Plans have been put forward to develop at $480m theme park in Australia that will include a full-size replica of Beijing's Forbidden City and a nine-storey temple housing a giant Buddha.

Doug Eaton, mayor of Australia's Wyong coastal region outside Sydney, and a Chinese businessman said the park would be aimed at Chinese tourists.

The park, which is reportedly due to start construction next year, is one of the more unusual attempts by Australia to win a slice of the world's largest outbound tourism market as it looks for an economic boost to replace its fading mining boom.