Red hermit crab on the beach on North Keeling Island.

Our approach to marine park management is based on decades of science and planning, and consultation with Australians.

In working out the zones and rules for our marine parks, as set out in the management plans, we considered ideas and comments provided by people like you. This included more than 130,000 submissions we received while preparing the management plans.

We also considered recommendations from the Independent Commonwealth Marine Reserves Review, released in 2016, alongside the best available science and the experiences of those managing Australian and international marine parks.

We worked with land councils, Traditional Owners and Indigenous ranger groups to learn about the cultural values in our marine parks.

We also worked with the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) to understand how the zoning and rules would affect commercial fishers.

What you told us

Your input was critical in shaping how we manage our marine parks.

In 2016 and 2017, we sought your advice as part of the process to finalise marine park management plans.

In September and October 2016, thousands of people took the time to write to us about the things we should consider in drafting management plans. Check out a summary of the key issues raised here.
Between July and September 2017, over 82,000 people sent in submissions about the five draft management plans. These plans detailed our proposed approach to managing 44 Australian Marine Parks around the country over the next ten years.

Reports on your feedback

Read the Director of National Parks’ reports responding to the feedback we received on each draft plan:

Between 21 July and 20 September 2017, the Director consulted about her proposal to rename 58 Commonwealth marine reserves as marine parks. The proclamation to formally change the name of these 58 marine parks is published on the Federal Register of Legislation.