About the National Trust

Link to 04-05 Annual Report

Link to 05-06 Annual Report

The National Trust of Australia is a community-based, non-government organisation, committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage through its advocacy work and its custodianship of heritage places and objects.

The Australian National Trust movement was established in New South Wales in 1945 by Annie Wyatt who, along with a group of other citizens, raised community consciousness of widespread destruction of the built and natural heritage in Sydney. The National Trust movement quickly spread across Australia with the other States establishing National Trust offices throughout the 1950's and 60's. The Northern and Australian Capital Territories were the last to establish a National Trust in 1976. Each State and Territory National Trust is fully autonomous entity in its own right responsible for managing its own affairs.

The Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT) was formed in 1965. It represents the interests of the National Trust at the federal level, provides a forum for information exchange and increasingly coordinates the work of the constituent bodies.

Collectively the organisation owns or manages over 300 heritage places (the majority held in perpetuity), manages a volunteer workforce of 7000 while also employing about 350 people nationwide.

We rely heavily on community support generated through membership subscriptions, sponsorship, donations and bequests, property admissions and retail sales. Of the collective total operational revenue generated by the organisation less than 10% is sourced from government.

Conserving Australia's Heritage

The National Trust has an outstanding record of saving valuable historic properties and natural features. Many of our treasured places would have disappeared but for the actions of the organisation and its members.

Through its classification work, which provides recognition of heritage value, the National Trust identifies and records places of significance. These classified places include buildings, public art, industrial sites, townscapes, cemeteries, landscapes, heritage gardens trees and urban bushlands.

Specific campaigns are conducted at State and Territory level to save places in immediate threat, to stimulate debate and to raise the level of public and government awareness of the need to conserve our heritage. In 1998 the ACNT initiated its Endangered Places national program to highlight to the public that heritage places remain under threat. The program is also intended to stimulate public appreciation and understanding whilst assisting community groups in their efforts to save places of value.

The National Trust is also actively involved in the conservation of the natural environment through programs such as Save the Bush, a bushland regeneration program. In Western Australia the Trust in recent years has taken on a covenanting role to assist protection of privately owned native bush as well as establishing the Bush Bank revolving fund to allow properties to be purchased.

In an attempt to broaden community understanding of what our heritage is the South Australian Trust has embarked on its Heritage Icons program identifying things that are quintessentially South Australian.