Nominating a heritage place

Anyone can nominate a place with heritage values for the National or Commonwealth Heritage Lists.

Nominations must set out the qualities or values of the place that make it of outstanding heritage value to the nation.

Nominations for the National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritage List closed on 19 April 2023.

The Minister for the Environment must call for nominations to the National Heritage List annually.

The nomination and assessment process is open and consultative.

Places on the National Heritage List have heritage values that are of outstanding value to the nation. Once listed, the national heritage values of the place are protected by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Nominations must meet the National Heritage List criteria.

Nominations for the National Heritage List 2023-24 closed on 19 April 2023.

Our National Heritage List recognises and protects places that reflect our unique landscapes, First Nations cultures and our development as a nation.

Each year, more places are included on the list as our national story unfolds and understanding of our heritage deepens.

The National Heritage List currently includes 120 sites across Australia, such as Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, Erawondoo Hill in Western Australia and Quinkan Country in Queensland.

These are places of Indigenous, historic and natural heritage that are owned or controlled by the Australian Government.

The heritage values of sites on the Commonwealth Heritage List are protected under national environment law.

New nominations must meet the Commonwealth Heritage List criteria.

New nominations for the Commonwealth Heritage List closed on 19 April 2023.

Places on the Commonwealth Heritage List can be entirely within a Commonwealth area, or if outside of Australia, owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency.

There are currently 389 government-owned listed sites from across Australia, its territories and overseas.

The nomination process step-by-step

Is the place that you are planning to nominate already on a heritage list?

Nominations must set out the qualities or values of the place that make it outstanding to the nation by indicating how the place meets one or more of the National Heritage Criteria or the Commonwealth Heritage Criteria.

For information on the high threshold for National Heritage listing, you may wish to consult a guide to heritage listing in Australia.

Nominations can be submitted via email or posted to the department.

Nominations must include all attachments along with a completed and signed nomination form.

Email nominations to heritage@dcceew.gov.au

Post nominations to:

The Nominations Manager
Heritage Branch
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
GPO Box 3090
Canberra ACT 2601

Once your nomination is received, the delegate for the minister decides whether your nomination complies with eligibility requirements under the EPBC Act and Regulation 10.01B of the EPBC Regulations.

Nominations that do not meet these requirements may be rejected.

Nominations will be given to the Australian Heritage Council for consideration.

Each year, the council prepares a proposed priority assessment list (PPAL) for consideration by the minister. This list, when approved by the minister, becomes the finalised priority assessment list (FPAL) and sets the work program for the council for the next 12 months.

The FPAL is then published, and the council will invite public comments on whether the places under assessment have heritage values for inclusion in the heritage list and whether they should be included in this list.

The council must consult owners and occupiers and Indigenous people with rights or interests in any place that it finds might have heritage values.

The council then gives the minister an assessment report on the place together with copies of all comments it has received from its statutory consultations.

The minister must consider the assessment report and comments when deciding whether to list the place. The nominator is advised of the decision and, if listed, the owners and occupiers of the place and First Nations people with rights or interest in the place are advised.

Further information