Issues in Values-Based Management for Indigenous Cultural Heritage in Australia

In Australia, values-based management has formed the basis of heritage practice through the use and evolution of the Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (better known as the Burra Charter). In values-based management systems, heritage planning, decisions, and actions rest on a compre-hensive understanding of the heritage values. Not only does this process re- quire that the articulation of values be the foundation of all policies and decisions; it also implies the need for problem solving to address emerging issues, ruling out approaches based on typological templates. The involvement of all associated communities and stakeholders is essential for success, since this is the means of ensuring that all the values and issues are identified and that they form the basis of management solutions. This paper looks at the history and state of play for values-based management of Indigenous cultural-heritage places from an Australian perspective. It discusses the interactions between Indigenous cultural-heritage practices and the development of the Burra Charter and concludes with a discussion of contemporary issues in this field of heritage work, including rights and intangible heritage issues and the need for integrated considerations of nature and culture.