The United Nations' World Heritage Committee has decided against declaring the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger", but says it will closely monitor the situation over the next four years.

The committee's 21-nation members met in Bonn, Germany, to debate a draft decision that had recommended the reef not be listed.

The ruling came three years after the committee first threatened to add the natural wonder to the list.

Prior to handing down their decision, committee delegates commended Australia's efforts in developing the Reef 2050 protection plan, which bans the dumping at sea of dredge spoil, limits port development and focuses on cleaning up water running onto the reef.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt was in Bonn to outline Australia's long-term commitment to protect the reef.

Mr Hunt said the Great Barrier Reef faced real challenges like any reef, such as climate change and water quality issues, but described the Reef 2050 plan as a "game-changing" blueprint.

"We have clearly heard the concerns of the World Heritage Committee," he said.

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"Australian and government investment in reef management and research activities is projected at more than $2 billion over the coming decade, with a further $200 million, recently announced, for water quality improvement."

Mr Hunt told the committee Australia fully endorsed the proposed decision and announced an additional $8 million for enhanced reef monitoring.

He said UNESCO considered Australia's handling of the reef "a role model for the world".

"We've been asked to help other countries ... Australia is now the standard for the globe," he told ABC News Breakfast.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad also attended the UNESCO meeting and said the draft report adopted "unanimously" by the committee was a result of the partnership between the federal and state governments.

"Clearly the Federal Government has played a very big role in terms of ensuring that the long-term sustainability [Reef 2050] plan is a plan that the UNESCO can have confidence in," she said.

"But we know that without the strong suite of policies that Queensland Labor took to the last election, the long-term sustainable report would not have been as strong.

"We need to work in partnership together."

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the advisory board on nature to the World Heritage Committee, said Australia would be required to provide an update on its Reef 2050 plan to the World Heritage Centre by December 1, 2016.

IUCN World Heritage Program director Tim Badman said the decision was "tough but balanced".

"The reef is clearly facing unprecedented challenges and the response needed to address them must be equally unparalleled," Mr Badman said.

"Australia's new plan is a welcome and important step to support the Great Barrier Reef's resilience, particularly in the face of the global threat of climate change.

"The plan now needs to translate into action, backed by adequate finance and rigorous science."

The World Heritage Centre's Dr Fanny Douvere, who helped draft the decision, says the state and federal governments will now have to deliver on their financial commitments and report back by the end of next year.

"We're aware that basically the investment and the financing might be an open question at the moment. It's not fully addressed so that's very much at the heart of the 2016 report," she said.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's biggest coral reef system, hosting the largest diversity of coral reefs and a wide variety of threatened species such as the dugong and green turtle.