UNESCO World Heritage sites in Australia

The World Heritage Committee has inscribed the following properties on the World Heritage List:

	1981 Great Barrier Reef			1992 Fraser Island
	1981 Kakadu National Park			1994 Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh/Naracoorte)
	1981 Willandra Lakes Region			1997 Heard and McDonald Islands
	1982 Tasmanian Wilderness			1997 Macquarie Island
	1982 Lord Howe Island Group			2000 Greater Blue Mountains Area
	1987 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park			2003 Purnululu National Park
	1987 Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves (Australia)			2004 Royal Exhibition Building and Carleton Gardens - Melbourne
	1988 Wet Tropics of Queensland			2007 Sydney Opera House
1991 Shark Bay, Western Australia				2010 Australian Convict Sites

The World Heritage List was established under terms of The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted in November 1972 at the 17th General Conference of UNESCO.
The Convention states that a World Heritage Committee "will establish, keep up-to-date and publish" a World Heritage List of cultural and natural properties, submitted by the States Parties and considered to be of outstanding universal value.
One of the main responsibilities of this Committee is to provide technical co-operation under the World Heritage Fund for the safeguarding of World Heritage properties to States Parties whose resources are insufficient.
States Parties can request international assistance under the Fund for the preparation of tentative lists and nomination forms, expert missions, training of specialized staff, and supply of equipment when appropriate; they can also apply for long-term loans and, in special cases, non-repayable grants. Requests must concern work necessary for the preservation of cultural or natural sites included in the World Heritage List or assistance to national or regional training centres.

Emergency assistance is also available under the Fund in the case of properties severely damaged by specific natural or man-made disasters or threatened with imminent destruction.

source: www.unesco.org