UNESCO has given Australia another eight months to upgrade its protection of the reef before making a ruling next year.

Sussan Ley said a decision should not be made until global officials had visited the natural wonder and conducted consultations.

She travelled to Europe and the Middle East to push delegates for the delay.

Environmental groups have described the deferral as a victory for cynical lobbying efforts rather than the reef.

And even NSW Environment Minister Matt Keen, from the conservative side of politics, said lobbying did not change the science.

Ms Ley said proper process was followed and brushed questions about whether it was an environmental or political outcome.

"You can describe that as lobbying, you can describe my efforts as diplomatic, I don't mind," she told ABC radio.

"I went to explain our argument and we won our case by massive consensus on the day by the strength of our argument."

Ms Ley said 19 of the 21 countries with voting rights agreed there should not be an immediate in-danger listing.

UNESCO is adamant the Great Barrier Reef unambiguously meets the criteria.

Ms Ley refused to accept a downgrade was inevitable unless the government showed it was taking threat posed by climate change and water pollution more seriously.

She acknowledged the reef was under threat but said it was not alone.

"Climate change is the biggest threat to our reef, but it's also the biggest threat to 28 other reefs around the world," Ms Ley said.

"So for our property to be the only one that was singled out to be a global call to action on climate change was a deviation from the process."

The reef has been under the threat of downgrade for several years following several mass bleaching events, with government scientists rating the outlook as poor to very poor.

The World Heritage Committee has called for accelerated action at all possible levels in Australia to address the threat from climate change.

Australian Associated Press