Submarine Cable (Southern Sydney Protection Zone) Declaration Variation 2025 (No. 1)

Dated: 23October 2025

Adam Suckling

[signed]

Member

Michael Brealey

[signed]

General Manager

1  Name

  This instrument is the Submarine Cable (Southern Sydney Protection Zone) Declaration Variation 2025 (No. 1).

2  Commencement

This instrument commences at the start of the day after the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation

Note: The Federal Register of Legislation may be accessed free of charge at www.legislation.gov.au.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under subclause 23(1) of Schedule 3A to the Telecommunications Act 1997.

4  Variations

  The instrument that is specified in Schedule 1 is varied as set out in the applicable items in that Schedule.

Schedule 1—Variations

  (section 4)

Submarine Cable (Southern Sydney Protection Zone) Declaration 2007 (F2007L02217)

1  Section 3 (definition of beach safety meshing net)

Repeal the definition.

2  Section 3

Insert:

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development means the Department as defined in section 4 of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 (NSW), as in force from time to time.  

fish aggregating device means a structure moored to the seabed with the primary function of attracting fish for capture.

3  After section 3

Insert:

3A References

  In this Declaration, unless the contrary intention appears:

 (a) a reference to any other legislative instrument is a reference to that other legislative instrument as in force from time to time; and

 (b) a reference to any other kind of instrument is a reference to that other instrument as in force from time to time.

Note 1    For references to Commonwealth Acts, see section 10 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; and see also subsection 13(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 for the application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to legislative instruments.

Note 2    All Commonwealth Acts and legislative instruments are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Note 3    For paragraph (b), see section 589 of the Act.

4  Section 6

Repeal the section, substitute:

1.                             Area of the Southern Sydney Protection Zone

 (1) For clause 9 of Schedule 3A to the Act the Southern Sydney Protection Zone consists of an area contained within and bounded by a notional line as follows:

 (a) the line commences at the mean low water mark of the coastline of New South Wales closest to 33° 53' 21.45" S 151° 17' 07.62" E (Item SSPZ01), and runs sequentially along the geodesic line connecting the points as described in table 1:

Table 1

 (b) the line then runs along the geodesic line to the point on the mean low‑water mark of the coastline of New South Wales closest to the point 33° 57' 59.19" S 151° 15' 53.91" E (Item SSPZ24);

 (c) the line then runs generally northerly along the mean low-water mark to the point of commencement.

Note   All coordinates in this Declaration are provided in the Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020. Further information about Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020 can be obtained, free of charge, from the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping at www.icsm.gov.au.

5  Section 7 (Table 3)

Repeal the table, substitute:

Table 3 Australian Japan Cable

6  Subsection 7(2)

Repeal the subsection, substitute:

 (2) For clause 8 of Schedule 3A to the Act, the nominal location for the Tabua Cable in the Southern Sydney Protection Zone is a course that joins the coordinates in table 4 by the shortest route.

7  Section 7 (Table 4)

Repeal the table, substitute:

Table 4 Tabua Cable

8  Section 8

Repeal the section, substitute:

8 Prohibited activities in the Southern Sydney Protection Zone

 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an activity mentioned in table 5 is prohibited in the Southern Sydney Protection Zone.

Table 5 Prohibited activities in the Southern Sydney Protection Zone

Note   For paragraph (c) in item 2 setlines and trotlines are examples of demersal longlines.

 (2) An activity described in item 1 of table 5 is not a prohibited activity for the purposes of this Declaration if the following criteria are met:

 (a) the activity involves the installation, management or removal of a fish aggregating device; 

 (b) the installation, management or removal takes place within a 100 metre radius of one of the points set out in table 5A; and

 (c) the activity is contracted or conducted by, or on behalf of, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Table 5A 

 (3) An activity described in paragraph 2 (b) of table 5 is not a prohibited activity for the purposes of this Declaration if the activity is:

 (a) carried out in the course of fishing operations; and

 (b) listed as a restricted activity in items 1 to 5 of table 6.

9  Section 9 (Example 1 under Table 6)

Omit “(within the meaning given by clause 42 of the Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2002 (NSW) as in force at the commencement of this Declaration)”.  

10  Section 9 (Table 7)

Repeal the table, substitute:

Table 7 Coordinates for an area in the Southern Sydney Protection Zone