Commonwealth Heritage List

Commonwealth Heritage List

A copy of the commemorative picture to mark the opening of the first Commonwealth Parliament at Old Parliament House, on 9 May 1927.
Type	Heritage register of natural, historic and indigenous places that are owned by the Commonwealth of Australia
Country	Australia
Years	2003 (2003) – present
Preceded by	Register of the National Estate
Compiled by	Commonwealth of Australia via the Australian Heritage Council
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The Commonwealth Heritage List is a heritage register established in 2003, which lists places under the control of the Australian government, on land or in waters directly owned by the Crown (in Australia, the Crown in right of the Commonwealth of Australia). Such places must have importance in relation to the natural or historic heritage of Australia, including those of cultural significance to Indigenous Australians. National heritage sites on the list are protected by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).^[1]

The Commonwealth Heritage List, together with the Australian National Heritage List, replaced the former Register of the National Estate in 2003. Under the EPBC Act, the National Heritage List includes places of outstanding heritage value to the nation, and the Commonwealth Heritage List includes heritage places owned or controlled by the Commonwealth.^[2][3]

Places protected under the Act include federally owned telegraph stations, defence sites, migration centres, customs houses, lighthouses, national institutions such as Parliament and High Court buildings, memorials, islands and marine areas.

All places on this list can be found on the online Australian Heritage Database, along with other places on other Australian and world heritage listings.