Queensland's political limbo has thrown talks about the future of the Great Barrier Reef into disarray.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) is one group involved in delivering a report about the reef's management to the World Heritage Committee.

The committee will use the report as part of its decision over whether the reef should be listed as “in danger”.

But the QRC says with the as-yet-unformed Government could derail the preparation of the report.

It is due at the end of February, but the Queensland Government appears unlikely to be in place by then. 

Queensland's caretaker government cannot sign off on any new plans.

“We are running up against the clock,” QRC chief executive Michael Roche told ABC this week.

“That is causing a lot of nervous moments amongst officials and of course at the Commonwealth Government level,” he said.

A spokesperson for Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt claims there is no set deadline for the plan to be submitted to the WHO committee.

“The officials from a Queensland level have made it clear they're not in a position to sign off on that plan,” Mr Roche said.

“If it’s a change of government, it may need to be adjusted to take into account the Labor Party's policies – that’s a big one.

“What we need to tell the World Heritage Committee is around the Queensland ports legislation, which commits to restricting port development for the next 10 years, which is another important signal to the World Heritage Committee.

“So we can’t have that legislation of course until we've got a new parliament.”