Marine Parks

What is a State marine park?
Marine parks in Queensland
Protecting marine parks
Islands in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area
Zoning plans

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What is a State marine park?

A State marine park is an area of tidal lands and tidal waters declared under the Marine Parks (Declaration) Regulation 2006. Marine park boundaries include the subsoil below and airspace above the boundaries. All plants and animals within the boundary are also part of the marine park.

A range of habitats including mangrove wetlands, seagrass beds, mudflats, sandbanks, beaches, rocky outcrops and fringing coral reefs are protected in marine parks.

Marine parks in Queensland

The three State marine parks in Queensland are the Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park, Great Sandy Marine Park and Moreton Bay Marine Park. Each marine park has a zoning plan that outlines zones and designated areas and the types of activities allowed and if a permit is required.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) is a Commonwealth marine park jointly managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and department. For more information visit the GBRMPA website.

Protecting marine parks

State marine parks are managed under the Marine Parks Act 2004 (Act) and subordinate legislation,
Marine Parks Regulation 2006 and Marine Parks (Declaration) Regulation 2006. The Act defines core terms including biodiversity, conservation, ecologically sustainable use, environment, highly protected area and use and non-use values, and the precautionary principle - this means if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation.

The requirements of the Act are achieved through a strategy involving, among other things:

the declaration of marine parks
the establishment of zones, designated areas and highly protected areas within marine parks
the development of zoning plans and management plans
the cooperative involvement of all stakeholders
a coordinated and integrated approach with other conservation legislation
recognition of the cultural, economic, environmental and social relationships between marine parks and other areas
the application of the precautionary principle.

In managing the Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park, the State is to maintain, as far as practicable, legislation in line with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975.

For more information about marine park legislation and marine parks see:

Islands in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) encompasses the Commonwealth Government Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the adjoining and adjacent Queensland Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park, more than 350 national park islands and at least as many islands, rocks and cays that are not national park. It runs from just north of Bundaberg to the tip of Cape York.

The island national parks have their boundary at the high water mark and are surrounded by Queensland marine park from high water to low water and then Commonwealth marine park waters extending seaward from low water.

With the exception of a handful of large national park islands that support commercial operations in their own right, commercial access to island national parks in the GBRWHA is undertaken by commercial operators as part of a linked marine parks commercial program. The vessel operation is usually the primary focus of the commercial operation and generally the joint marine parks permit is the first and primary point of contact (e.g. GBRMPA and/or the relevant the department marine region) for these operators. That process then triggers the requirement for an application for a commercial activity for activities in a national park (above high water).

Zoning plans

Before you conduct any activity in a marine park, you should check the zoning plan for that area to see if the activity is allowed, and if so, whether it requires a marine park permit. If you are in any doubt about whether a permit is required, contact the department for advice. To help you apply for a permit, you should obtain an marine parks permit information sheet and an application form.

Where the State marine park occurs in the Great Barrier Reef region (i.e. Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park), a joint permit may be issued by the department and GBRMPA. More information is available on zoning plans.

Great Sandy Marine Park - useful links