Natural Heritage Trust
Australian program for funding environmental programs
The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT), or National Heritage Trust Account was set up in 1997 by means of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997, with the main objective of conserving the "natural capital infrastructure" of Australia. Money from the NHT Account must be spent on the environment, sustainable agriculture and natural resources management (NRM). Since its establishment, a considerable number of community groups and organisations have received funding for environmental and natural resource management projects, delivered via a number of different initiatives since 1997. As of June 2020, the NHT account is funding a program known as Phase Two of the National Landcare Program. The original National Landcare Program was launched in 1992, but in 2014 merged with the Caring for our Country program (established 2008, and funded through NHT).
The Natural Heritage Ministerial Board was established under the Act, to provide a mechanism for liaison between the Environment and Agriculture Ministers on matters relating to the account.
History
The Natural Heritage Trust was set up in 1997 by the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997, with the main objective being "to conserve, repair and replenish Australia’s natural capital infrastructure". The fund was set up with the proceeds (A$1.35 billion) of the partial sale of Telstra. Money from the NHT account must be spent on the environment, sustainable agriculture and natural resources management.
The NHT allocated funding on a regional, community (through Envirofund), state or national level to various Natural Resource Management organisations until 2008, when the activities of the Natural Heritage Trust became the responsibility of the "Caring for Our Country" initiative.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Natural Heritage Trust” as australian program for funding environmental programs. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as australian program for funding environmental programs. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6980502. VIAF identifies the subject as 153935201. The Library of Congress control number is no2001037301. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1997, 2020, 1992 and 2014.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Natural Heritage Trust”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Natural Heritage Trust primary sources, Natural Heritage Trust archive and Natural research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Natural Heritage Trust”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Natural Heritage Trust” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.