World Heritage Tentative List review: Have your say

You are invited to apply for a site to be included on Aotearoa New Zealand’s World Heritage Tentative List. This is the first step towards World Heritage status. Applications close 30 January 2026.

Background

Taonga tuku iho, kōrero tuku iho: Protect our heritage, share your story with the world

On behalf of the New Zealand Government, the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai (DOC) is leading the process to update Aotearoa New Zealand’s Tentative List of potential World Heritage sites. The sites on the Tentative List have the strongest potential to be inscribed as globally significant World Heritage sites.

Aotearoa New Zealand currently has three World Heritage sites:

These make up the country’s share of the most remarkable places on Earth. We want to know about other sites in Aotearoa New Zealand that could be considered for World Heritage status.

E arohanuitia ana e tātou ō tātou taonga tuku iho me ā rātou kōrero. He wāhi kāmehameha ō tātou e hiahia ana te ao kia āwhina i a tātou ki te tiaki mō ngā uri whakatipu.

We all love Aotearoa New Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage, and the stories of our tīpuna. A few of our sites have such outstanding universal value that the wider world wants to help us care for and protect them on behalf of our mokopuna.

World Heritage sites are important to everyone around the globe

World Heritage sites have such ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ for humanity that they should be conserved for future generations. They have specific status under the World Heritage Convention (the Convention), which was adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1972.

The Convention recognises four types of World Heritage sites:

Cultural Heritage
Natural Heritage
Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage
Cultural Landscapes (where human interaction with nature has formed distinctive landscapes)

As party to the Convention, New Zealand has responsibilities to identify, protect and conserve World Heritage sites for future generations.

The Tentative List is the first step towards World Heritage status

To be nominated for World Heritage status, a site must be on Aotearoa New Zealand’s Tentative List.

For a site to be placed on the Tentative List, it needs to have strong potential to be listed as a World Heritage site by meeting the UNESCO World Heritage criteria.

Inclusion on the Tentative List also requires applicants to be prepared to submit a full nomination within the next 10 years. The nomination dossier thoroughly documents the case for a site to receive World Heritage inscription.

Sites are considered from a global perspective, which means a site of local or national importance will not necessarily be inscribed on the World Heritage List. Other recognition is available for Aotearoa New Zealand’s important places – for example, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has tools to protect the country’s best cultural heritage sites.

New Zealand’s current Tentative List.

Criteria to become a World Heritage site

To successfully achieve World Heritage status, sites must:

be deemed to be of Outstanding Universal Value by meeting at least one of 10 specified natural and cultural criteria
meet the relevant conditions of integrity and (for cultural sites) authenticity
meet the requirements for protection and management
demonstrate global significance through a comparative analysis
have effective involvement and broad support from iwi/hapū and the local community.

Detailed information on these requirements can be found in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.

Applications are due by 30 January 2026

For a site to be considered for this update of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Tentative List, an application form must be submitted by 30 January 2026.

Complete the application form (PDF, 310K)

Additional documents:

Additional douments in te reo:

Email completed application forms to worldheritage@doc.govt.nz.

What happens next

Once received, applications are evaluated in two stages:

Applications will go through an initial review by officials from DOC and associated agencies with a role in protecting and managing cultural heritage in Aotearoa New Zealand. The initial review will check for completeness and for the site’s potential to meet World Heritage criteria.
An independent panel with expertise in Aotearoa New Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage will then assess the applications and provide advice to the Minister of Conservation.

Officials may contact applicants at any point in this process if they have questions or need further information.

Contact

To contact us, email worldheritage@doc.govt.nz.

He kura huna kei roto i ngā kōrero a kui mā, a koro mā hei ārahi i a tātou i tēnei rā ki te tiaki i ngā taonga tuku iho o āpōpō, mō ngā mokopuna.

The stories of our tīpuna can help guide our actions today, to protect our heritage for our mokopuna tomorrow.

World Heritage Tentative List review

Introduction