What does this mean for me?

These charges are effective from 1 July 2023. Charges are reviewed annually and changed in line with the Brisbane Consumer Price Index. 

You are not required to pay GST on any environmental management charge collected.

The Reef Authority provides 12 months' notice of any impending change to the environmental management charge allowing sufficient lead time to incorporate changes into brochures and implement changes in wholesale pricing arrangements.

Please note from 1 April 2024, the Standard Tourism Program Charge payable by each visitor who takes part in a tourist program will be $8.00 for a full day and $4.00 for a part day, in accordance with CPI increases.

All other EMC categories are fixed charges and will not change.

Tourist related visitors – daily charges

• Permit holder to collect $7.00 from each full-day visitor who participates in trips:
• of three hours or more
• that enter the Marine Park before 5.00 pm
• that leave the Marine Park after 6.00 pm
• of the first three days of an extended charter
• that are on the fourth or subsequent days of an extended charter with a different operator who then participates in your tourist operation.

• Permit holder to collect $3.50 from each part-day visitor who participates in trips:
• of less than three hours
• where the first day of a trip enters the Marine Park after 5.00 pm
• where the last day of a trip leaves the Marine Park after 6.00 am

• Semi-submersible and glass-bottomed boat excursions 40 cents per excursion
• A trip to conduct a coral viewing program provides for a stand-alone activity involving an excursion for visitors to view coral and fish from a semi-submersible or glass-bottomed boat.
• NOTE:  This does not include glass-bottomed and semi-submersible excursions which are ancillary to another tourist program.

• Sight-seeing flights 40 cents per excursion
• If a visitor participates in more than one excursion on the same day and all the excursions are provided under the same permit, the visitor only pays for the first excursion.

Tourist related services and structures – fixed quarterly charges

• Beach hire
• Charges are based on the equipment listed on the permit. The permittee must pay the EMC even when there is no activity.

• Non-motorised beach hire
• Less than six pieces of equipment: $12 per quarter
• Six or more pieces of equipment: $25 per quarter

• Dinghy hire
• A dinghy is a small open boat having no designed sleeping accommodation. It does not include half-cabin boats.
• Less than six dinghies: $50 per quarter
• Six or more dinghies: $12 per dinghy per quarter.

• Motorised water sports
• If the equipment is jet boats (e.g. jet skis) designed to carry no more than two persons: $25 per quarter
• If the equipment includes no jet boats: $62 per quarter
• If the equipment is jet boats and other motorised equipment $87 per quarter.

Installations and tourist facilities

• Pontoons (including tourist, helicopter and swim pontoons)
• An area less than or equal to 40m2: $90 per quarter
• An area greater than 40m2: $180 per quarter.

• Floating hotels
• $280 per quarter.

• Underwater observatories (other than those attached to pontoons)
• $130 per quarter.

• Non-tourist charter operations
• $2 per person per trip.

Non-tourist related services and structures – fixed quarterly charges

• Vending operations
• $30 per metre of the length of the vessel per quarter
• The general mode of operation of such vessels is for the sale of goods or services from a vessel. No visitors are carried.

• Marinas
• $380 per quarter (for construction or operation).

• Mariculture
• $500 per quarter for the first 10 hectares plus $200 per quarter for each additional 10 hectares.

Land-based sewage discharge (applies to land-based marine outfalls only)

• Tertiary treated sewage: $400 per quarter
• Sewage that has received secondary treatment may be taken to have received tertiary treatment if not more than five per cent of the annual volume of effluent generated is discharged into the Marine Park at a land-based outfall.
• If sewage has received primary and secondary treatment only:  $400 plus cost per unit nutrient (Formula $4.00 x V x (N+P).

V = total volume of sewage, expressed in megalitres, discharged in the quarter.

N = concentration, expressed as milligrams per litre of all forms of nitrogen.

P = concentration, expressed as milligrams per litre of all forms of phosphorus.

Free of Charge’ (exemptions)

• The Environmental Management Charge should not be collected from visitors who are carried free of charge and are:
• children less than four years old
• beneficiaries of registered charities 
• supervised school groups 
• participating in tourism industry trade familiarisations 
• media crews reporting on Great Barrier Reef Marine Park issues

• The Environmental Management Charge should not be collected from:
• visitors who have already paid the full Environmental Management Charge for that day to another operator
• visitors who are on their fourth and subsequent days of an extended trip with one operator, providing the visitor has paid the maximum charge ($21.00) 
• transfer passengers who transit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park via the most direct route and for whom the permit holder does not provide any tourism activities for two hours after disembarkation.
• passengers who visit the Queensland Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park only.
• you are required to keep records of any exemptions for at least two years.

• Quick Links: 
• Environmental Management Charge 
• Tourism visitation data 
• Permissions application fees
• Permits online