Heritage listings — what you cannot change
A heritage listing is a legal constraint on the property, not a badge. Altering or demolishing a listed building needs consent that is materially harder to get, and the obligation runs with the land rather than the owner. There are 41,981 listed items across 137 NSW councils — and no property portal shows them.
41,981Listed items
1,824State Heritage Register
1,109Conservation areas
137Councils
Two registers, and the difference matters. The State Heritage Register is the top tier — statutory protection under the Heritage Act 1977, 1,824 items, the hardest to alter. LEP items are listed in a council's own Local Environmental Plan: far more common, still binding. A conservation area is different again — the constraint attaches to a whole neighbourhood, so an unremarkable house can be controlled because of the street it stands in.
By council
Sydney2,841 items · 423 state-listed · 76 conservation areasInner West2,088 items · 52 state-listed · 112 conservation areasNorth Sydney1,275 items · 29 state-listed · 26 conservation areasClarence Valley1,162 items · 9 state-listed · 14 conservation areasKu-Ring-Gai1,068 items · 25 state-listed · 49 conservation areasBlue Mountains1,028 items · 36 state-listed · 112 conservation areasNorthern Beaches973 items · 17 state-listed · 26 conservation areasCity Of Parramatta854 items · 51 state-listed · 15 conservation areasWoollahra798 items · 32 state-listed · 15 conservation areasNewcastle793 items · 48 state-listed · 9 conservation areasHornsby777 items · 8 state-listed · 8 conservation areasHunters Hill747 items · 8 state-listed · 18 conservation areasGoulburn Mulwaree662 items · 28 state-listed · 6 conservation areasQueanbeyan-Palerang Regional658 items · 21 state-listed · 2 conservation areasHawkesbury656 items · 52 state-listed · 14 conservation areasWaverley647 items · 14 state-listed · 75 conservation areasShoalhaven640 items · 10 state-listed · 9 conservation areasWingecarribee619 items · 42 state-listed · 26 conservation areasRandwick604 items · 30 state-listed · 22 conservation areasSnowy Monaro Regional587 items · 14 state-listed · 15 conservation areasCanada Bay572 items · 7 state-listed · 26 conservation areasMosman558 items · 14 state-listed · 15 conservation areasWollongong547 items · 28 state-listed · 22 conservation areasTamworth Regional522 items · 9 state-listed · 3 conservation areasMid-Coast518 items · 11 state-listed · 14 conservation areasLithgow City515 items · 31 state-listed · 15 conservation areasMid-Western Regional515 items · 14 state-listed · 4 conservation areasBega Valley502 items · 11 state-listed · 16 conservation areasArmidale Regional489 items · 21 state-listed · 4 conservation areasSutherland Shire486 items · 10 state-listedCentral Coast482 items · 19 state-listed · 3 conservation areasEurobodalla468 items · 5 state-listed · 17 conservation areasBathurst Regional467 items · 36 state-listed · 11 conservation areasBlayney454 items · 12 state-listed · 4 conservation areasDubbo Regional440 items · 15 state-listed · 1 conservation areasBayside439 items · 15 state-listed · 6 conservation areasBellingen418 items · 3 state-listed · 1 conservation areasCumberland417 items · 11 state-listed · 9 conservation areasOrange400 items · 10 state-listed · 9 conservation areasWollondilly382 items · 23 state-listed · 6 conservation areasWagga Wagga368 items · 6 state-listed · 2 conservation areasUpper Hunter350 items · 7 state-listed · 6 conservation areasYass Valley342 items · 10 state-listed · 4 conservation areasGeorges River335 items · 7 state-listed · 3 conservation areasLake Macquarie333 items · 6 state-listed · 8 conservation areasHilltops324 items · 7 state-listed · 6 conservation areasLane Cove323 items · 5 state-listed · 1 conservation areasAlbury City296 items · 13 state-listed · 16 conservation areasCabonne295 items · 5 state-listed · 3 conservation areasMaitland292 items · 38 state-listed · 7 conservation areasWilloughby292 items · 11 state-listed · 13 conservation areasCanterbury-Bankstown286 items · 12 state-listed · 7 conservation areasPenrith284 items · 31 state-listed · 7 conservation areasBurwood282 items · 11 state-listed · 21 conservation areasCessnock273 items · 5 state-listed · 4 conservation areasBroken Hill262 items · 13 state-listed · 4 conservation areasStrathfield255 items · 5 state-listed · 18 conservation areasKyogle245 items · 2 state-listed · 8 conservation areasGlen Innes Severn243 items · 6 state-listed · 6 conservation areasThe Hills Shire235 items · 12 state-listed · 4 conservation areasRyde230 items · 9 state-listed · 9 conservation areasInverell228 items · 3 state-listed · 5 conservation areasKiama217 items · 13 state-listed · 3 conservation areasByron202 items · 3 state-listed · 7 conservation areasShellharbour200 items · 4 state-listed · 3 conservation areasRichmond Valley197 items · 6 state-listed · 1 conservation areasUpper Lachlan Shire197 items · 5 state-listedTweed189 items · 1 state-listed · 6 conservation areasDungog187 items · 7 state-listed · 5 conservation areasGreater Hume Shire185 items · 4 state-listedSingleton182 items · 14 state-listed · 2 conservation areasMuswellbrook175 items · 8 state-listed · 3 conservation areasForbes172 items · 4 state-listed · 1 conservation areasLismore169 items · 4 state-listed · 7 conservation areasTemora169 items · 1 state-listed · 3 conservation areasPort Macquarie-Hastings167 items · 10 state-listed · 1 conservation areasCamden162 items · 13 state-listed · 2 conservation areasTenterfield155 items · 4 state-listed · 3 conservation areasBlacktown154 items · 23 state-listedCootamundra-Gundagai Regional140 items · 10 state-listed · 5 conservation areasSnowy Valleys139 items · 4 state-listed · 2 conservation areasCampbelltown138 items · 22 state-listed · 1 conservation areasWentworth135 items · 5 state-listed · 4 conservation areasPort Stephens132 items · 6 state-listed · 2 conservation areasLeeton131 items · 8 state-listed · 3 conservation areasKempsey126 items · 10 state-listed · 2 conservation areasUralla125 items · 8 state-listed · 4 conservation areasGilgandra124 items · 2 state-listed · 1 conservation areasCoffs Harbour123 items · 5 state-listed · 4 conservation areasLiverpool Plains122 items · 5 state-listedLiverpool113 items · 16 state-listed · 1 conservation areasFairfield112 items · 5 state-listedWeddin112 items · 2 state-listed · 3 conservation areasNarrandera100 items · 5 state-listedBallina96 items · 1 state-listedCowra92 items · 5 state-listedFederation88 items · 5 state-listed · 1 conservation areasMurray River87 items · 6 state-listed · 3 conservation areasWalgett86 items · 1 state-listedCoolamon81 items · 1 state-listed · 7 conservation areasOberon69 items · 4 state-listed · 2 conservation areasCarrathool66 items · 1 state-listedBerrigan65 items · 5 state-listed · 2 conservation areasCentral Darling57 items · 2 state-listed · 1 conservation areasEdward River54 items · 5 state-listed · 1 conservation areasMurrumbidgee54 items · 5 state-listed · 1 conservation areasNambucca Valley50 items · 1 state-listed · 2 conservation areasBland47 itemsMoree Plains45 items · 1 state-listed · 1 conservation areasBourke44 items · 7 state-listedNarrabri42 items · 2 state-listedBalranald41 items · 1 state-listedWarrumbungle41 items · 4 state-listed · 6 conservation areasBrewarrina39 items · 2 state-listedLachlan37 items · 1 state-listedGriffith35 items · 2 state-listed · 2 conservation areasWalcha33 items · 6 state-listedGwydir31 items · 2 state-listedCobar29 items · 2 state-listedJunee29 items · 5 state-listed · 1 conservation areasGunnedah28 items · 2 state-listedHay28 items · 4 state-listedNarromine27 itemsLockhart19 items · 1 state-listed · 3 conservation areasParkes14 items · 2 state-listedCoonamble9 items · 1 state-listedUnincorporated8 items · 8 state-listedBogan6 items · 2 state-listedLeichardt3 items · 3 state-listedBathurst2 items · 2 state-listedDubbo1 items · 1 state-listedLord Howe Island - Unincorporated Area1 items · 1 state-listedMoree1 items · 1 state-listedParramatta1 items · 1 state-listedThe Hills1 items · 1 state-listedVarious1 items · 1 state-listedWoollhara1 items · 1 state-listed
What kind of listing
| Class | Items |
|---|---|
| Item - General | 36,887 |
| Conservation Area - General | 936 |
| Item - Archaeological | 1,239 |
| Item - Landscape | 866 |
| Conservation Area - Aboriginal | 15 |
| Aboriginal Place of Heritage Significance | 27 |
| Conservation Area - Landscape | 150 |
| Aboriginal Object | 13 |
| Item - Aboriginal | 16 |
| Conservation Area - Archaeological | 8 |
Sources: NSW LEP heritage items (EPI Heritage) (Creative Commons Attribution) · NSW State Heritage Register (Creative Commons Attribution). A listing here is a guide, not legal advice — confirm against the council's own LEP and the State Heritage Register before relying on it.