservation and recording.

Website: Engineering Heritage Australia

Australia ICOMOS

The International Council on Monuments and Sites is an association of professionals throughout the world that currently bring together over 7500 members. ICOMOS works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places. It is dedicated to promoting the application of theory, methodology, and scientific techniques to the conservation of the architectural and archaeological heritage.

Australia ICOMOS acts as a national and international link between public authorities, institutions and individuals involved in the study and conservation of all places of cultural significance. Australia ICOMOS was formed in 1976.

Website: Australia ICOMOS

Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology

The Australian Society for Historical Archaeology was founded in 1970 to promote the study of historical archaeology in Australia. In 1991 the Society was extended to include New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region generally, and its name was changed to the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Society's activities include public lectures, and an annual conference with papers presented by national and international speakers. It promotes the exchange of information and reference material relating to historical archaeology both in Australia and overseas. It publishes the ASHA Newsletter and the journal Australasian Historical Archaeology, which are distributed free of charge to members of the Society, as well as the Occasional Papers series and monographs.

Website: Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology

Federation of Australian Historical Societies

The objects of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies are:

  • to promote the views of Constituents and give a national focus to matters of general concern to Constituents especially with regard to major issues of cultural heritage
  • to encourage the study of Australian history, the preservation and publication of historical material and, for those objects to encourage public access to historical material
  • to promote communication and mutual assistance within the historical society movement
  • to assist the work of Constituents
  • to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas on historical matters throughout Australia.

Website: Federation of Australian Historical Societies

Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology

The Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology (AIMA) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of underwater cultural heritage, and promotion of maritime archaeology conducted in accordance with internationally accepted ethical standards. Based in Australia, it has sponsored work throughout Australia, Asia and the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions.

AIMA works closely with and provides advice to the Australian Government on policy pertaining to underwater cultural heritage, such as the Australian National Historic Shipwrecks Research Plan, and the UNESCO Convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage.

Website: Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology

Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material

In Australia, the national organisation for conservators and people interested in the preservation of cultural material is the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material Inc. (AICCM).

As the peak body for materials conservation practice in Australia the AICCM has an ongoing interest in raising both the profile of the conservation profession and promoting the skills and professionalism of its members.

Website: Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material

Australian Conservation Foundation

The Australian Conservation Foundation is committed to inspiring people to achieve a healthy environment for all Australians. For 40 years they have been a strong voice for the environment, promoting solutions through research, consultation, education and partnerships. The ACF works with the community, business and government to protect, restore and sustain the Australian environment.

Website: Australian Conservation Foundation

World Wide Fund for Nature - Australia

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Australia is part of the WWF International Network, the world's largest independent conservation organisation. It has close to five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries.

WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by:

  • conserving the world's biological diversity
  • ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
  • promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Website: WWF - Australia

Planning Institute of Australia

The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) is the peak body representing professions involved in planning Australia's cities, towns, regions and places. PIA is a not-for-profit association with over 5000 members nationally.

Website: Planning Institute of Australia

The Heritage Chairs and Officials of Australia and New Zealand

The Heritage Chairs and Officials of Australia and New Zealand first met in 1996 as an extension of the Heritage Officials meetings, which began in the early 1990s. These meetings were established as a way of ensuring coordination and cooperation between State, Territory and Commonwealth heritage agencies with responsibilities for historic places in relation to policy, publicity and projects with a national focus. The Chairs and Officials were the standing committee for the Heritage Ministers Ministerial Council until 2001.

The Chair of the Maori Heritage Council and Chief Executive of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust were invited to attend these meetings in 2001 and since then have become standing members. At the 2003 meeting, the name of the group was formally changed to the Heritage Chairs and Officials of Australia and New Zealand (HCOANZ). HCOANZ meets twice a year and secretariat support is provided by the Heritage, Reef and Marine Division of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

HCOANZ members include the chair of State, Territory and the Australian heritage councils and the manager or executive director of each respective State, Territory and Commonwealth heritage agency.

In May 2018 the Committee broadened its scope to include consideration of Indigenous heritage matters. The Committee now includes Chairs and Officials from each Indigenous Heritage Council from every state and territory. 

  • HCOANZ members
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Last updated: 03 October 2021

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We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.