The nomination
Learn about the decade-long official process towards World Heritage listing for the Flinders Ranges.
This page will help you:
- understand why nomination is a long-term process
- find out what's been done, and what's next.
Achieving World Heritage listing is a multi-step process.
The nomination is progressing in line with expected World Heritage processes and timeframes. This timeline offers an overview, with further explanation below.
| Timeline | |
|---|---|
| Developing the World Heritage proposition | 2016 to 2019 |
| Engaging and working with Adnyamathanha, landholders and Flinders Ranges community | 2018 to 2024 |
| Tentative World Heritage listing | 2021 |
| Prepare World Heritage nomination dossier | 2021 to 2025 |
| Submit nomination dossier to UNESCO World Heritage Centre | Feb 2026 |
| Independent evaluation of nomination by IUCN | 2026 to 2027 |
| Estimated inscription on World Heritage List by World Heritage Committee | 2027 |
More detail on the process
For the Flinders Ranges, the nomination process began with initial research into how it meets World Heritage criteria, as well as consultation with Traditional Owners and the broader community.
The research supported a World Heritage bid, and the Adnyamathanha people provided their consent to the process. In 2021 the Flinders Ranges was placed on Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List. From there, a full nomination dossier was developed.
The completed nomination dossier - a 368 page main document and almost 4,000 pages of supporting material - was submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris in January 2026.
If the nomination proceeds for assessment, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an advisory body to the World Heritage Centre, will be expected to conduct an independent review in the second half of 2026 and provide recommendations to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Subject to the outcome of this review, the World Heritage Committee will then determine whether to inscribe the Flinders Ranges on the World Heritage List. This decision is expected to occur at its annual meeting in mid-2027.
