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What Australia is doing to manage the Great Barrier Reef

We all have a common goal—protecting and managing the Great Barrier Reef for current and future generations. The Australian and Queensland governments are jointly investing approximately $200 million annually in the reef’s health.

• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
• Great Barrier Reef - Queensland Government

What Australia is doing to manage the Great Barrier Reef

Australia is working to make sure the Great Barrier Reef remains one of the best managed World Heritage sites in the world.

• More about what Australia is doing to manage the Great Barrier Reef

Videos - Protecting the Great Barrier Reef

Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan

The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan is the overarching framework for protecting and managing the Great Barrier Reef from 2015 to 2050. The plan is a key component of the Australian Government’s response to the recommendations of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The committee regularly reviews the state of conservation of all properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.

• More about the Reef 2050 Plan

Reef Trust

The Reef Trust will combine both Australian Government and private funds to focus on improving coastal habitat and water quality throughout the Great Barrier Reef and adjacent catchments.

The Australian Government has committed over $700 million to the Reef Trust to address key threats to the reef.

On 29 April 2018 the Australian Government announced a $500 million boost for Reef protection – the Australian Government’s largest ever single investment in reef protection.

At the centre of this new investment is a $444 million partnership between the Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

• More about the Reef Trust
• More about the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Partnership for the Reef

Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program

On Thursday 16 April Minister Ley and Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef Warren Entsch MP, launched the research and development phase of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). RRAP involves government, scientific institutions, industry and the non-government sector working in partnership to develop solutions that put the Great Barrier Reef at the cutting edge of global efforts to help coral reefs adapt to climate change. With the Great Barrier Reef facing its third mass bleaching event in five years, these efforts are more important now than ever.

The launch follows a $6 million feasibility study by a consortium of government, university and non-government partners, led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science. It considered over 160 options for protecting the Reef in the face of climate change. These have been narrowed down to 43 concepts suitable for further research and development, to see if they can be successfully deployed at-scale. Examples include techniques to boost the survival of coral larvae, seeding the Reef with specially bred heat-tolerant corals and so-called ‘cloud brightening’ that aims to shade and cool large areas of reef by spraying microscopic saltwater droplets into clouds.

RRAP is being funded through the $100 million reef restoration and adaptation science component of the $443.3 million Reef Trust-Great Barrier Reef Foundation Partnership. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation is also planning an ambitious fundraising campaign to boost the Government’s contribution.

To read more about RRAP, visit www.gbrrestoration.org.

Great Barrier Reef Gully and Streambank Joint Program

The Australian and Queensland governments in 2016 announced the Great Barrier Reef Gully and Streambank Joint Program. This Program will focus on remediating gully and streambank erosion to significantly reduce the amount of sediment entering the Reef. The Program will be guided by the Sediment Working Group, who will provide technical, policy and strategic input into how best to tackle gully and streambank remediation to maximise the on ground actions.

Sediment run-off is one of the biggest pressures on the Great Barrier Reef with gully and streambank erosion contributing significantly to sediment entering the reef. The Australian and Queensland governments, in partnership with the private sector, conservation groups, research institutions, regional natural resource management bodies and industry groups are investing more than $45 million over six years through the Great Barrier Reef Gully and Streambank Joint Program to tackle sediment run-off by fixing gullies and streambanks in high erosion areas of the reef catchments.

Read the fact sheet to find out more about the joint program and how sediment affects the Great Barrier Reef.

• Great Barrier Reef Gully and Streambank Joint Program - fact sheet

Run-off reduction and control of crown-of-thorns starfish

Through the Reef Trust, funding will be provided to farmers and land managers to assist them to implement techniques to reduce run off to the Great Barrier Reef catchment that contribute to crown-of- thorns starfish outbreaks.

Additional actions are also planned to control crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and reduce the incidence of new outbreaks through partnerships between managing agencies and marine tourism operators. These will build on existing direct control activities being undertaken as part of the Australian Government Reef Program.

Dugong and Turtle Protection Plan

To enhance the protection of our iconic marine turtles and dugong in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait, the Australian Government has committed $5.3 million over three years for delivery of a Dugong and Turtle Protection Plan under the Reef 2050 Plan and Reef Trust. The plan addresses threatening processes that impact on the long-term recovery and survival of these protected migratory species.

• National Dugong and Turtle Protection Plan

Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan

The Australian and Queensland governments have released the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2017-2022. This is the main mechanism for delivering against the water quality outcome from the Reef 2050 Plan and will guide how industry, government and the community will work together to improve the quality of water flowing into the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is under pressure from many factors—one of which is the poor quality of water running into it from adjacent catchments. The Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan (formerly the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Protection Plan 2013) has an expanded scope and updated targets that provide a new level of specificity.

The renewed five-year plan details how industry, government and the community will continue to work together to improve the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef. Through the Plan we will be able to measure the progress being made against identified water quality values.

The desired outcome of the Plan is that Reef water quality supports the outstanding universal value of the Great Barrier Reef, builds resilience, improves ecosystem health and benefits communities.

• Water Quality Improvement Plan

Implementing the Plan

Responsibility for implementing the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan is shared by all levels of government working together with agriculture, industry, urban development and construction, regional natural resource management, Traditional Owners, conservation and community stakeholders.

Australian and Queensland government investments totaling over $600 million are detailed in the investment plan.

Investment will be sourced from the Australian Government’s Reef Trust program, National Landcare Program and National Environmental Science Program’s Tropical Water Quality Hub. The Queensland Government’s major investment program is the Queensland Reef Water Program with other actions delivered through broader government policy work and programs such as the Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Program.

• Implementation Plan
• Investment Plan

Great Barrier Reef Report Card 2017 and 2018

The Reef Water Quality Report Card 2017 and 2018 measures progress towards meeting the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan goals and targets.

The Report Card shows how we are progressing towards achieving the finer-scale water quality targets, including reducing primary pollutants (nutrients, fine sediments and pesticides), for the 35 major river basins that flow into the Great Barrier Reef.

• Reef Water Quality Report Card 2017 and 2018

Results show on-ground investments supporting farmers and graziers to improve their land management practices in the Great Barrier Reef catchment are continuing to improve Reef water quality. But we have some way to go to meet the water quality targets.

The Australian Government continues to invest in projects to improve the quality of water flowing to the reef, together with the Queensland Government, with more than $600 million committed to deliver actions under the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan. This includes $201 million dedicated to improving water quality through the landmark $443.3 million Reef Trust – Great Barrier Reef Foundation Partnership. The water quality benefits arising from these investments will be reported in future report cards, as these projects progress.

Key messages

This report card shows:

• We have exceeded our Cape York sediment and particulate nutrient targets by almost 100%. The average annual sediment load was reduced by a further 1.8% to give a total reduction of 9.8%, far exceeding the 5% target for the region.
• Burdekin sugarcane farmers recorded the greatest improvement in fertiliser management, with a further 3.2% progress towards the management practice adoption target to give total progress of 19.6% to date. As a result of these changes, we estimate that dissolved inorganic nitrogen loads were reduced by a further 1.2% to give a total reduction of 26.7% to date.
• The rate of loss of natural wetlands has slowed, with less than 0.1% loss, or 556 hectares, between 2013 and 2017. Throughout the catchments, freshwater floodplain wetlands remained in moderate condition.
• The loss of riparian woody vegetation has increased slightly with 0.74% loss, or 45,467 hectares, between 2013 and 2017.
• The drought has played a role in our not meeting the 90% target for grazing land with adequate ground cover, with an overall Great Barrier Reef-wide result of 63% over the reporting period.
• The average inshore marine condition across all regions was found to be poor in 2017-2018, which is a decline from previous years.

These results show that more is needed to address priority targets in priority regions.

Reef horizon – looking forward to future report cards

• Fact Sheet - Reef Horizon

Australian Government Reef Program

The Australian Government’s Reef Program builds on the success of Reef Rescue (2008–2013) where more than 3200 land managers received water quality grants for on-farm projects to adopt better land management practices and improve quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Over the next five years (2013–2018), the program has already contracted the delivery of approximately $142 million to support the health of the reef.

• More about the program

Australian Government Reef Achievements (2008 - 2013) report

The Australian Government Reef Achievements report provides information on the success of the Australian Government’s investments through the Reef Rescue Program to reduce nutrients, pesticides and sediment discharge into the reef from broadscale landuse over the period 2008 to 2013.

• Australian Government Reef Achievements (2008 - 2013) report
• Regional Achievements Summaries - regional summaries are available for Burnett Mary, Cape York, Fitzroy Basin, Mackay Whitsunday, NQ Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics regions

North-East Shipping Management Plan

The North-East Shipping Management Plan sets out Australia’s intention to enhance ship safety and environmental protection and identifies measures to manage risks associated with shipping in the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea and Torres Strait regions.

• North-East Shipping Management Plan

Comprehensive strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

The Australian Government, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Queensland Government have completed a comprehensive strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and adjacent coastal zone.

• More about the comprehensive strategic assessment

Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report

The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019 is a stocktake of the state of the Reef and its outlook, based on the best available information. The Outlook Report is published every five years by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

• Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019

Independent Review of the Port of Gladstone

As part of the Australian Government's response to the 2012 decision of the World Heritage Committee regarding the ongoing protection and management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage property, the Australian Government commissioned an Independent Review of the Port of Gladstone.

• More about the Independent Review of the Port of Gladstone

An addendum to the independent review was commissioned in January 2014 so that an independent panel could examine the latest information.

• Gladstone Bund Wall Review

Great Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement

In 2009, the Australian and Queensland governments developed a Great Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to secure the long-term conservation and protection of the reef.  The aim was to enhance coordinated and collaborative approaches between the Australian and Queensland jurisdictions.

• More about the Great Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement

Protective legislation

The reef is protected by two complementary pieces of federal legislation:

• the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 oversees activities in the marine park
• Australia's key national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, protects nationally significant matters including the Great Barrier Reef World and National Heritage areas.

These acts provide an internationally recognised world class system of environment and heritage protection. To ensure use of the Great Barrier Reef remains sustainable, activities in the World Heritage Area and marine park are tightly controlled under these laws, as well as other relevant state and federal laws.

• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 

In 2006, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 was reviewed and a series of measures proposed to strengthen the legal, governance and policy frameworks relating to the management and long-term protection of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

• Review Panel Report - Review of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2007

A body of new measures was implemented to protect the reef during 2007 - principally via the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2007. The Act commenced on 1 July 2007 and amended the governance, accountability and transparency requirements of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975.

In particular, the amendments provided for:

• a five-yearly, peer-reviewed 'Outlook Report' to document the overall condition of the marine park to be tabled in Parliament and published
• an enhanced process to engage stakeholders in the development of zoning plans for the marine park
• zoning plans to be 'locked down' for a minimum of seven years from the date they come into force to provide stability for business, communities and biological systems.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008

A second amendment Act - the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 - was passed by Parliament on 12 November 2008. The Act put in place a modern, future-focused regulatory framework to secure the long-term protection and ecologically sustainable management of the reef.

A multi-use property

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is a multiple-use area in which a wide range of activities and uses are allowed, including extractive industries but not mining. A new Zoning Plan for the entire Marine Park came into effect on 1 July 2004 and protects over 33 per cent of the Park though no-take zones (known also as green zones).

The comprehensive, multiple-use zoning system minimises impacts and conflicts by providing high levels of protection for specific areas. A variety of other activities are allowed to continue in a managed way in certain zones (such as shipping, dredging, aquaculture, tourism, boating, diving, research, commercial fishing and recreational fishing).

• More about the Zoning Plan 

Further information

• More Great Barrier Reef publications and resources