Consultation on the Draft South-east Marine Parks Network Management Plan has closed and the new Management Plan is being finalised.

Transitional management arrangements for the South-east Marine Parks Network

The 13 continental marine parks of the South-east Network are being managed under transitional arrangements until a new management plan commences. These arrangements extend the zoning and activity rules from the 2013 Management Plan, until a new plan commences.

Updated approvals and determinations are in place for the 13 South-east marine parks (excluding Macquarie Island):

Existing authorisations issued in the South-east Network will continue to apply until they expire. If you are considering undertaking an activity in South-east Marine Parks, please contact marineparksauthorisations@dcceew.gov.au.

Macquarie Island Marine Park was expanded on 1 July 2023 and separate arrangements apply for that park until a new management plan commences. See the transitional management arrangements page for more information.

South-east Activity Table

South-east activity table

Evaluation of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2013-2023

Parks Australia engaged consulting firm Sustineo to evaluate our implementation of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan 2013-23. The evaluation was independent, broad in scope and included a technical audit. The evaluation assessed the first 8 years of implementing the South-east Management Plan, noting that the current plan expired on 30 June 2023. This is the first evaluation for any of the Australian Marine Park management plans. Read the Director of National Parks response to the report.

Resources to support the review:

Implementation schedule

The South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Implementation Schedule 2013/14 – 2016/17 sets out the initial priority activities and intermediate outcomes for years 1–4 of the operation of the Plan.

The Implementation Schedule provides more detailed information about how the actions and strategies of the Management Plan will be implemented.

Progress reports

Progress reports are prepared annually and provide a summary of performance against activities under the Schedule. These reports summarise key achievements for each year, provide updates against each activity and outline next steps.

Communication and education strategy

Parks Australia worked with stakeholders and community groups on the South-east Forum to develop a Communication and Education Strategy for the South-east Network.