The National Heritage List is a list of places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia. Once on the list, the provisions of the
EPBC Act apply. To be included on the list, a nominated place is assessed by the
Australian Heritage Council against nine criteria: • importance in the course, or pattern, of Australia's natural or cultural history • possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Australia's natural or cultural history • potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Australia's natural or cultural history • importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of Australia's natural or cultural places or environments • importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics valued by a community or cultural group • importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period • strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons • special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Australia's natural or cultural history • importance as part of Indigenous tradition. In addition, the place must pass a "significance threshold"; it must have 'outstanding' heritage value to the nation as a whole. This is determined by comparison to other similar places. Once the Heritage Council has made an assessment, it forwards a recommendation to the
Minister for the Environment, who shall make a determination. ==Composition==