It is a branch of the United Nations-sponsored International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a non-government professional organisation promoting expertise in the conservation of place-based cultural heritage.
ICOMOS soon became one of three UNESCO advisors on the assessment of sites proposed for the World Heritage List, along with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (1948- ) in Switzerland, and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Material (ICCROM) (1956- ) in Rome, Italy.
[4] It plays an important role in coordinating advocacy activities to raise the profile of Australia's cultural heritage.
[8] Australia ICOMOS organises an annual national conference on themes relevant to conservation and heritage in Australia and South East Asia, often on a specific heritage and conservation theme for example on the Australian Capital City, Canberra's, 100th anniversary in 2012.
[22] Australia ICOMOS, and in particular, Richard Mackay AM, have been involved in conservation management advice for the World Heritage Listing of Ankor Wat in Cambodia for many years.