The Burra Charter and the associated series of Practice Notes provide a best practice standard for managing cultural heritage places in Australia.

The Burra Charter

First adopted in 1979, the Burra Charter is periodically updated to reflect developing understanding of the theory and practice of cultural heritage management. The current version of the Burra Charter was adopted in 2013.

• Download The Burra Charter 2013 (Adopted 31.10.2013) (2.1MB)

Click here for details of previous versions and the background to the Charter.

Practice Notes

Australia ICOMOS is developing a series of Practice Notes to supplement and provide practical advice on aspects of the Burra Charter and its application. They cover a wide variety of topics, recognising that heritage is an increasingly diverse field. Launched in 2013, the first seven Practice Notes can be downloaded by clicking on the links below:

• Practice Note_Understanding and assessing cultural significance (151KB)
• Practice Note_Developing Policy (727KB)
• Practice Note_Preparing studies and reports – contractual and ethical issues (257KB)
• Practice Note_The Burra Charter and Archaeological Practice (248KB)
• Practice Note_The Burra Charter and Indigenous Cultural Heritage Management (235KB)
• Practice Note_Interpretation (237KB)
• Practice Note_Burra Charter Article 22-New Work (201KB)

The first three Practice Notes replace the former Guidelines to the Burra Charter. For details of the review that lead to the development of the Practice Notes, click here.

Suggestions of topics for future Practice Notes are welcome.

Code on the Ethics of Co-existence

The Code on the Ethics of Co-existence in Conserving Significant Places was adopted by Australia ICOMOS in 1998.

• Download the Code on the Ethics of Co-existence in Conserving Significant Places, 1998 (90KB)

The Illustrated Burra Charter

The Illustrated Burra Charter (2004) provides an article-by-article explanation of the Burra Charter with examples and illustrations. For details, click here.