AUSTRALIA 2013
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
PETROLEUM DISCOVERY
COMMONWEALTH
MARINE RESERVES NETWORK
This document has been developed as a guide only. This
information should not be relied upon solely. Potential
bidders are encouraged to consult the 2013 Acreage
Release General and Specific Notices and information
regarding Commonwealth marine reserves at:
www.environment.gov.au/marinereserves prior to making
any commercial decisions.
Overview
Commonwealth marine reserves (also known as marine
protected areas or marine parks) are sections of the ocean
that are managed primarily for the conservation of their
ecosystems, habitats and the marine life they support.
The creation and effective management of marine
reserves is widely regarded, both nationally and
internationally, as one of the most effective mechanisms
for maintaining the long-term health and productivity of our
oceans. The reserves will help ensure that Australia's
diverse marine environment remains healthy, productive
and resilient.
While the primary objective in establishing the reserves is
the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of
natural resources is allowed in some parts of the network
where doing so is consistent with this primary objective.
Details on how the Commonwealth marine reserves
network affects the individual Acreage Release areas can
be found in the 2013 Acreage Release Special Notices at
www.petroleumacreage.gov.au/doc/release/2013_Acreage_Release_Spe
cial_Notices
component of the National Representative System of
Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA), which has been
under development since all Australian governments
agreed to its development in 1998. The primary aim of the
NRSMPA is to establish and manage a comprehensive,
adequate and representative system of marine reserves to
contribute to the long-term ecological viability of marine
systems, to maintain ecological processes and systems
and to protect Australia’s marine biological diversity at all
levels.
The new marine reserves have added more than
2.3 million square kilometres to the previously existing
national system of Commonwealth marine reserves,
expanding the overall size of the Commonwealth marine
reserve estate to some 3.1 million square kilometres. The
number of marine reserves has expanded from 27
(including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park) to 60,
covering more than a third of Commonwealth waters. This
is the largest system of marine reserves in the world.
Marine protected areas in
Commonwealth waters
Marine protected areas in Australian waters include the
following:

South-west Network

North-west Network

North Network

Temperate East
Network

South-east Network
New Commonwealth Marine Reserves
 Coral Sea
Commonwealth Marine
Reserve
 Heard Island and
McDonald Island Marne
Reserve
 Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park
The Australian Government has established 40 new
Commonwealth marine reserves around Australia. The
new Commonwealth marine reserves were proclaimed in
November 2012 and form the Commonwealth waters
www.petroleum-acreage.gov.au
DISCLAIMER: This fact sheet has been developed as a guide only. It does not replace or amend information provided in the Offshore Petroleum Legislation, Regulations and
Guidelines available at: www.ret.gov.au/offshoreresourceslegislation and www.nopta.gov.au/legislation. In the event that there is a discrepancy between this fact sheet and the
legislation, the legislation has precedence. Explorers should not rely solely on this information when making commercial decisions. Image courtesy of Woodside Energy Ltd.
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Management of Marine Reserves
Marine protected areas in Commonwealth waters are
managed under the Commonwealth reserves provisions of
the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Act 1999 (EPBC Act) - hence their name ‘Commonwealth
marine reserves’. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is
managed under separate legislation.
Commonwealth marine reserves are managed according
to a set of reserve management principles set out in
regulations made under the EPBC Act. These principles
inform the development of statutory management plans
and underpin implementation policies and operational
procedures. The Director of National Parks (the Director),
established under the EPBC Act, is responsible for the
management of the Commonwealth marine reserves.
Marine reserves and the zones within them are allocated
to one of seven International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) categories. Each category has its own
principles as outlined in the EPBC Regulations and the
reserves must be managed consistently with the
principles.
The Director has developed management plans for the
South-east, South-west, North-west, North, and
Temperate East Commonwealth Marine Reserves
networks and the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine
Reserve. The management plans will give effect to the
zoning arrangements that were the subject of public
comment as part of the proclamation process. This zoning
sets out the activities allowed within each zone in each
proposed reserve.
From the declaration of Commonwealth marine reserves
in November 2012 until management plans come into
effect in July 2014, transitional arrangements apply.
Under the transitional arrangements, there are no
changes on the water for users of new areas added to
the Commonwealth marine reserves estate.
NOTE: There are no changes to management
arrangements in the marine reserves that existed prior to
the establishment of the new reserves, that is, the same
restrictions on activities will continue to apply even where
those reserves have been incorporated into new reserves.
If an existing approval to undertake activities within
Commonwealth marine reserves is held by
titleholders, they can continue to operate under the
terms of their existing approval. No additional
administrative requirements apply.
Zoning
Commonwealth Marine Reserve Networks are based on a
system of zones within which certain activities can be
undertaken. Each zone is assigned to an IUCN category
and is managed consistent with that category principles.
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AUSTRALIA 2013
Within each network, there might be more than one
management zone assigned to the same IUCN category;
this means that, while those zones would be based on the
same principles, the details of what activities are allowed
and how, may differ.
IUCN Category Ia:

Sanctuary Zones
IUCN Category II:

Marine National Park Zones
IUCN Category IV:

Recreational Use Zones

Habitat Protection Zones

Conservation Park Zones
IUCN Category VI:

Multiple Use Zones

Special Purpose Zones

Special Purpose Zone (Oil and Gas Exclusion)

Special Purpose Zone (Ports)

General Use Zones
Zoning and mining activities
Mining activities (including petroleum exploration and
development) are not allowed in the Coral Sea
Commonwealth Marine Reserve and in the Special
Purpose (Oil and Gas Exclusion) zone of the South-west
Marine Reserves Network.
Mining activities are also prohibited in Sanctuary Zones,
Marine National Parks Zones, and in zones assigned to
IUCN Category IV. However, transport of minerals through
pipelines may be permitted through these zones under
certain circumstances.
Mining operations can be carried out in all zones assigned
to IUCN Category VI (with the South-west and Coral Sea
exceptions and Special Purpose Zone (Oil and Gas
Exclusion) exception mentioned above). Authorisation by
the Director is required for mining activities in these zones.
Mining Class Approvals
Under the management plans for the South-west, Northwest, North, Temperate East and South-east Networks, a
mining class approval will be issued for those activities
undertaken as part of mining operations, which are
assessed and approved under Part 7 or 9 of the EPBC Act
(i.e. in relation to matters of national environmental
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Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
significance). The mining class approval avoids duplication
of processes for those activities to which multiple
requirements for assessment and approval apply under
the EPBC Act. Mining class approvals will be in place at
the time the management plans come into effect.
Mining-related activities that are not assessed and
approved under Part 7 or 9 require a permit or approval
from the Director in order to be carried out in the marine
reserves. Class approvals may be developed to avoid
duplication with other existing regulations (i.e. non-EPBC
Act) or for approving activities that are to be undertaken in
a uniform way. In issuing class approvals, the Director
must be satisfied that the activities to be approved are not
likely to have an unacceptable impact on the relevant
conservation values of the reserves and will be conducted
in a way that is consistent with achieving the objectives of
the management plan.
South-west Marine Reserves Network
Zones in use within the South-west Commonwealth
Marine Reserves Network include: Marine National Park
Zone (IUCN II); Habitat Protection Zone (IUCN IV);
Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI); Special Purpose Zone (Oil
and Gas Exclusion) (IUCN VI) and Special Purpose Zone
(IUCN VI).
Mining activities including exploration, development and
other activities can be carried out in the Special Purpose
Zone and Multiple Use Zone.
The South-west Network incorporates the following
Commonwealth Marine Reserves:

Abrolhos

Twilight

Jurien

Bremer

Two Rocks


Great Australian Bight
Murat
Perth Canyon

Geographe

South-west Corner

Eastern Recherche

Western Eyre

Western Kangaroo
Island

Southern Kangaroo
Island
Zones in use within the North-west Commonwealth Marine
Reserves Network include: Sanctuary Zone (IUCN Ia);
Marine National Park Zone (IUCN II); Habitat Protection
Zone (IUCN IV); Recreational Use Zone (IUCN IV);
Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI) and Special Purpose Zone
(Ports) (IUCN VI).
AUSTRALIA 2013
The North-west network incorporates the following
Commonwealth Marine Reserves:

Carnarvon Canyon

Argo-Rowley Terrace

Shark Bay

Mermaid Reef

Gascoyne

Roebuck

Ningaloo

Kimberley

Montebello

Ashmore Reef

Dampier

Cartier Island

Eighty Mile Beach
North Marine Reserves Network
Zones in use within the North Commonwealth Marine
Reserves Network include: Marine National Park Zone
(IUCN II); Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI); General Use Zone
(IUCN VI) and Special Purpose Zone (IUCN VI).
Mining activities including exploration, development and
other activities can be carried out in the Special Purpose
Zone and Multiple Use Zone.
The North Marine Reserve incorporates the following
Commonwealth Marine Reserves:

Oceanic Shoals

Wessel

Joseph Bonaparte
Gulf

Limmen

Gulf of Carpentaria

Arafura

West Cape York

Arnhem
Temperate East Marine Reserves Network
North-west Marine Reserves Network
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Mining activities including exploration, development and
other activities can be carried out in the Special Purpose
Zone (Ports) and in the Multiple Use Zones.
Zones in use within the Temperate East-Commonwealth
Marine Reserves Network include: Marine National Park
Zone (IUCN II); Habitat Protection Zone (IUCN IV); Habitat
protection Zone (Lord Howe) (IUCN IV); Recreational Use
Zone (IUCN IV); Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI) and Special
Purpose Zone (IUCN VI).
Mining activities including exploration, development and
other activities can be carried out in the Special Purpose
Zone and Multiple Use Zone.
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Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
The Temperate East Marine Reserve incorporates the
following Commonwealth Marine Reserves:

Jervis

Central Eastern

Hunter

Gifford

Cod Grounds

Lord Howe

Solitary Islands

Norfolk
Further information about Commonwealth marine reserves
management plans and the network is available on the
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities’ website:
www.environment.gov.au/marinereserves.
South-east Marine Reserves Network
Zones in use within the South-east Commonwealth Marine
Reserves Network include: Sanctuary Zone (IUCN Ia);
Marine National Park Zone (IUCN II); Habitat Protection
Zone (IUCN IV); Recreational Use Zone (IUCN IV);
Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI) and Special Purpose Zone
(IUCN VI).
Mining activities including exploration, development and
other activities can be carried out in the Special Purpose
Zone (IUCN VI) and Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI).
The South-east Marine Reserve incorporates the following
Commonwealth Marine Reserves:

Apollo

Huon

Beagle

Macquarie Island

Boags

Murray

East Gippsland

Nelson

Flinders

South Tasman Rise

Franklin

Tasman Fracture

Freycinet

Zeehan
Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve
Mining activities, including exploration, development and
other activities, are prohibited in the Coral Sea
Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine
Reserve
Mining activities, including exploration, development and
other activities, are prohibited in the Heard Island and
McDonald Islands Marine Reserve.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Mining activities, including exploration, development and
other activities, are prohibited in the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park.
www.petroleum-acreage.gov.au
AUSTRALIA 2013
4
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
www.petroleum-acreage.gov.au
DISCLAIMER: This fact sheet has been developed as a guide only. It does not replace or amend information provided in the Offshore Petroleum Legislation, Regulations and
Guidelines available at: www.ret.gov.au/offshoreresourceslegislation and www.nopta.gov.au/legislation. In the event that there is a discrepancy between this fact sheet and the
legislation, the legislation has precedence. Explorers should not rely solely on this information when making commercial decisions. Image courtesy of Woodside Energy Ltd.
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