Australian Government Coat of Arms - Director of National Parks. The Coat of Arms sits above the text.

 

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Subsection 368(2)

The Director of National Parks proposes to prepare six draft management plans for 44 Australian Marine Parks (within the North, North-west, South-west and Temperate East networks and the Coral Sea Marine Park).

The Director now invites interested parties and members of the public to make suggestions on the future management of these marine parks. Comments must clearly identify the marine park which is the subject of the comments. If comments are intended to apply to more than one or all 44 marine parks, this must be clearly expressed.

When the new management plans commence they will guide the management of the below 44 Australian Marine Parks for the next 10 years. The current management plans for the North, North-west, South-west and Temperate East networks and the Coral Sea Marine Park expire in 2028.

Australian Marine Parks to be included in the new management plans:

North Network Marine Parks

North-west Network Marine Parks

South-west Network Marine Parks

Temperate East Network Marine Parks

*Gifford Marine Park is proposed to become part of an expanded Lord Howe Marine Park. See ‘Proposal to proclaim changes to Norfolk Marine Park, Lord Howe Marine Park and Gifford Marine Park’ at consult.dcceew.gov.au/.


**Norfolk Marine Park is proposed to be managed under its own plan and not part of the Temperate East Network, as the expanded Norfolk Island Marine Park. See ‘Proposal to proclaim changes to Norfolk Marine Park, Lord Howe Marine Park and Gifford Marine Park’ at consult.dcceew.gov.au/.

Comments will inform the preparation of the draft management plans for the above parks. The draft management plans will be made available for further comment in accordance with subsection 368(5) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) before they are finalised.

How to provide comments online

Comments should be submitted through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Have Your Say Portal at: consult.dcceew.gov.au/

Comments must be received no later than 4:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (4:30 pm Lord Howe Standard Time and 5:00 pm Norfolk Time), on Wednesday 30 September 2026. Comments received after the consultation period closes or via other means may not be considered in accordance with the EPBC Act.

Alternative options for providing hard-copy comments

 

Hard copy submissions can be sent to:

 

Marine Planning Section

Parks Australia Division

PO Box 385  

KINGSTON  

TAS 7050 

 

For residents of Norfolk Island hard-copy comments can be provided to the Norfolk Island National Park Tender Box with the following address:

 

Marine Planning Section

Marine and Island Parks Branch

Norfolk Island National Park Office

Mt Pitt Rd

Norfolk Island 2899

 

Hard copies must be sent by 4:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (4:30 pm Lord Howe Standard Time and 5:00 pm Norfolk Island time), Wednesday 30 September 2026. Hard copy comments sent after the consultation period closes or via other means may not be considered in accordance with the EPBC Act.

Related consultation

At the same time, the Direct of National Parks is undertaking a separate process, seeking comments on proposals to proclaim expanded Norfolk and Lord Howe marine parks.

Comments should be submitted through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Have Your Say Portal for the ‘​​Proposal to prepare six draft management plans for 44 Australian Marine Parks ​’ at: consult.dcceew.gov.au/

If you wish to provide a hard copy submission on both the preparation of draft management plans and the proposed proclamations, please clearly identify this so it can be considered as part of the relevant consultation process.

Privacy notice

If you choose to make a submission to this consultation process, we will collect personal information about you. Please review this notice before submitting your response.

The Director of National Parks (the Director) is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. In carrying out its responsibility for managing Commonwealth reserves, the Director is assisted by Parks Australia, a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (the Department).

The Privacy Act regulates how the Director (“we” or “us”) may collect, use, disclose and store personal information. We also hold personal information in accordance with the Archives Act 1983 (Cth).

We use technology by Converlens Pty Ltd to provide this consultation service and website. Our contractual arrangements require Converlens to comply with the Privacy Act and store data securely in Australia.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) programs to assist in the analysis of submissions, which may include processing your personal information. Our use of these tools will be governed by Australian Government responsible AI guidance (digital.gov.au/policy/ai/staff-guidance-public-generative-ai). All outputs will be subject to review by our staff.

What personal information will be collected

Personal information means information or an opinion about an individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether or not it is true or recorded in material form.

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information and attracts a higher level of privacy protection. Sensitive information includes information or opinions about an individual's racial or ethnic origin (e.g. indigeneity), a political opinion or association, religious beliefs or affiliations, trade or professional associations and memberships, a criminal record and health information.

By submitting a response to the consultation process, you consent to the Director collecting your personal information (which also includes sensitive information) provided in your response to the consultation process. This may include:

 

How we will use and disclose your personal information

The Director may use any personal information (including sensitive information) provided in your submission to:

We will not use or disclose personal information without your consent, except where authorised or required by law.

Public disclosure

Your submission, including any personal or sensitive information contained within, will only be published or made publicly available where authorised or required by law.

We reserve the right to edit, and/ or not consider or publish submissions that contain potentially offensive, defamatory, or irrelevant material.

Submissions marked as confidential may be disclosed on a confidential basis as authorised or required by law.

Anonymous submissions

You can provide an anonymous submission. However, this means we cannot contact you about your submission, the consultation process, or other matters relevant to you. It may also limit our ability to take your submission into account.

Personal information of other individuals

If you need to include personal information about another individual in your submission, you will need to inform that individual of the contents of this statement and obtain their consent to us collecting their personal information.

 

 

Privacy Policy and Contact Us

For more information on how we handle personal information, how to access or correct your personal information, and how to make a complaint, see our Privacy Policy at dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/national-parks/parks-australia/privacy-policy.

The Coverlens privacy policy is available at converlens.com/privacy.html.

If you have a question about this privacy notice, please use the Contact Us link on our website at parksaustralia.gov.au/about/contact-us/.

Further information

Further information on the management plan review is available at: australianmarineparks.gov.au/management/consultations-reviews/review-2018-australian-marine-park-management-plans/

Dated: 24/07/2026

 

 

Ronald (Ricky) Archer

Director of National Parks