Marine Permits information
What permit or authorisation do I need?
Firstly, determine whether the activity (or part of the activity) will take place within Queensland waters and/or within the Marine Parks. You can find detailed information on the boundaries and zones of these areas on the Marine Parks Authority website.
Secondly, determine what activities are allowed within the location/zone where your activities will take place. If your research activities will be conducted ‘outside’ the marine park boundaries, you may only require a General Fisheries Permit from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) or a Research Permit from the Department of Environment and Science (DES). If your research activities will be conducted within the marine park, you may require authorisation from both managing agencies (GBRMPA and DAF) or an authorisation letter from JCU.
Further information on the types of permits or authorisations that you may require are outlined in the three sections below.
Under the Fisheries Act 1994, activities involving the ‘take or possession’ of marine organisms, marine plants or other marine resources for the purpose of education or research within Queensland tidal waters requires authorisation.
General Fisheries Permit - Application Process
To apply for authorisation to ‘take or possess’ from Queensland waters, you will need to submit a General Fisheries Permit application to Fisheries Queensland. Instructions and application forms can be found on the Queensland Government Fisheries Permits website.
The timeline for assessment of a General Fisheries Permit application is within 30 days, however this may take longer for complex applications. It is important that you submit your application as early as possible.
Under particular circumstances, such as short term (<6 months) research projects or unexpected project modifications (not enough time to gain an amendment), you may be eligible to apply for authorisation to conduct research under an existing permit held by JCU. To apply, complete the Application for ‘Letter of Authorisation (PDF, 330 KB) form and email your documents to JCU's Marine Permits Custodian at marinepermits@jcu.edu.au.
For more information, consult the following documents;
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is jointly managed by GBRMPA (also referred to as ‘The Authority’) and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS). All activities carried out within the Marine Park boundaries as part of JCU research will require either a permit from the GBRMPA or a letter of authorisation from the University. The type of permit or authorisation that you require is based on the ‘zone’ you are conducting research in and it is important that you are aware of the activities allowed or prohibited in that zone.
For more information, consult the following documents;
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations, 2019
Managing Research in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Will I need to apply for a Marine Parks permit?
Firstly, you will need to determine if your research activities meet the criterion of ‘Limited Impact Research’ (extractive or non-extractive). This definition can be found in Section 20 to 21 of The Regulations. If your research activity meets this criteria, you may apply for permission from JCU to conduct research under a ‘Letter of Authorisation’ and may not require a Marine Park permit. This is described in further detail in the next section.
You will be required to obtain permission from GBRMPA in the form of a Marine Park permit if your research activities fall in to one or more of the following categories;
- Does not meet the definition of ‘limited impact research’ or ‘limited impact sampling’
- Take of specimens above limits in Section 20 and Schedule 6 (The Regulations 2019)
- Extractive research (defined in Section 20) in a Marine National Park Zone.
- Take of a protected species (defined in Section 30).
- Navigating a research ship outside the Designated Shipping Area.
- Installing large-scale and/or long-term research equipment that may limit people’s use of an area.
- Long-term study that has potential to significantly impact on a Marine Park value or reasonable use of the Marine Park or that may limit people’s use of an area.
For further information, please consult the GBRMPA website. Researchers whom, after consulting these resources, still experience difficulty in making an assessment on a particular research activity, can contact the GBRMPA for assistance with the determination.
Marine Parks Permit – Application Process
To apply for permission (in the form of a permit) to conduct research activities in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, you will need to submit an application through the online application portal on the GBRMPA website. Further information on the application and assessment process can be found on the Authority’s website or in the resources section below;
The timeframe for assessment of an application may be more than 90 days and is largely influenced by the quality of information provided in the application. To minimise the amount of time for a decision, you should carefully read the ‘Application Guidelines’ and the ‘Checklist of application information’.
For clarification on any matters relating to the permission system, email assessments@gbrmpa.gov.au or call (07) 4750 0860 between 9am and 2pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Limited Impact Research (non-extractive and extractive) may be conducted within the Marine Park under a ‘Letter of Authorisation’ issued by an accredited educational or research institution. James Cook University has been accredited by the GBRMPA pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding and Code of Conduct. This accreditation allows the official JCU delegate to approve applications to conduct limited impact research (extractive or non-extractive) in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
How do I determine if my research activities are classified as ‘Limited Impact’?
Regulations 20 and 21 of The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019 (The Regulations 2019) define ‘limited impact research’ and ‘limited research sampling’. If your research activities will involve ‘taking’ from the marine park, you must also check the limits on taking species of fish and invertebrates in Schedule 6 of the Regulations 2019.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019 (Cth)
Limited impact research can only be carried out in General Use, Habitat Protection, Conservation Park, Scientific Research, Buffer (non-extractive only), and Marine National Park (non-extractive only) zones of the Marine Parks and is further restricted by methods and equipment that may be used and by sampling (take) limits.
Letter of Authorisation – Application Process
If your research activities meet the criteria of Limited Impact Research (extractive or non-extractive), you may apply for permission from JCU to conduct research under a ‘Letter of Authorisation’. Applicants are required to complete the application form below and forward the required documentation to the Marine Permits Custodian at JCU via marinepermits@jcu.edu.au. Applicants must familiarise themselves with the relevant legislation and JCU policies and procedures before completing the application.
Application for ‘Letter of Authorisation’
Application for ‘Letter of Authorisation’
The timeline for assessment of internal applications is approximately 30 days, however this may take longer for complex applications. It is important that you submit your application as early as possible. If approved, a letter of authorisation will be issued to the researcher and associated staff. Applications which are not approved will be returned with a reason for denial and the chance to propose amendments.
If your research activities meet the criteria of Limited Impact Research (extractive), you may also be required to obtain a General Fisheries Permit. It is recommended that you apply for your own permit (see previous section), however under particular circumstances, you may apply for authorisation to use an existing permit that is held by JCU. Researchers may apply for both authorisations on the same application form (above). Only submit one application form per ‘project’.
Researchers are reminded that all research activities must be conducted in line with:
JCU / GBRMPA Memorandum of Understanding
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019 (Cth)
Requirements and Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the authorised researcher (or permit holder) to familiarise themselves with the relevant legislation and university policies and procedures before undertaking research within Queensland waters. It is also the responsibility of the authorised researcher to comply with the specific conditions under which the authorisation has been granted.
Researchers must at all times carry the Letter of Authorisation while working within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The Letter of Authorisation serves as an indication to compliance officers that researchers and/or other personnel are undertaking research under the auspices of an accredited educational or research institution for the purposes of the Zoning Plan. If a Letter of Authorisation is not able to be produced when required, the researcher or other personnel is liable to be prosecuted for contravention of the Zoning Plan.
Researchers must submit ‘collection’ reports upon the completion of short term projects or annual reports for projects operating over twelve (12) months. In addition, all researchers must submit a copy of the report, thesis or any publication/s arising from the research conducted in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
All submissions must be made to marinepermits@jcu.edu.au after which reports will be collated into an annual report submitted to GBRMPA.
Failure to comply with the GBRMPA regulations or the JCU accreditation conditions of use may result in severe penalties and/or fines from GBRMPA, and refusal of future permit applications via JCU.
Amendments and extensions
In the event that you require an extension of authorisation for your research, please make written application in advance of the end-date of your existing authorisation. The research cannot continue beyond the end-date of authorisation unless an extension has been approved by the relevant Head of School or their delegate in advance. Please note that extensions or amendments cannot be granted retrospectively.
All requests for changes to approved projects must be submitted via email to the Marine Permit Custodian at marinepermits@jcu.edu.au.
Frequently asked questions
A ‘research location’ is defined in Section 5 of The Regulations as “a discrete, identified reef or a continuous non-reef area of up to 1000 hectares”. A research ‘site’ is defined in The Guidelines as “an area of 3000 square meters within a research location”. The zoning map below of Orpheus Island (taken from ‘Map 7 Townsville’) shows there are five discrete reefs located around Orpheus Island. These five reefs are;
- Pioneer Bay (18-049a) – Scientific Research Zone
- Hazard Bay (18-049b) – Conservation Park Zone
- Harrier Point (18-049c) – Conservation Park Zone
- South East Orpheus Island Reef (18-049d) – Marine National Park
- North East Orpheus Island Reef (18-049e) – Scientific Research Zone
You can find a list of all discrete, identified reefs listed in The GBRMP Zoning Plan, 2003.
The limits on taking species of fish and invertebrates for limited impact research (extractive) is found in Schedule 6 of The Regulations. The collection limits are listed in the fourth column of the table. The maximum annual collection limit is listed first, with a sub limit per location listed secondarily. For example, for a single research project, you may collect an annual limit of 20 surgeonfish per species, with no more than 5 per species from a single research location (Item 16, Schedule 6, The Regulations).
Protected species cannot be collected under limited impact research and will be listed as ‘no animals to be taken’.
If your target species is not listed in Schedule 6, refer to Section 20 (4). For a single research project, you may collect an annual limit of 200 animals of a particular species, with no more than 50 per species from a single research location.
Marine plants (including macro algae and seaweed) are protected in Queensland under provisions of the Fisheries Act 1994. The removal destruction or damage of marine plants requires authorisation under the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) or through a development application under the Planning Act 2016.
Collection location is outside of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
If you are collecting macro algae from waters outside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (within Queensland), you will require a DAF permit if your collections exceed a 20L bucket of algae per day. If your collections are less than a 20L bucket per day, your work can be covered under the DAF ‘Accepted development requirements for marine plants’ and you do not require additional authorisation. However, all other conditions outlined in the DAF ‘Accepted development requirements for marine plants’ must be met, including providing notification to the authority. For more information, consult Section 4 (Work Type 1.16) and Section 3 of the ‘Accepted development requirements for marine plants’.
Collection location is within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
If you are collecting macro algae from within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, you will require permission from both DAF and GBRMPA. The type of permission depends on the collection location and quantity. If your collection is less than a 20L bucket of macroalgae per day, your collection meets the requirements of limited impact research (extractive) and may be authorised under a letter of approval from an accredited institution (such as JCU). If you plan to collect more than 20L of macro algae per day, you will need to apply for your own research permit with GBRMPA and DAF. See the sections above for information on applying for permits. For more information, consult Section 20 (2d) of The Regulations.
A ‘minor research aid’ is defined in Section 5 of The Regulations. The limitations on the use of ‘minor research aids’ is explained in further detail in Table 3. of The Guidelines for Managing Research in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
The type of permission you require depends on the collection location and quantity. If you collect no more than 20L of wet sediment for a research project per year and no more than 100L of sea water for a research project per year, your collection meets the requirements of limited impact research (extractive) and may be authorised under a letter of approval from an accredited institution (such as JCU). If you plan to collect more than 20L of wet sediment for a research project per year and more than 100L of sea water for a research project per year, you will need to apply for your own research permit with GBRMPA and DAF. See the sections above for information on applying for permits. For more information, consult Section 20 (2b-c) of The Regulations.
As general rule, research activities are not allowed within ‘waters adjacent to’ Palm Island (18-054) without consultation and agreement with the traditional owners of the area. 'waters adjacent to' means in relation to a reef, the waters enclosed by 'the 500 metre line' and in relation to an island or the mainland, the waters enclosed by 'the coastal 500 metre line'. This restriction is therefore extended to Curacoa Island reef, due to its proximity to Palm Island. This means that limited impact research cannot be conducted under the JCU accreditation around Palm Island or Curacao Island and researchers should apply for their own research permit with GBRMPA.
You will find information regarding filming and photography in the marine park by consulting the following two documents;
The Guidelines for Managing Research in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
The Guidelines for Photography, filming and sounds recording