• Change text size
• Skip to content

• About us
• Contact us

Search

• Home
  • Atmosphere
  • Biodiversity
  • Coasts and marine
  • Heritage
  • Human settlements
  • Land
  • Living sustainably
  • Parks Australia
  • Water
  • EPBC Act

• SoE
  • About SoE reporting
  • SoE 2011
    • SoE 2011 report
    • SoE 2011 in brief
    • Supplementary material
  • SoE 2006
    • SoE 2006 report
    • SoE 2006 at a glance
    • Theme commentaries
    • Integrative commentaties
    • Current or emerging issues
    • Technical reports
    • Data Reporting System
  • SoE 2001
    • Report
    • Key findings
    • Fact sheets
    • Theme reports
    • Technical papers
  • SoE 1996
    • SoE 1996 report
    • Key findings brochure
    • Technical papers

• Themes
  • Drivers
  • Atmosphere
  • Inland water
  • Land
  • Marine environment
  • Antarctic environment
  • Biodiversity
  • Heritage
  • Built environment
  • Coasts

• • Publications

State of the Environment (SoE) reporting themes

Heritage

This theme deals with the extent and condition of Australia's rich Indigenous, natural and cultural heritage, the threats each faces from natural and human processes, and the challenges of management.

It provides consideration of Heritage listings and assessments on pressures affecting heritage values; effectiveness of heritage management; and current and emerging risks.

Our heritage includes those places with natural, Indigenous or historic values that we have inherited and want to pass on to future generations. (SoE 2011 In Brief)

For the purpose of this State of the Environment (SoE) report, heritage has been categorised as natural, Indigenous or historic (consistent with the management framework used at the national level) (SoE 2011, 9 Heritage - 1.2 Types of heritage).

Key findings

SoE 2011:

• Our extraordinary and diverse natural and cultural heritage generally remains in good condition.
• Australia is recognised internationally for leadership in heritage management.
• Our heritage is being threatened by natural and human processes and a lack of public sector resourcing that does not reflect the true value of heritage to the Australian community.
• Improvement will require change.

For more details see SoE 2011 - Heritage: Key findings

SoE 2006:

• Community interest in Australia's heritage has continued to grow. There is increased appreciation of the relationships between natural and cultural values, and increased recognition of intangible cultural heritage and cultural landscapes.
• There is some capacity to measure the condition and trends of Australia's historic heritage, and minor changes have been identified since 2001. The lack of data remains a chronic problem for reporting on Australia's heritage. Inter-governmental cooperation and resourcing are urgently needed to enable regular measurement of the condition of natural or Indigenous heritage, or of heritage objects.
• Knowledge and management of Indigenous cultural heritage are limited. The number of ‘endangered’ Indigenous languages has increased since 2001. Some promising approaches are emerging to integrate Indigenous cultural values and community participation into natural resource management programmes.
• New national heritage legislation came into effect in 2004, establishing a National Heritage List and improved protection for the heritage values of Commonwealth-owned and managed properties. Most states and territories have also revised the statutory frameworks for historic heritage since 2001. In terms of both resourcing and the development of policies and programmes, there is a continuing disparity between government provisions for natural and cultural heritage.
• The growth in the role of local government has continued (particularly for historic heritage), although the outcomes and the capacity of councils to take on this role are patchy across Australia.

For more details see SoE 2006 - Heritage: Key points

Related information

SoE 2011:

• Australia State of the Environment 2011: Chapter 9. Heritage
  • 9 Heritage (PDF - 13,459 KB)
• Australia State of the Environment 2011: In Brief
  • In Brief (PDF - 3,290 KB)
• Supplementary products
  • Australian committee of the IUCN - State of the environment 2011 workshop–summary notes (PDF - 328 KB) |  (Word - 498 KB)
    Summary of proceedings of a workshop designed to brief officals and members of the Australian Committee for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature on the process for preparing the SoE report for 2011; invite comment on the evolving draft chapter on Heritage; gather high level opinion on key messages, major issues, threats and potential responses for Australia’s natural heritage; and identify potential contacts for additional information.
  • Australian Heritage Council - State of the environment 2011 workshop–summary notes (PDF - 262 KB) |  (Word - 494 KB)
    Summary of proceedings of a workshop designed to brief members or the Australian Heritage Council on the process for preparing the SoE report for 2011; invite comment on the evolving draft chapter on Heritage; gather high level opinion on key messages, major issues, threats and potential responses for Australia’s natural heritage; and identify potential contacts for additional information.
  • HCOANZ State of the environment 2011 workshop–summary notes (PDF - 293 KB) |  (Word - 489 KB)
    Summary of proceedings of a workshop for Australian ‘Heritage Officials’ of the Hertiage Chairs and Officials of Australia and New Zealand (HCOANZ) to share and invite comment on an evolving draft Table of contents for the ‘Heritage’ section of SoE 2011; gather high level opinion on major threats, responses and outlooks for Australia’s natural heritage; and seek advice on potential information sources.
  • DSEWPaC Indigenous Advisory Committee State of the environment 2011 workshop–summary notes (PDF - 243 KB) |  (Word - 456 KB)
    Summary of briefing and workshop discussion involving the DSEWPaC Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC), to share the process for preparing the SoE report for 2011; invite comment on the evolving draft chapter outline on Heritage; gather high level opinion on major issues, threats and potential responses for Australia’s Indigenous heritage; and identify potential contacts for information.
  • Australia ICOMOS - State of the environment 2011 workshop–summary notes (PDF - 279 KB) |  (Word - 463 KB)
    Summary of briefing and workshop discussion for Australian members of the International Council on Monumants and Sites (ICOMOS), to share current draft heritage chapter outline for SoE 2011 and to invite comment; review and critique proposed key issues and messages, and gather high level opinion on key messages, major issues, threats and potential responses for Australia’s cultural heritage through an interactive discussion.
  • Parks heads of agencies - State of the environment 2011 workshop–summary notes (PDF - 274 KB) |  (Word - 491 KB)
    Summary of workshop for heads of Australian national parks agencies, designed to share the current version of an evolving draft Table of Contents for the ‘heritage’ section of the SoE Report and to invite comment; seek advice on potential information sources; and gather high level opinion on major threats, responses and outlooks for Australia’s natural heritage. 
  • State of Indigenous cultural heritage 2011 (PDF - 3,513 KB) |  (Word - 2,569 KB)
    The State of Indigenous Cultural Heritage Report 2011 provides data, information and analysis to inform the Indigenous heritage findings of the 2011 SoE Report. it contributes to a more informed picture of the state of Australia's Indigenous heritage estate, key trends and pressures impacting on the management of Indigenous heritage over the last five years and responses by government decision makers and others.
  • Study of condition and integrity of historic heritage places (PDF - 2,040 KB) |  (Word - 2,993 KB)
    This study presents the results of a physical survey of 1092 registered historic Heritage places in 2011. It follows on from similar surveys for SoE in 2001 and 2004, allowing trends in condition, integrity and use to be followed over time.
  • Condition and integrity assessment of natural heritage places (PDF - 971 KB) |  (Word - 786 KB)
    This study assessed the condition and integrity of 75 natural heritage places on public and private lands, reviewing values, threats and managment regimes across a range of tenures and jurisdictions to identify trends in place condition and management effort. Three Annexes to the report provide: A - list of places sampled; B - Data parameters and C - Bibilography
    • Annex A - List of places sampled (PDF - 599 KB) |  (Word - 434 KB)
    • Annex B - Data parameters (PDF - 334 KB) |  (Word - 511 KB)
    • Annex C - Bibliography (PDF - 452 KB) |  (Word - 535 KB)

SoE 2006:

• Australia State of the Environment 2006: Chapter 9. Natural and cultural heritage
• Australia State of the Environment 2006 AT A GLANCE
• Natural and cultural heritage - Theme commentary
• An integrated approach to environment and heritage issues - Integrative commentary
• Indigenous involvement in environmental and heritage management - Integrative commentary
• Living in a land of fire - Integrative commentary
• The role of local government in environmental and heritage management - Integrative commentary
• Audit of the outcomes of the National Trust's Endangered Places Programme - Current or emerging issues paper
• Cultural heritage and local government - Current or emerging issues paper
• Incentives for natural and cultural heritage conservation - Current or emerging issues paper
• Repatriation of Indigenous cultural property - Current or emerging issues paper
• The Collections Council of Australia - Current or emerging issues paper
• State of Indigenous cultural heritage - A survey of Indigenous organisations - Technical report
• Study of the condition and integrity of historic heritage places - Technical report
• Data Reporting System - Theme: Natural and cultural heritage

SoE 2001:

• Australia State of the Environment 2001: Thematic findings - Natural and cultural heritage
• Key Findings Brochure
• Natural and Cultural Heritage Theme Report
• Implementing State of the Environment Indicators for Knowledge and Condition of Heritage Places and Objects - Technical paper
• State of Indigenous Languages in Australia - 2001 - Technical paper
• Environmental indicators for national state of the environment reporting: Natural and Cultural Heritage

SoE 1996:

• Australia State of the Environment 1996: Chapter 9 - Natural and Cultural Heritage
• Key Findings from the First Independent National Report
• The Register of the National Estate: Who, What, Where? - Technical paper
• Case Study of the Cultural Landscapes of the Central Victorian Goldfields - Technical paper
• Culture and Heritage: Historic Environment - Technical paper
• Culture and Heritage: Indigenous Languages - Technical paper
• Culture and Heritage: Oral History - Technical paper
• Culture and Heritage: Shipwrecks and Associated Objects - Technical paper
• Material Culture and the Cultural Environment: Objects and Places - Technical paper