Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries, Australia
liveThe public Commonwealth Heritage List spatial database, read from the department's map service. Each row is one listed place with its identifiers, name, class, status, state, area, listing and update dates and address, and its boundary as a polygon.
Also called: Commonwealth Heritage List spatial database, Commonwealth heritage places map, CHL boundaries shapefile GeoJSON, Heritage places on Commonwealth land.
Part of Australian Government heritage lists, 2 tables the publisher releases together: National Heritage List places, boundaries, Australia.
- What is in each row?
- One place on the Commonwealth Heritage List, which holds heritage places owned or controlled by the Australian Government, with its place ID and file number, name, class (Indigenous, natural or historic), listing status, state, address, area in hectares, the date it was entered on the list and the date its record was updated. Its boundary is in the GeoParquet, GeoJSON, GeoPackage and PMTiles files.
- Is every listed place here?
- The department leaves out places subject to confidentiality agreements, and nominations under assessment, rejected, ineligible, removed or destroyed. A few places are made of several parcels. The status column marks the few nominated places the file does carry and the parts within a listed place.
- What are the Shape area and length columns?
- They are the area and perimeter the map service works out in its own coordinates, kept as published. The area in hectares is the department's own figure.
Made for agents
Connect your AI agent
Any agent that connects to publicdata.au/mcp can find this dataset, read its 13 fields, count and filter across all 385 rows and diff its versions. Every answer names the version and carries DCCEEW's attribution. No key.
Then ask it: What does Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries, Australia hold, and what changed in the newest version?
claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcpOne command. No key, no account, no sign-up.
Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and paste https://publicdata.au/mcp.
On the web and in the desktop app.
https://publicdata.au/mcpStreamable HTTP. Cursor, VS Code or any client that connects to a remote MCP server.
Using https://publicdata.au/llms.txt, how many people died on Queensland roads in 2025, by month?For an assistant that reads the web and has no connector.
The dashboard above, live. Click to filter, add panels, share a link or embed a frame.
Query APIFilter and count from a URLaggregate?group=state&metric=count&status=eq.Listed%20place
Listed places in each state and territory: 123 NSW, 79 ACT, 43 EXT, 38 VIC.
Download it as Excel, CSV, JSON and 9 more formats
Pick a format and a version. Excel is picked first because it opens in the tools most offices have. The URL is yours to keep. A dated version never changes.
In your own tools
Use it in Excel, R, Python and more
Excel and Power BI read the CSV from its address and refresh from it. The R and Python packages take any dataset on this site by its slug, so a new dataset needs no new release. The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS, and a query reads only the blocks it touches.
The dated URL in the code never changes. https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/latest/ redirects to the newest version.
https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/latest/data.csvIn Excel choose Data, then From Web, and paste this address. Excel keeps it, so Refresh All reads the newest version. A sheet holds about a million rows; past that, load the query to the Data Model.
https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/latest/data.csvIn Power BI Desktop choose Get data, then Web, paste this address and choose Anonymous when asked how to sign in. A scheduled refresh reads the same address, so the report follows each new version.
library(publicdataau)
df <- pd_read("au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places")
pd_attribution(df)install.packages("publicdataau"). pd_read() fetches the version's Parquet file; pd_rows() and pd_aggregate() ask the query API instead, and pd_connect() attaches the DuckDB file.
import publicdata_au as pd_au
df = pd_au.read("au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places")
df.attrs["publicdata"]["attribution"]pip install "publicdata-au[pandas]". read() fetches the version's Parquet file; rows() and aggregate() ask the query API, and connect() attaches the DuckDB file.
INSTALL httpfs; LOAD httpfs;
ATTACH 'https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/v/2025-10-23/data.duckdb' AS au_commonwealth_heritage_list_places (READ_ONLY);
SELECT objectid, count(*) FROM au_commonwealth_heritage_list_places.records GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC;The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS and only the blocks a query touches are read. Parquet works the same way: FROM read_parquet(url).
const res = await fetch("https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/aggregate?group=state&metric=count&status=eq.Listed%20place");
const { rows, publicdata } = await res.json();
console.log(rows, publicdata.attribution);The query API answers a page on any site as well as Node, with no key. It returns the rows and the attribution the licence asks for.
What is in it
Column names are made snake_case and the publisher's original header is kept beside each one. Blank cells are null. Nothing is added, removed, ranked or summarised.
| Field | Type | Publisher's header | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| objectid | integer | OBJECTID | |
| place_id | integer | PLACE_ID | |
| file_number | string | FILE_ | |
| name | string | NAME | |
| class | string | CLASS | |
| status | string | STATUS | |
| state | string | STATE | |
| area_ha | number | AREA_HA | |
| updated | date | UPDATE_ | |
| register_date | date | REGISTER | |
| address | string | ADDRESS | |
| shape_area | number | Shape__Area | |
| shape_length | number | Shape__Length |
Download this table as a data dictionary (Excel), or read it as a Frictionless Table Schema at schema.json. The key is objectid.
A sample of 10 rows
From the latest version, newest first by record updated, then in the publisher's order, with every field. A blank cell is shown as null.
| objectid | place_id | file_number | name | class | status | state | area_ha | updated | register_date | address | shape_area | shape_length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 327 | 106411 | 0/00/000/0000 | Birch Building, Australian National University | Historic | Nominated place | ACT | 0.83338005 | 2025-10-23 | null | 35 Science Rd, Acton ACT | 8.25612709399e-07 | 0.00384003114776 |
| 385 | 106408 | 0/00/000/0000 | Acton Conservation Area - Additional Value | Historic | Nominated place | ACT | 17.532165 | 2025-01-13 | null | Liversidge St, Acton ACT | 1.73713333858e-05 | 0.0245580469411 |
| 383 | 106158 | 1/16/003/0008 | Villawood Immigration Centre | Historic | Listed place | NSW | 16.81083263 | 2024-06-13 | 2004-07-15 | Miowera Rd, Villawood NSW | 1.63810452624e-05 | 0.0169586293142 |
| 384 | 105543 | 1/16/003/0008 | Villawood Immigration Centre - former boundary | Historic | Within listed place | NSW | 0.66471379 | 2024-06-13 | 2004-07-15 | Miowera Rd, Villawood NSW | 6.47718050987e-07 | 0.0195307758253 |
| 193 | 105560 | 8/01/000/0541 | Phytotron | Historic | Listed place | ACT | 0.152982 | 2023-09-22 | 2004-07-15 | Julius St, Acton ACT | 1.51554785742e-07 | 0.0018405056602 |
| 382 | 105230 | 8/01/000/0520 | Lake Burley Griffin and Adjacent Lands | Historic | Listed place | ACT | 755.61066373 | 2022-02-01 | 2022-04-08 | Lady Denman Dr, Yarralumla ACT | 0.000748755183697 | 0.460066460983 |
| 378 | 105479 | 4/01/072/0019 | Canungra Land Warfare Centre Training Area (part) | Natural | Listed place | QLD | 5987.64832735 | 2021-03-02 | 2004-07-15 | Tamborine Mountain Rd, Canungra QLD | 0.00549455344492 | 0.839522754721 |
| 379 | 105274 | 5/12/022/0022 | Garden Island | Natural | Listed place | WA | 1197.2931119 | 2021-03-02 | 2004-07-15 | Garden Island WA | 0.00114512399756 | 0.266993396168 |
| 380 | 105272 | 5/12/022/0021 | J Gun Battery | Historic | Listed place | WA | 0.07934437 | 2021-03-02 | 2004-07-15 | Entrance Point, Garden Island WA | 7.5852634667e-08 | 0.00221677225631 |
| 381 | 105273 | 5/12/022/0011 | Cliff Point Historic Site | Historic | Listed place | WA | 8.66695462 | 2021-03-02 | 2004-07-15 | Garden Island WA | 8.28825690342e-06 | 0.0120067531512 |
The first row as JSON
As it appears in data.json.
GET https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/latest/data.json
{
"objectid": 1,
"place_id": 105228,
"file_number": "4/01/001/0132",
"name": "Small Arms Magazine (former)",
"class": "Historic",
"status": "Listed place",
"state": "QLD",
"area_ha": 0.02896276,
"updated": "2004-02-15",
"register_date": "2004-07-15",
"address": "Murray Av, Enoggera Barracks, Enoggera QLD",
"shape_area": 2.6433466907e-08,
"shape_length": 0.000651628681898288
}
Query it without downloading
The query API returns only the rows you ask for, as JSON, NDJSON or CSV, from the same typed rows as the files. It needs no key. Build a query here and run it, then copy the URL or the code into your own work.
How filters work
Each filter is field=operator.value in the query string, and every filter must match. A number or date field compares as a number or date, and a text field compares as text. Values are case-sensitive except with ilike. Prefix not. to negate a filter, as not.eq.value.
| Operator | What it matches |
|---|---|
| eq.value | Equal to the value. |
| neq.value | Not equal to the value. A blank cell does not match. |
| gt.value | Greater than the value. |
| gte.value | Greater than or equal to the value. |
| lt.value | Less than the value. |
| lte.value | Less than or equal to the value. |
| like.*text* | Matches a pattern where * stands for any run of characters. Case-sensitive. |
| ilike.*text* | The same as like, ignoring case. |
| in.(a,b,c) | Equal to any value in the list. A value cannot contain a comma. |
| is.null | Blank in the source, or suppressed by the publisher. |
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
| select | Fields to return, comma-separated. Every field when absent. |
| order | field.asc or field.desc, comma-separated. The publisher's row order when absent. |
| limit | Rows per page, 1 to 10,000. 100 when absent. |
| offset | Rows to skip. The next URL in each answer sets it for you. |
| group | On aggregate, fields to group by, comma-separated. |
| metric | On aggregate, count, sum.field, avg.field, min.field or max.field, comma-separated. count when absent. |
| format | json, ndjson or csv. JSON carries the provenance header, and the others carry it in response headers. |
Without a version the API answers from the newest loaded version, and that answer changes when the publisher releases again. Put versions/<date>/ before rows or aggregate for an answer that never changes. /api/v1/datasets/<slug>/versions lists the loaded versions. The 1 newest version is loaded; versions lists them.
The API allows 60 requests in 10 seconds from one address. Above that it answers 429 for 10 seconds with a Retry-After header, a RateLimit-Policy header and a JSON body that gives the limit. Every API answer carries the same RateLimit-Policy. A client should wait the Retry-After seconds, or read the files, which have no limit. openapi.json describes this dataset's query paths for client generators and agents.
https://publicdata.au/mcp is a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP with the same tools, defined in the same place, so a tool added to the pages is added here too. It needs no key and no account. The row tools are held to the query API's limit of 60 queries in 10 seconds from one address, and each call is two queries because it also counts the matching rows. Add it to Claude Code with claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcp, add the URL in Claude as a custom connector, or give it to any client that connects to remote MCP servers. Each queryable dataset is also a resource at https://publicdata.au/d/<slug>/fields.json, which lists its fields with their types, the publisher's descriptions, their ranges and the values they hold, so an agent can read a dataset's shape before it writes a query.
What changed
One version for every release the publisher has made since this site started following the dataset. The date is the day the file changed on the portal.
- 2025-10-23 385 rows13 fieldsutf-817f46053768aThe layer states no edit date, so this version is dated by the newest record it holds.The publisher offers no file. These bytes are every feature of the layer as the service returned them in WGS84, ordered by its object id, so the same layer gives the same bytes.
versions.json · changes.json · history.tar.zst (1.2 MB, every version's Parquet and manifest)
Questions
How do I download Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries as a CSV file?
Open https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/latest/data.csv. It redirects to the newest dated version, which is https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/v/2025-10-23/data.csv today. The same path serves Excel, JSON, GeoJSON, Parquet, SQLite, DuckDB, GeoPackage, PMTiles, NDJSON, Arrow. A dated URL never changes, so use it when the file must stay the same.
Can I open Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries in Excel?
Yes. https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/v/2025-10-23/data.xlsx is a workbook with the 385 rows on a records sheet, the field list on a second sheet and the provenance on a third. The CSV also opens in Excel. https://publicdata.au/d/au-commonwealth-heritage-list-places/v/2025-10-23/data.csv.gz is the CSV at about a tenth of the size.
What years does Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries cover?
The current version covers 2005 to 2024. Each release from DCCEEW becomes a new dated version here, and earlier versions stay online.
How often is Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries updated?
DCCEEW releases it as places are listed. This site checks the portal every week and adds a dated version when the file changes.
Can I use Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries commercially?
Yes. CC BY 3.0 AU allows commercial use, redistribution and derived works as long as the attribution is kept. The attribution string is in this page's side column and inside every file.
Is this the official source for Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries?
No. The publisher is Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and its page is https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/commonwealth-heritage-list-spatial-database-chl-public. This site republishes the publisher's file without changing its content. The original sits beside every version as source.geojson with its SHA-256, so the two can be compared.
What coordinate system does Commonwealth Heritage List places, boundaries use?
The map service projects the boundaries to WGS84 (EPSG:4326) on request. They are moved to GDA2020 for publication. The GeoJSON file uses GDA2020 as well, which differs from the WGS84 GeoJSON expects by well under a metre.
What this site did to the data. Cells were typed, headers were renamed and the encoding was made UTF-8. Rows were left alone. The publisher's file sits beside every version as source.geojson so the change can be checked.
Australian Government heritage lists is 2 tables here, and each takes its version date from its own file.