BURRA CHARTER

WHAT IS BURRA CHARTER

• The Burra Charter is a set of principles that have been

adopted to create a nationally accepted standard for heritage
conservation practice in Australia. It is not a legal requirement
to adopt the Burra Charter guidelines, however they are well
entrenched in policy.
• The Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places
of Cultural Significance, known as the Burra Charter, was first
adopted at Burra in 1979.
• The Burra Charter defines the basic principles and procedures to be followed when
heritage places are undergoing conservation.
• These principles and procedures can be applied to a monument, a courthouse, a
garden, a shell midden, a rock art site, a cottage, a road, a mining or archaeological
site, a whole district or region.
• Although the Burra Charter was first written to guide practitioners such as
archaeologists, architects, engineers and historians, it is also a useful document for
others.
• Anyone involved in the care of important places will make better, more informed
decisions if they understand the Burra Charter.

People who use The Burra Charter include:

• property owners and managers 
• professionals involved with the care of heritage places 
• administrators assessing applications for heritage approvals and grants, eg. in local
government 
• National Trusts and other community organisations
EVOLUTION

• The Burra Charter was first adopted in 1979 at the

historic South Australian mining town of Burra.
• Minor revisions were made in 1981 and 1988, with more
substantial changes in 1999.
• Following a review this version was adopted by Australia
ICOMOS in October 2013. The review process included
replacement of the 1988 Guidelines to the Burra Charter
with Practice Notes which are available at:
australia.icomos.org Australia ICOMOS documents are
periodically reviewed and we welcome any comments.
BASIC PRINCIPLES
• The Burra Charter defines the basic principles and procedures to be followed in the conservation of
heritage places. It does not prescribe the techniques to be used or the manner in which a heritage
place should be cared for. These principles and procedures can be applied to a monument, building,
garden, shell midden, rock art site, road, mining or archaeological site, or to a whole region.
• Under the Burra Charter, people involved in the conservation of heritage places should:
• understand the place and its cultural significance, including its meaning to people, before making
decisions about its future
• involve the communities associated with the place
• care for its cultural significance and other significant attributes, taking account of all aspects of
significance
• care for the place's setting
• provide an appropriate use
• provide security for the place
• use available expertise
• make records of the place and changes to it, and the reasons for these decisions
• interpret and present the place in a way appropriate to its significance.