The UNESCO World Heritage Committee draft report into the reef, released late on Friday, recommended Australia report back on its progress in implementing its Reef2050 plan in December next year, but decided against listing the reef as being in danger.

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt stood with his Queensland Labor counterpart Steven Miles to announce the decision as an endorsement of the two governments' work to turn the reef's degradation around, which included a permanent ban on off-shore dredge spoil dumping and nitrogen and sediment reduction targets.

But conservation groups, which worked over the past three years to bring international attention to the reef, said the danger had not passed.

Shani Tager from Greenpeace said climate change remained the biggest threat to the reef and both governments were attempting to "have their cake and eat it too" by pushing ahead plans to open the Galilee Basin to coal mining and expanding the Abbot Point port, which sits at the gateway to the reef.

"UNESCO has really highlighted a number of dangers and threats to the reef in this decision and said 'Come back in 18 months and tell us, not just if you have implemented those plans, but if they are being effective in protecting the reef', " she said.

"Consider the Abbott government wanted the all-clear from UNESCO and has been working quite hard to that end, it shows that UNESCO takes the issues which are impacting the reef quite seriously."

While the draft report does not make any specific recommendations about addressing climate change in its report, Ms Tager said there was no escaping it.

"Almost every scientist you speak to will tell you the number one threat to the reef is climate change and we know that coal is a big part of that.

"But at the same time as espousing concern for the reef and implementing measures to help the reef, they are actively pushing a proposal which will impact the reef."

The previous LNP state government began working on a proposal to move the off-shore dredge spoil dumping site, on-shore.

Earlier this year the new Labor government moved forward with that plan, with the spoil now to be used to build up the Abbot Point port.

But Queensland Greens Senator Larissa Waters said the state needed to back away from coal if it was serious about saving the reef.

"The decision overnight is not a reprieve; we are still on that watch list," she said.

"The government still needs to do more and pull its socks up and do more on climate change and stop dredging and building new coal ports and sending more coal ships through the reef. This is a world heritage icon, it is not just a highway for coal ships.

"And for ports to be dug up and made even deeper to worsen water quality – the government needs to realise that it needs to make a choice between coal and the reef.

"And I think that Queenslanders would choose the reef."

The Queensland government said it had found a workable balance between the two, with which the Queensland Resources Council wholeheartedly agrees.

Operators within the $6 billion Great Barrier Reef tourism industry have also welcomed the draft decision.

But none so much as Mr Hunt and Mr Miles.

Mr Miles said he expected to see a "turnaround in coral cover and a turnaround in the quality of the reef" through the Reef2050 plan.

"We said, consistently, our objective wasn't so much to avoid an endanger listing, it was actually to avoid the reef being in danger and this process has provided the political focus and the opportunity to come up with a plan that can do just that," he said.

Mr Hunt, who planned on celebrating the decision with a snorkel on the reef on Saturday afternoon, and "just have a moment to myself to recognise that whatever we do, nature does it best", dismissed the concerns of groups such as Greenpeace and Ms Waters.

"It is not as some would have it, probation." Mr Hunt said of the decision.

"All references to 'in danger' have been removed. It is not in some way a continuation of the previous situation. Not only has there been praise given to Australia, we have returned to the ordinary five-year reporting cycle.

"Any reference to review has also been removed. So, there is a rightful recognition of some of the challenges that Queensland and Australia have identified for the reef, but, at the end of the day, this is the strongest possible endorsement of what Australia and Queensland are doing.

"This is still the world's Great Barrier Reef. It is the most majestic reef in the world, it is the largest reef in the world and it is the greatest reef in the world.

"I want to thank the World Heritage Centre and the World Heritage Committee.

"They have allowed us to do things on our respective watches, which we may never have been able to have done.

"When I am old and greyer I hope to sit back on my chair and, along with what we have done with the emissions reduction fund, the work to protect the reef I hope is the work of my life, and Steven [Miles] has also talked about that.

"So we want there to be a strong international eye to complement a strong domestic eye in protecting the reef."

He said it would have been "difficult" to ban dredge spoil dumping without the focus of the international community.

"It might have been difficult to have made the permanent dredge disposal ban throughout the 345,000 square kilometres of the Great Barrier Reef marine park, the 348,000 square kilometres of world heritage area," he said, adding that the changes made had been "deep and profound" and that neither government would "ever go back".

"It was difficult for Queensland to have to made those decisions about their ports.

"It was difficult for us to do something with regards to the dredge disposal ban, which had never been proposed, but the moment I felt the most confident in the campaign was when, in front of 5000 people of the World's Parks Congress, we announced to rapturous international applause that this dredge ban was put in place. It is already law at the federal level and I know Queensland is making very significant progress."

Mr Miles agreed.

"We would not have been able to achieve this plan, we would not have been able to achieve this investment without the scrutiny of UNESCO up to this point," he said.

"The chance to go back to them over coming years and report in on our progress on initiatives that really will take some time to see substantial turn around, the chance to report back to them I think is actually really important. It means this plan won't just go back on the shelf, it means both governments, it means future governments will be obliged to report back on their progress and I think that is really important."

Mr Miles said the plan, enacted by both governments, would have a tangible impact.

"I think that with these initiatives we will start to see a turn around in coral cover and a turn around in the quality of the reef and that is ultimately what we are here for," he said.

"We said consistently our objective wasn't so much to avoid an endanger listing, it was actually to avoid the reef being in danger and this process has provided the political focus and the opportunity to come up with a plan that can do just that."

The official report will be handed down when UNESCO meets in Bonn, Germany, next month. But Mr Hunt, who was headed to the Whitsundays for an 18-hour trip on Saturday afternoon, said he had a private celebration in mind in the meantime.

"I am going to snorkel this reef this afternoon and just have a moment to myself to recognise that whatever we do, nature does it best," he said.