NEWS
SAVE THE DATE! Registrations will open soon.
📍Ballarat, Victoria | 🗓️ 17–19 November
📌 Venue: Goods Shed Ballarat
Set on the Traditional Country of the Wadawurrung Peoples, in the heart of the Victorian Goldfields—recently added to Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List—this year’s conference in the historic city of Ballarat invites you to explore heritage through critical, future-focused perspectives.
Themes:
Battlefronts: Heritage under pressure—past survival through conflict and exclusion; future challenges from climate change and global demand and disruption.
Un-Settling: Rethinking heritage—revisiting histories of upheaval and transformation and imagining new models of heritage that prioritise community agency, local adaptation and inclusive governance.
What to Expect:
✅ Two full days of dynamic presentations and discussions
✅ A spectacular conference dinner and the Aura light show at Sovereign Hill on Day 2
✅ Engaging field trips across Ballarat and the wider Victorian Goldfields region
✅ Provocative case studies, diverse voices, and innovative solutions.
Whether you’re a practitioner, researcher, educator, or community advocate—this is your moment to spark new ideas and help shape heritage practice for a changing world.
Mark your calendar now and stay tuned for registration, call for abstracts and sponsorship details coming soon!
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ICOMOS INTERNATIONAL
AGA2025 in Lumbini NEPAL 11- 19 October 2025 – Registrations Open
Please note – we are aware that there have been issues with registration and payment. If you are encountering issues, please contact: Shristina Shrestha: Coordinator for finance, registration and fund-raising shristinaster@gmail.com
ICOMOS Nepal welcomes all ICOMOS members, international and national experts, friends and peace-lovers to Lumbini for the ICOMOS annual General Assembly 2025 and the Scientific Symposium on “Perceptions of Heritage and Resilience – Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness”. We are honoured to take on the important task of contributing to the ICOMOS Triennial Scientific Plan 2024-2027, with the first year focusing on preparing for possible disasters, through the prevention and mitigation of hazards, improving resilience, as well as by preparing for conflicts that threaten our heritage resources. We also have the honour of inviting all participants to the 60th anniversary celebrations of ICOMOS. This would also be an opportunity to visit the archaeological sites in and around Lumbini and the enchanting urban ensemble of Kathmandu Valley that have gone through a decade of recovery after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. Furthermore, we welcome the international participants to visit the beautiful sites of Nepal. We look forward to meeting all of you in Lumbini.
Please follow this link for further information
If you are planning on attending, please email the secretariat: austicomos@deakin.edu.au as we would like to compile a list of our members attending.
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AICOMOS – NSCs, Working and Reference Group News
NEW NSCES – new Co-Convenor announcement
Rachel Jackson and Helen Wilson have served as conveners of National Scientific Committee on Energy and Sustainability (NSCES) since its establishment in 2014. However, it is time to hand over the reins.
We have really enjoyed over 10 years of leading the NSCES and working together.
The NSCES has achieved many great activities and outputs, including:
- Members speaking and giving keynote addresses, presenting, and chairing panels on energy, sustainability and climate change at conferences, symposia and events both locally and internationally
- Hosting the ISCES members and conducting walking tours for Australian conferences, including in Sydney for the GA2023
- Providing a regular program of wide-ranging presentations on aspects of energy, sustainability and climate change to ISCES and ICOMOS members, and the broader heritage community
- Preparing articles and conference reports including on conservation, adaptive reuse, climate change and sustainability for journals and online newsletters including the Fifth Estate and Historic Environment
- Providing comments on state and commonwealth heritage, planning and environment documents
- Contributing to international policy documents for and in liaison with ICOMOS, ISCES, CAWG and the Climate Heritage Network
- Contributing by members to the Future of our Pasts: Outline of Climate Change and Cultural Heritage, a 2019 ICOMOS publication
- Members appointed to industry panels
- Preparing the Burra Charter Practice Note Heritage and Sustainability (#1) https://australia.icomos.org/wp-content/uploads/Practice-Note_Heritage-and-Sustainability-1-Built-Heritage.pdf
- Preparing AI website Toolkit on energy and sustainability
- NSCES website / blog (ongoing)
- Surveying members on future directions of NSCES and member contributions to NSCES by conveners to guide committee work
- Growing membership of NSCES from a small handful of inaugural members at the first meeting in 2013 to 28 members in 2025, including a focus on Emerging Professional members.
We could not have achieved these successful activities without our active members. We thank NSCES members for being part of this journey which is so important for NSCES and Australia ICOMOS.
The NSCES’s next chapter will be led by Lynette Gurr and Shoshanna Grounds. They commenced as co-conveners on 2 July 2025. We are really excited and wish them all the best. Rachel and Helen remain as NSCES members and look forward to participating in future activities.
Helen Wilson + Rachel Jackson
National Scientific Committee on Energy and Sustainability
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NEW Updates from the AICOMOS Young and Emerging Professionals Working Group
The YEP WG have been hard at work in 2025 focusing on building active networks across the country, and identifying opportunities for emerging professionals to connect, learn and support professional development.
Several great events have already been hosted this year including an adaptive reuse walking tour through Perth’s central business district. This event brought together established Western Australian members and emerging professionals, including students from the University of Western Australia’s School of Design. Led by local Heritage Architect Kyra Lomas, the tour commenced at the historic Barracks Arch, where participants observed ongoing conservation efforts. From there, the group explored various heritage buildings throughout the city that have undergone adaptive reuse, illustrating the dynamic interplay between conservation and contemporary urban development.
On International Day for Monuments and Sites 2025, South Australian Young and Emerging Professional Representative Megan Thomas organised ‘Disasters, Drinks and Dinner’, a presentation and discussion headlined by Senior Heritage Architect from Heritage SA, Kevin O’Sullivan. Following the theme of ‘Heritage under Threat from Disasters and Conflicts: Preparedness and Learning from 60 years of ICOMOS Actions’, Kevin O’Sullivan spoke about Heritage in South Australia and how disasters effect our built heritage, with a particular focus on natural disasters such as floods, fires and lightning strikes. Kevin focused principally on the 2019-2020 Kangaroo Island fires and the restoration success stories that have allowed for our Heritage to continue to be preserved.
For any Young or Emerging Professionals keen to receive further updates or get involved in opportunities and events within their state please reach out to our YEP Co-ordinator Alana Jennings via email alana.jenings@elementadvisory.com.au to be directed to your relevant State Representative.
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ICOMOS MEMBERS
NEW ICOMOS Members at WAC 2025 Review by Mitch Cleghorn
Australia ICOMOS was well represented at World Archaeological Forum 10 (WAC-10) in Darwin in June, with many ICOMOS international colleagues attending as well.
There were many international sessions focusing on sustainability and balanced representativeness in World Heritage, these were well attended in person by colleagues from other ICOMOS national committees.
Education and knowledge dissemination was a running theme across several sessions, with great case studies of success, and ever-present concerns for sustainability.
There were also many sessions held on Rock Art management and conservation, which emerged as a central theme of the conference, with sessions running in parallel each day.
Tracy Ireland and Steve Brown contributed via an outstanding session on Nuclear Heritage which explored emergent archaeological/theoretical approaches to contemporary research.
Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy was a cornerstone of the Australia ICOMOS booth, with many members volunteering to spread the good word of the Burra Charter throughout the conference.
One lucky attendee who signed up to receive our e news won a copy of the recently released edited volume – Alternative Economies of Heritage, co-edited by past president of AICOMOS – Tracy Ireland.
Congratulations Ankush Gupta! Ankush is a research scholar in the dept of AIHC & Archaeology at the Banaras Hindu University.
NEW WA Members Networking Evening – Review
In June, heritage professionals from across Western Australia came together for an Australia ICOMOS networking evening, held at the offices of Element Advisory and SLR Consulting. Despite some wet weather, the event was well attended, with a mix of experienced practitioners, early-career professionals, and students in the room.
The event welcomed participants from a recent adaptive reuse workshop hosted by the WA Heritage Skills Association, in collaboration with Dr. Alonso Ayala of the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam. It provided a relaxed setting for attendees to share ideas, catch up on recent projects, and build connections across different areas of the sector.
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Membership Payments for the 2025/2026 Membership Year Now Due
As Australia ICOMOS runs on the financial year, membership payments for the 25/26 financial year are now due.
There are three ways you can pay: via the membership database, direct deposit or credit card.
Direct Deposit Account name: Australia ICOMOS BSB: 033 120 Account Number: 349654 Reference: Members Name (please ensure you add this)
Please send a banking receipt to austicomos@deakin.edu.au
Pin Payments: Make a payment to Australia ICOMOS – Pin Payments Please note the name of the member.
If your circumstances have changed and you would like to move your membership to retired, unwaged or would like a payment plan please reach out to the secretariat austicomos@deakin.edu.au
Unsure of your current financial status? Please log in to the membership database and view the ‘Payments History’ link (See example)
This will show whether you are paid until 30/06/26 (up to date) or 30/06/25 (expired)
A reminder that current financial membership is a requirement for participation in ICOMOS groups and committees like ISCs/NSCs, working groups etc, as is the use of the post nominal M.ICOMOS. These are important membership benefits. The executive will be checking payments over the coming months to ensure that membership fees are paid.
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Update to Conservation Guidelines for Building Surveyors
Australia ICOMOS published the Conservation Guidelines (available on our website) in 2002, in response to the first editions of the Building Code of Australia. Since then, there have been numerous changes to the BCA, including whole new areas of regulation such as energy conservation. The NSW Heritage Council’s Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) has suggested that an updated edition of the Guidelines would be a useful tool to assist building certifiers in dealing with older buildings.
Peter Phillips, one of the original authors of the Guidelines, has been authorised by the Executive Committee to begin work on an update. He would like to establish a small working group to review the Guidelines and propose suitable case studies. The working group will consist of Australia ICOMOS members from a range of State and Territories, including an EC representative, as well as some members from TAP.
If you are interested in joining the working group, and especially if you are from outside NSW, please send an expression of interest to Peter at peter@opp.net.au
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS / GRANTS / NOMINATIONS / EOI
NEW EOI – Judges for the Inner West Built Environment Awards – Medal for Conservation
Inner West Council is seeking nominations from heritage specialists / architects with appropriate expertise to be part of a jury for the 2025 Inner West Built Environment Awards (Medal for Conservation).
The Medal for Conservation has been awarded annually since 1995 and was one of the first awards of its kind to be established in NSW. It celebrates built conservation works that contribute to the understanding and preservation of the Inner West’s rich cultural and architectural heritage.
The award is aligned with the state-wide National Trust Heritage Festival held in April–May every year. It is open to all building works, completed in the past three years with positive conservation outcomes, including preservation, restoration, reconstruction, adaptation and interpretation. Works can be large or small, private or public. The judges will be looking for thoughtful and innovative outcomes. A link to Council’s website with winners from previous years is below:
Built Environment Awards – Inner West Council
The judging panel’s role will include a review of applications, a site visit to short-listed applications (one full-day weekend required in September 2025), meeting/s with the judging panel to discuss, evaluate and select the winner, and assist with the writing of jury comments. Attendance at the awards ceremony on Saturday 18 October 2025 to assist in the presentation of the awards is also required. This is a great opportunity to work with Inner West Council in promoting and recognising good outcomes in heritage conservation.
Anyone interested in nominating for this role should provide an email with a brief CV outlining their relevant expertise to Built Environment Awards builtenvironmentawards@innerwest.nsw.gov.au by Friday 18 July 2025.
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NEW 2025–26 Nominations for the National Heritage List and Commonwealth Heritage List
The Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, invites nominations of places for inclusion in the National Heritage List or the Commonwealth Heritage List.
A place can be included in the National Heritage List if it is in Australia’s jurisdiction and the Minister is satisfied that the place meets the criteria for outstanding heritage value to the nation.
In Australia, sites on the Commonwealth Heritage List must be entirely within a Commonwealth area. Outside Australia, they can be owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency. These sites must meet the criteria for significant heritage value.
The 2025–26 nomination round opens on Monday, 30 June 2025 and closes on
Friday, 29 August 2025.
More information about the National Heritage listing and assessment criteria, and the National Heritage listing process can be found at
dcceew.gov.au/national-heritage
More information about the Commonwealth Heritage listing and assessment criteria, and the Commonwealth Heritage listing process can be found at
dcceew.gov.au/commonwealth-heritage
For more assistance, questions, or to access a nomination form and guide:
This notice is made in accordance with the provisions of sections 324H, 324J and 341H of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
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NEW ICCROM Managing World Heritage: People, Nature, Culture (PNC25 Suzhou) EOI’s due 30 July 2025
ICCROM are looking for 15 international and 15 Chinese participants for the upcoming edition of the course Managing World Heritage: People, Nature, Culture (PNC25 Suzhou), taking place in Suzhou, China, from 15 to 21 September 2025.
The course will be conducted in English. PNC is the flagship course of the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership Programme (WHL). It is open to site managers and coordinators, members of management teams and institutions, and heritage practitioners working with World Heritage properties and other heritage places around the world.
The course will be implemented by WHL, the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China and the School of Landscape and Architecture (SLA) of the Beijing Forestry University (BFU), Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Garden and Landscaping with the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region Suzhou Center (WHITR-AP Suzhou) and the Management Office of Suzhou Lingering Garden hosting the course.
The course promotes a heritage place approach to heritage management, focusing on understanding how to manage and conserve the multiple heritage values of places within their broader social, environmental, and economic contexts. This includes adopting a place-based approach to heritage management and employing people-centred approaches when working with diverse actors and communities.
For further information or to apply please follow this link.
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WORKSHOPS / COURSES / EVENTS / EXHIBITIONS
NEW Kate Clark PhD update | The challenges of integrating heritage into wider public policy | Webinar 5.30 pm 21 July 2025
Kate is currently undertaking an AICOMOS supported doctorate at the University of Canberra. This webinar is a briefing to update members about the outcomes to date.
Fail, fail again, fail better? The challenges of integrating heritage into wider public policy
Heritage practice is all around us. It is part of our everyday personal and shared lives, at the heart of arts and creativity, identity, attitudes to waste, in our working lives, social connections and above all storytelling.
Yet, over a long career in public policy, colleagues across economic, social, planning, environmental and even arts have dismissed cultural heritage as at best irrelevant, and at worst a source of harm. As a result, heritage is largely absent from key public policies where heritage practice could make a significant difference, such as arts, the circular economy or Net Zero.
In the early 1990s we tried to address this by embedding cultural heritage in sustainable development but largely failed. Now ‘Wellbeing’ is another opportunity that governments are using to embed more inclusive approaches to public value in policymaking, going beyond growth and GDP. Again, heritage scholars and practitioners are jumping aboard – hoping we might finally be able to tell that bigger story.
In order to understand the challenge, I have looked at how heritage is currently integrated into five aspects of public policy related to wellbeing – the environment, social policy, planning policy, creativity and economic policy.
A rapid review of policy documents and academic research shows that on paper and in theory there is a role for a broad, inclusive approach to heritage in each, and good evidence to support that.
In practice the picture is very different. Conversations with AICOMOS members reveal that although they are very aware of the relevance of heritage to other policy topics and often use creative strategies to make those links, they face significant barriers. Whilst resources are a problem, the underlying barrier is political attitudes to heritage – reflected in current events in the US.
Ultimately, it will not be enough to assert the relevance of heritage to wellbeing – even with good evidence. Nor is talking to ourselves. Like sustainability before it, linking heritage to wellbeing will fail unless scholars and practitioners join hands to show how a broad, inclusive approach to heritage can be a policy opportunity and not a policy problem, adding value to other policy outcomes and delivering wider public benefit.
Register to attend this free event here
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NEW Managing Historic Gardens presentation by Stuart Reed | National Trust Centre Observatory Hill, Sydney | 7pm 23 July 2025
Stuart Read describes the ‘what’, the ‘how’ and sources of help, to manage and conserve historic gardens. Giving an overview of heritage ‘listings’, pieces of law and differences between ‘statutory’ and other listings: what needs approvals and who from… Teases out what is ‘significance’ and how does it drive management? Where to go for more information, relevant history or ‘time period’ hints: online and physical resources open to garden owners, heritage consultants, designers, gardeners. Gives lots of examples from gardens, illustrating his points.
Time: Arrive from 6pm for light refreshments, 7pm Talk Starts.
Venue: National Trust Centre, Observatory Hill, Sydney (Google Maps Link)
Cost: $20 AGHS members; $30 non-members; Students $5; includes light refreshments
Further information can be found here
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NEW Study Heritage Conservation at the School of Architecture, Design & Planning, University of Sydney
The School of Architecture, Design & Planning at The University of Sydney is currently enrolling new students in its heritage conservation program for commencement in Semester 2, 2025. Choose between 1 semester (Graduate Certificate), 2 semesters (Graduate Diploma) or 3 semesters full time (Masters), or tailor your part time study to fit in with your personal and professional commitments.
The units are taught in a range of formats – intensive, weekly evening, weekly daytime – to enable a wide range of people, including existing professionals, to participate.
The core of the program builds professionally relevant knowledge in heritage planning and management. In addition, you will acquire deep specialist knowledge by selecting elective units focused on areas including First Nations Heritage, building conservation, sustainable development or community consultation.
For more information, go to https://www.sydney.edu.au/architecture/study-architecture-design-planning/study-areas/heritage-conservation.html or contact Cameron Logan on cameron.logan@sydney.edu.au.
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NEW Sydney Open Symposium: Civic Imagination | 1 Elizabeth | 23 August 2025
Tickets for Sydney Open Symposium: Civic Imagination are on sale now!
Join Museums of History for the inaugural Sydney Open Symposium, where leading industry experts will take a deep dive into conversations centred around architecture, design, placemaking and heritage.
Under the theme of Civic Imagination, we will explore how the Sydney Metro Martin Place project seamlessly integrates a major interchange for Australia’s largest public transport project with Macquarie Bank’s new global headquarters at 1 Elizabeth.
General $60
Concession $51
Member $48
A great student discount is also available!
Museums Members get more with priority pre-sale access and a 20% discount on tickets.
Purchase tickets here.
NEW What A Ripper! Book Launch with Tim Ross and special guest Mary Featherston | National Library of Australia | 30 August 2025
To celebrate his latest book What a Ripper! 60 everyday objects that shaped Australia, Tim Ross is being joined on stage by one of the designers featured in the book, Mary Featherston.
After a short presentation on his favourite iconic designs in the book, Mary (an icon herself) will join him on the stage to talk about her life in design, her creative partnership with her late husband Grant and her passionate design work in the education space.
This is a rare opportunity to hear from one of our most celebrated designers.
Purchase tickets here.
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PUBLICATIONS
NEW Alternative Economies of Heritage Sustainable, Anti-Colonial and Creative Approaches to Cultural Inheritance Edited by Denise Thwaites, Bethaney Turner & Tracy Ireland
Alternative Economies of Heritage is a groundbreaking edited volume that critically evaluates how the ‘work’ of heritage can be reimagined, as a multifarious field of thought and action, to resist the reductive economies of colonial capitalism.
Bringing together researchers from the academy and industry, and from varied international contexts, this volume asks how does ‘heritage’ – as a complex intersection of contemporary practices with their own diverse histories – recognise and circulate cultural value between generations and communities?
Further information can be found on the Taylor & Francis page
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NEW What a Ripper – 60 Everyday Objects That Shaped Australia by Tim Ross
Celebrating 60 objects that were designed and made in Australia, Tim Ross of @modernister transports us back in time and pays tribute to things you might still find in your home or backyard shed. There are colourful photos, previously untold stories and fascinating details, making this book equal parts retro-design celebration, pop-culture treasure trove and nostalgic adventure.
Purchase the book here
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SITUATIONS VACANT
NEW SITUATION VACANT | EMM Consulting | Built Heritage Specialist | NSW, ACT, QLD or VIC | Applications due 4 Aug 2025
EMM Consulting are seeking a Built Heritage Specialist to join our growing team. With a National delivery module, and flexibility to suit you, we are keen to speak with applicants in NSW, ACT, QLD or Victoria. You’ll bring a strong understanding of NSW legislation, along with a desire to continue growing your expertise in project management. In return, you can count on the support you need to deliver exceptional quality, with specialist teams across EMM and leaders who are truly present and excited to help you to develop your way. Follow the link below for more details. Applications close 4th August 2025.
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4234953496
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SITUATION WANTED | Architectual Heritage Conservation | NSW
Nolwenn Chamorel, Swiss national with a temporary work visa is seeking opportunities to gain professional experience in an architecture firm that specializes in architectural heritage conservation and restoration. Nolwenn is also open to any professional opportunities in the field of architecture, whether as an architect or intern and is available to start immediately on a full-time or part time basis.
Please contact Nolwenn via email if you have any opportunities that may be suitable in the greater Sydney area.
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