After the First World War a movement emerged to formalise protection of heritage sites. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), with the help of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), worked towards a draft convention on protection of cultural heritage. The World Heritage Convention 1972 was adopted, and ratified in 1975. Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List benefit from international cooperation on their preservation.

The Mint partnered with ICOMOS to produce this coin in recognition of the 21st General Assembly and Scientific Symposium being held in Australia for the first time, in Sydney from 1-10 September 2023. Designed by the Mint coin designer Tony Dean, the $5 frosted uncirculated coin features images of all 20 Australian World Heritage Properties in intricate detailed relief, which frames a full-colour, central image of a handprint, fan palm frond and a shell fossil to represent the natural and built icons and Australia’s Indigenous heritage.

These sites, each unique, beautiful and vulnerable, are featured in a magnificent montage on this 2023 $5 Coloured Frosted Uncirculated Coin, celebrating Australia’s World Heritage.

Australia’s 20 sites inscribed on the World Heritage List are:

1. Australian Convict Sites (2010)
2. Budj Bim Cultural Landscape (2019)
3. Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens (2004)
4. Sydney Opera House (2007)
5. Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte) (1994)
6. Fraser Island (1992)
7. Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (1986, 1994)
8. Great Barrier Reef (1981)
9. Greater Blue Mountains Area (2000)
10. Heard and McDonald Islands (1997)
11. Lord Howe Island Group (1982)
12. Macquarie Island (1997)
13. Ningaloo Coast (2011)
14. Purnululu National Park (2003)
15. Shark Bay, Western Australia (1991)
16. Wet Tropics of Queensland (1988)
17. Kakadu National Park (1981, 1987, 1992)
18. Tasmanian Wilderness (1982, 1989)
19. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (1987, 1994)
20. Willandra Lakes Region (1981)

Today, the World Heritage concept is so well understood that sites on the List are a magnet for international cooperation and may thus receive financial assistance for heritage conservation projects from a variety of sources.

Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List also benefit from the elaboration and implementation of a comprehensive management plan that sets out adequate preservation measures and monitoring mechanisms. In support of these, experts offer technical training to the local site management team.

The inscription of a site on the World Heritage List brings an increase in public awareness of the site and of its outstanding values, thus also increasing the tourist activities at the site. When these are well planned for and organized respecting sustainable tourism principles, they can bring important funds to the site and to the local economy.

The General Assemble and Scientific Symposium (GA2023) will bring together a wide range of cultural heritage professionals from around the world and will involve an engaging program of sites visits, functions, workshops and a four-day Scientific Symposium on the theme of ‘Shared Heritage – Shared Responsibly’. This will be staged across a number of iconic heritage venues including Sydney Opera House, Hyde Park Barracks, Luna Park and Cockatoo Island. It will also provide opportunities for excursions to other World Heritage properties, including The Greater Blue Mountains, Uluru Kata Tjuta, The Great Barrier Reef, and the Port Arthur Historic Site.

The Coins

2023 $5 Coloured Frosted Uncirculated Coin

• Obverse: Memorial Obverse of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II designed by Jody Clark
• Mintage: 30,000
• Australian Legal Tender

Additional Resources

View the sites on the coin here

Coin is now in hand and ready to post