South-east Marine Parks Network Management Plan review

The current 2013 South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan expired on 30 June 2023. Parks Australia is preparing a new management plan for the South-east Network.

The first public comment period on the notice of intent to prepare a new management plan has now closed.

Comments received during this first public consultation period will inform development of a new draft Management Plan. This draft Management Plan will be subject to a second period of public consultation.

Read published submissions.

Management arrangements for the South-east Marine Parks Network

The 13 continental marine parks of the South-east Network will be managed under transitional arrangements until a new management plan is finalised. These arrangements mean no changes on the water for users, aligning with the arrangements under the former management plan.

There are updated approvals and determinations 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.

Public consultation on the proposal to expand Macquarie Island Marine Park has also closed and an expanded marine park is now operational. Please 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 expires on 30 June 2023. This is the first evaluation for any of the Australian Marine Park management plans. See the Director of National Parks response to the report here.

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.