• Quick links:
• Field Management Program video
• Reef Joint Management Program Business Strategy Summary 
• Annual Business Plan Summary

Each year more than two million people visit the Great Barrier Reef. For many Reef users, the public face of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park’s management effort is the field officers they meet when they’re out on the water or on an island.

Field officers are crucial to the management of the World Heritage Area. This includes making sure there is up-to-date regional and site-specific information for visitors, education groups and commercial users on how to enjoy the Reef responsibly.

Facilities such as public moorings, reef protection markers, campgrounds, picnic areas and amenities, walking tracks and lookouts are there to ensure everyone can have a great time out on the Reef and its islands while looking after them for future visitors.

What does the Field Management Program do?

The Field Management Program maintains 127 reef protection markers where there is no anchoring allowed and 128 public-use moorings.

This infrastructure protects the Reef where anchoring would otherwise damage the fragile reefs visitors come to enjoy and facilitates use at sites where visitation is high.

They also look after 163 kilometres of walking track, 111 campgrounds, 21 boardwalks and lookouts and 15 kilometres of public roads.

These well-constructed visitor facilities provide safety and enjoyment to visitors and help protect the environment from human impacts.

Further information about island national parks is available at the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation. Here you can obtain information about the natural and cultural values and the facilities of the island you are visiting.

Some islands in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area are Commonwealth Islands that are subject to private lease arrangements and Department of Defence activities or are managed by a caretaker.

These islands have additional management arrangements in place.

Great Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement

Building the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef is central to the long-term future of this great natural wonder. Given the Reef’s size and complexity, we need to ensure environmental protection while allowing people to benefit through its sustainable use.

Through the Great Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement, the Australian and Queensland governments have been working together for the long-term management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Out on the water, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, through the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, operate a joint field management program for the marine and island national parks, encompassing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park.

The field team delivers practical on-ground actions to protect and maintain well-functioning marine and island ecosystems that support the Great Barrier Reef's economic, traditional and recreational uses.

• Their work involves: 
• conservation and monitoring
• incident response 
• welcoming visitors
• upholding compliance.