Australia ICOMOS - leading cultural heritage conservation in Australia

Stop Press – Burra Charter 2013 and new Practice Notes released

Celebrating excellence in heritage practice, Australia ICOMOS has adopted revisions to the Burra Charter – Burra Charter 2013 – and launched seven Practice Notes, the start of a series designed to offer practical guidance to people engaged in heritage work across Australia.

The Burra Charter 2013 contains small but important changes, additional explanatory notes, and an updated Burra Charter Process diagram that recognises the importance of community and stakeholder engagement.

Click on the following link to download: The Burra Charter 2013 (Adopted 31.10.2013)

The Practice Notes are designed to explain how Burra Charter principles and processes can be applied in practice. They cover a wide variety of topics, recognising that heritage is an increasingly diverse field.

Three Practice Notes replace the 1988 Guidelines to the Burra Charter:

• Practice Note_Understanding and assessing cultural significance
• Practice Note_Developing Policy
• Practice Note_Preparing studies and reports – contractual and ethical issues

Four other Practice Notes address specific areas of practice:

• Practice Note_The Burra Charter and Archaeological Practice
• Practice Note_The Burra Charter and Indigenous Cultural Heritage Management
• Practice Note_Interpretation
• Practice Note_Burra Charter Article 22-New Work

Our new Practice Notes are the start of a series that will be developed and updated by Australia ICOMOS expert members. Suggestions of topics for future Practice Notes are welcome.

 

The Burra Charter 1999

Please note: The Burra Charter 1999 and the Guidelines to The Burra Charter are now to be considered archival documents.

The Burra Charter and its accompanying guidelines are considered the best practice standard for cultural heritage management in Australia.

• The Burra Charter, 1999 (The Burra Charter and guidelines in one file, 4.7 MB)
• The Burra Charter, 1999 (The Burra Charter without the guidelines, 163 KB)

The document has been endorsed by the following heritage councils:

• Australian Heritage Council (December 2004) endorsed the 2004 version of The Illustrated Burra Charter in accordance with section 5(e) and (h) of the Australian Heritage Council Act. Council endorsed the Charter in order to encourage best practice.
• New South Wales Heritage Council (December 2004) resolved to recognise and endorse The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (1999) as a key policy document that underpins the policies for the conservation of heritage items in NSW.
• Queensland Heritage Council (January 2005) adopted The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (1999) (and associated Guidelines) as a guiding policy document for making decisions under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992.
• Heritage Council of Victoria (July 2010) resolved to recognise and endorse The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (1999) as a document for guiding best practice heritage management in Victoria.
• The Tasmanian Heritage Council (March 2012) endorsed The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (1999) as a guiding policy document for heritage management in Tasmania.

Guidelines to The Burra Charter

Please note: The Guidelines below (which form part of and are contained in The Burra Charter) have yet to be revised to accord with the 1999 Burra Charter, but are included here for completeness.

Australia ICOMOS is currently updating these Guidelines with the aim of completing a consistent suite of documents as part of a review of the Charter itself.

• Guidelines to the Burra Charter – Conservation Policy, 1988
  
• Guidelines to the Burra Charter – Cultural Significance, 1988
• Guidelines to the Burra Charter – Procedures for Undertaking Studies & Reports, 1988
• Code on the Ethics of Co-existence in Conserving Significant Places, 1998

Burra Charter Translations

• Carta de Burra (Burra Charter in Spanish)
• La Chartre de Burra (Burra Charter in French)
• Piagam Burra (Burra Charter in Indonesian)

The Burra Charter – older versions

The versions of the Burra Charter available for download below are no longer endorsed by Australia ICOMOS as current documents in relation to matters concerning conservation philosophy and practice, and should only be used as archival documents in relation to the development of conservation philosophy in Australia.

• Burra Charter_1979 (2.13 MB)
• Burra Charter_1981 (1.5 MB)
• Burra Charter 1981_(1987 reprint) (7.48 MB)
• Burra Charter_1988 (7.75 MB)

 

Other Australia ICOMOS Guidelines & Statements

• Ethical Commitment Statement for ICOMOS Members
• Australia ICOMOS Conservation Guidelines for Building Surveyors (Please note: this is a large file and takes some time to download)
• Australia ICOMOS Statement on Indigenous Cultural Heritage
• Draft Guidelines for Cultural Heritage Places Damaged by the January 2003 Bushfires in South East Australia
• Indigenous Cultural Landscapes and World Heritage Listing
  (Proceedings of the Australia ICOMOS Workshop sponsored by the Australian Heritage Commission held February 1995)

Other Charters, Guidelines, Recommendations, Principles

• Charter for the Protection and Management of Archaeological Heritage Lausanne 1990
• International Cultural Tourism Charter Mexico 1999
• The Florence Charter – Historic Gardens – Florence 1981
• Charter on the Protection and Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage – Bulgaria 1996
• Principles for the Preservation of Historic Timber Structures – Mexico 1999
• The Venice Charter – International Charter for the Conservation of Monuments and Sites – Venice 1964
• Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage Mexico 1999
• Charter on the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas – Washington 1987
• Recommendations of ISCARSAH (The International Scientific Committee for Analysis and Restoration of Structures of Architectural Heritage), as adopted by International ICOMOS at the 2003 General Assembly
• Hoi An Protocols for Best Conservation Practice in Asia
• Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China (Courtesy of the Getty Conservation Institute)
• Johannesburg Declaration on World Heritage in Africa and Sustainable Development (August 2002)
• ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Charter (English)
• ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Charter (Mandarin)
• Andong Recommendations of the joint ICOMOS Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting and ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee Workshop, 10-13 June 2006
  Impact of Mass Tourism on Historic Villages
• Zacatecas Charter, November 2009, adopted by ICOMOS Mexicano in 2010
• ICOMOS New Zealand Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value, October 2010
• Approaches for the Conservation of Twentieth Century Architectural Heritage, Madrid Document, 2011
• The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas, 2011