Consultation and feedback
The opportunity for the public to comment on a proposal is an important part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's consultative processes in developing policies or plans and some permit assessment approaches. Interested parties are invited to contact us for more information or to make a written submission in relation to the proposal.
For consultation periods that have closed, click here: Consultation - completed.
Consultation feedback is currently being sought on the following proposals. These proposals are in different phases of their consultative processes.
Protected species policy
- The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has prepared a draft Policy on limiting the take of protected species through the permissions system.
- This document is a modernisation of the existing protected species policy. It aims to provide clear and concise guidance to applicants and the Environmental Assessment and Protection Section on applications requesting the take of protected species within the Marine Park.
- We now invite comments regarding the draft policy.
Consultation period: 29 January until 28 February 2025
How to make a submission: Feedback can be emailed directly to consultation@gbrmpa.gov.au; or posted to: Marine Park Policy, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, PO Box 1379, Townsville, Queensland, 4810.
Contact us: If you wish to discuss the draft policy, you can contact the Marine Park Policy team directly at policyandplanning@gbrmpa.gov.au and we will arrange to call you directly.
Protected species policy FAQs
The draft policy on Limiting the take of protected species through the permissions system updates the original policy. This existing policy was developed to assist with implementation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003, which is where this list of Protected Species originated.
This new draft policy aims to provide clear and concise guidance to both applicants and the Environmental Assessment and Protection Section on applications requesting the take of protected species within the Marine Park. It updates the list of protected species in line with current legislation.
The list of Protected Species includes all those species found in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and are:
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listed as threatened under Commonwealth and Queensland legislation
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listed as migratory species in Australia under the Convention on Migratory Species
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‘listed marine species’ under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and
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fish and invertebrates legislated as ‘no take’ under the Queensland Fisheries legislation.
The take of corals is already restricted under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003; they cannot be taken unless permission has been granted by the Reef Authority.
The draft policy is aimed at applicants, such as researchers, who may wish to take protected species. Often the take involves non-lethal capture, sampling (e.g. skin samples for DNA testing, measuring and weighing animals) and returning the animal alive to the Marine Park.
The policy will be used by the Reef Authority’s Environmental Assessment and Protection Section when assessing applications which involve the take of protected species.
If the new policy is approved by the Board, they will revoke the old policy so that there is only one policy in place.
We have consulted with the Reef Authority’s Indigenous and Tourism Reef Advisory committees, as well as the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Partnerships.
Privacy Collection Notice
Any personal information (including sensitive information) that you provide the Reef Authority as part of a public consultation process will be used for the purposes of informing the Reef Authority’s assessment of an application for permission or policy position.
The Reef Authority may publish comments made in response to public consultation along with the name of person or organisation that is attributed to those comments on its website. You do not have to provide the Reef Authority with your name when providing your response to a consultation process, and you may wish to use a pseudonym when making your comments. Responses will not be regarded as confidential unless confidentiality is specifically requested.
In some cases, the Reef Authority may share your response, including your name, with partner agencies or the applicant for the purposes of finalising the assessment process or policy position on a particular issue.
Should the proposed collection, use or disclosure of your personal information (including sensitive information) differ from this notice, a separate Privacy Collection Notice will be included in the public consultation materials for the relevant matter.
The Reef Authority will not otherwise use or disclose any other personal information you provide except in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Further information about how the Reef Authority collects and handles personal information and the Authority’s complaints process can be found in our privacy policy.
This notice does not imply approval of the application for permission or policy position. Due consideration will be given to the provided public comments before the Authority makes any decision in relation the relevant matter.
