Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens

World Heritage Management Plan

Heritage Victoria
REB and CG World Heritage Steering Committee

Melbourne, VIC
Wurundjeri Country

The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens (REB and CG) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004. It is globally important as a surviving manifestation of the international exhibition movement which blossomed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The REB and CG must be managed under a World Heritage Management Plan (WHMP) in accordance with Victorian and Commonwealth legislation, delivered by its World Heritage Steering Committee. GML was commissioned in 2022 to review and update the 2013 WHMP for the site.

Working closely with Heritage Victoria and the World Heritage Steering Committee, GML identified key issues, clarified management priorities, and ensured the revised WHMP reflects community and stakeholder expectations, delivering the Overview Site Management Plan as the new keystone of an updated, multi-part WHMP.

Our work also considered alignment with the other WHMP parts, including GML’s REB and CG Traditional Owner and First Peoples Cultural Values Assessment.

The updated WHMP establishes a clear, updated framework to guide the long-term care and governance of the site.

In April 2025, the Victorian Minister for Planning approved the updated WHMP and the new World Heritage Strategy Plan for the surrounding ‘buffer zone’.