Marine Protected Areas

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Legal Framework

Director of National Parks

The Director of National Parks is the Statutory Authority directly responsible for managing all Commonwealth reserves (including marine protected areas) as specified by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

The Director carries out the responsibilities of the office with the primary assistance of Parks Australia, a division of the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The Marine and Biodiversity Division of the Department is responsible for the management of Commonwealth marine reserves on behalf of the Director of National Parks.

• Annual reports of the Director of National Parks

Management plans

Under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) all Commonwealth reserves (terrestrial and marine) must have a management plan. Management plans are prepared by the Director of National Parks, with public input, and approved by the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. The plans provide for the protection and conservation of the reserve. They must set out how the reserve is to be managed, what activities will be allowed within the reserve and how they must be carried on. Management must be consistent with the relevant Australian IUCN Reserve Management Principles. Management Plans have a maximum life of 10 years.

The EPBC Act prohibits some activities being carried on in a Commonwealth reserve unless they are expressly provided for by a management plan for the reserve or are approved in writing by the Director of National Parks when a management plan is not in operation. They include actions that affect native species, commercial activities and mining operations. A management plan can provide for actions affecting native species and commercial activities to be carried on under a permit issued by the Director of National Parks (mining operations must be approved by the Governor-General).

Other activities are prohibited by the EPBC Regulations unless they are authorised by a permit issued by the Director of National Parks, or carried on in accordance with a management plan.

• List of management plans in operation
• Management arrangements for activities in each reserve

Statutory Process for the Development of a Management Plan

1. The Director of National Parks publishes a notice inviting comment for a minimum period of 30 days on the proposal to prepare a draft management plan.
2. The Director of National Parks prepares the draft management plan.
3. The draft management plan is released for public comment for a minimum of 30 days. The Director notifies any native title parties about the making of the plan of management and gives them an opportunity to comment. The Director of National Parks considers any public and native title party comments and may alter the plan accordingly.
4. The Director of National Parks provides the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources with the draft management plan, the public comments on the draft plan and the views of the Director on the public comments
5. The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts prepares a Regulatory Impact Statement for the Office of Regulatory Review examining any impacts on business of the proposal to declare the MPA (if required).
6. The Minister considers the draft plan and the Director's views and, if satisfied, approves the management plan (subject to any amendments the Minister considers necessary). The plan is tabled in both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament together with any comments, views, reports or recommendations that have not been given effect to in the plan.
7. Once approved by the Minister, the Parliament and once registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI) the plan comes into operation.

Permits

• Apply for a permit *

*Note: Contact the for Lord Howe Island Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters) and Solitary Islands Marine Reserve (Commonwealth Waters) to apply for permits  for these Reserves.

Many activities in a Commonwealth reserve are prohibited by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 unless they are carried out under a permit issued by the Director of National Parks.

Depending on what is allowed under the management plan for the reserve, these activities may include

• scientific research
• commercial fishing
• other commercial activities

The management plan of each marine protected area generally specifies if a permit is required in order to carry out a particular activity.

• Management arrangements  in each reserve
• List of management plans

Other activities may be prohibited under Division 12 of the EPBC Regulations and therefore a permit is required before they can occur in the marine protected area.

• EPBC Regulations

Note also that the Director of National Parks has the discretion to vary, revoke or cancel a permit.

More specific advice about whether a permit is required can be obtained by contacting the Department of the Environment and Water Resources.

Where the issuing of a permit would affect native title, the Native Title Act 1993 requires any native title parties in relation to the area of the Marine Protected Area to be notified before a permit is issued, and also given an opportunity to comment. Notification can cover a class of permits.

Determinations

Under the EPBC Regulations the Australian Government Director of National Parks can make a determination in a Commonwealth reserve in relation to:

• prohibiting or restricting entry to a reserve or area of a reserve
• capturing images or recording sound
• adventurous activities
• commercial fishing
• recreational fishing
• use of vessels

In making such a determination the Director of National Parks may take into account, among other things, whether the activity might:

• endanger public safety
• interfere with the protection or conservation of biodiversity or heritage
• interfere with the protection of features in the reserve.

A determination by the Director of National Parks must be published in the Government Gazette and is widely publicised in the press in an endeavor to reach as many interested persons as possible.

Declaring a Commonwealth marine protected area

Under the EPBC Act, the Governor-General of Australia may declare a Commonwealth reserve (that is a marine protected area) at the conclusion of a statutory process that involves mandatory public comment periods.

Areas that can be declared Commonwealth MPAs

Under the EPBC Act the Governor-General can declare a Commonwealth reserve in an area of sea that is:

• in a 'Commonwealth marine area' - generally speaking the area from the edge of State and Northern Territory coastal waters (normally 3 nautical miles from the coast) out to 200 nautical miles from the coast (i.e. the waters inside the seaward boundary of the exclusive economic zone around Australia and its external territories, except the waters inside the seaward boundary of the coastal waters of the States and the Northern Territory, which generally extend 3 nautical miles seaward from the territorial sea baselines) and
• outside Australia and that Australia has international obligations to protect under an agreement with one or more other countries.

A Commonwealth marine reserve includes the seabed under the declared sea area. The declaration can also include in the reserve the subsoil of the seabed (to a depth stated in the declaration).

Declaration process

The process leading to the declaration of a Commonwealth reserve under the EPBC Act is

1. The Director of National Parks publishes a notice inviting the public to comment on the proposal to declare a Commonwealth reserve over the area, allowing a minimum period of 60 days for comments. This notice includes a statement of the proposed name of the reserve, the proposed boundaries of the reserve and any zones within the reserve, the purpose for which the reserve is to be declared, the IUCN category that the reserve (and any zones) will be assigned to, and the purposes for which it is intended to manage and use the reserve.
2. Any native title holders, registered native title claimants and native title representative bodies for the area are notified of the proposed declaration, and given an opportunity to comment, in accordance with the requirements of the Native Title Act 1993.
3. The Director of National Parks provides the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources with a report on the Commonwealth reserve proposal. The report must include any comments received and the Director's views on the comments.
4. If necessary a Regulation Impact Statement examining any impacts that declaration of the proposed Commonwealth reserve would have on business is prepared.
5. The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources considers the report from the Director of National Parks.
6. The Minister decides not to proceed and thus the declaration process ends here OR
   The Minister is satisfied a reserve should be established and the Governor-General is advised accordingly.
7. The Governor-General makes a Proclamation declaring the area to be a Commonwealth reserve. The Proclamation: names the reserve; states the purposes for which it is declared; states the depth of any seabed included in the reserve; and, assigns the reserve to an IUCN category.
8. The Proclamation is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.