Led by the City of Greater Bendigo and Ballarat City Council, the 13 councils committed $125,000 to the bid with the hope the state government would commit $500,000 through the Regional Development Victoria's $10 million 'Investment Fast-Track Fund'.

Victorian Goldfields Tourism executive Chris Meddows-Taylor said the additional funding would enable critical work including that of the World Heritage Master Plan and identifying sites that could make the World Heritage list.

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"Government support is vital to progressing the bid to the next stage which is getting the bid ready for World Heritage tentative listing," he said.

"The journey to using World Heritage as a catalyst for regional regeneration includes developing the bid, growing the region's profile, building local capacity and attracting public and private sector investment to deliver world-class visitor offerings and ultimately, securing the World Heritage listing."

The World Heritage listing aims to unlock the full potential of the region, bring more economic diversification, jobs, investment and tourism.

City of Greater Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf said world heritage experts acknowledged the region's goldrush heritage was unparalleled.

"In 2020, United Kingdom World Heritage expert Barry Gamble investigated more than 40 goldrush sites from around the world," she said.

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"While California and Victoria's goldrushes were found to be the most historically significant of all goldrushes, he found the Central Victorian Goldfields stands out as exceptional among global goldrushes and is quite simply unparalleled."

Central Victorian Goldfields World Heritage Bid Co-Patron, The Hon Denis Napthine AO, said a strong government commitment to the World Heritage listing will create increased awareness and marketing of Victoria, Melbourne and the region as a tourist destination.

"Victorian tourism industry research indicates it could take five years for the industry to recover from the impacts of COVID-19," he said. "The Central Victorian Goldfields World Heritage bid has the potential to significantly change the social and economic future of the region for decades to come."

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