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Protected areas of Australia facts for kids

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Protected areas of Australia include Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas managed by the Australian government, as well as protected areas within each of the six states of Australia and two self-governing territories, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, which are managed by the eight state and territory governments.

Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas in the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, the Christmas Island Territory, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Territory, the Norfolk Island Territory and the Australian Antarctic Territory are managed by Director of National Parks, an agency within the Department of the Environment and Energy, with the exception of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, a separate body within the department.

As of February 2022 protected areas cover 1,518,814.69 km2 (586,417.63 sq mi) of Australia's land area, or about 19.75% of the total land area. The Australian Capital Territory has the highest level of protection at nearly 56% of its territory, followed by Tasmania with 42% and South Australia with 30%. The lowest level of protection is in Queensland and New South Wales with 8.71% and 9.61% respectively. Of all protected areas, two-thirds are considered strictly protected (IUCN categories I to IV), and the rest is mostly managed resources protected area (IUCN category VI). Over 43% of the protected area in Australia is publicly owned and managed by the Australian government or state and territory governments. The second-largest component of protected areas are the Indigenous Protected Areas, at over 44% and growing as of February 2022.

Protected areas managed by the Australian government

The following list shows only the Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas that are managed by the Australian government which represents a small portion of all protected areas located in Australia. Each state and territory is responsible for the management of the protected areas under its jurisdiction with exception to protected areas such as the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory. The majority of Australian protected areas are managed by the state and territory governments.

National Parks

The following protected areas which are designated as national parks are managed by the Australian government and in some instances in conjunction with indigenous land owners:

Australia's first national park - and the second in the world - is Royal National Park in New South Wales, established in 1879.

Botanical Gardens

Antarctic Specially Protected Areas

As of 2014 there are 12 Antarctic Specially Protected Areas

  • Amanda Bay
  • Ardery Island and Odbert Island
  • Clark Peninsula
  • Frazier Islands
  • Hawker Island
  • Marine Plain
  • Mawson's Huts
  • North-eastern Bailey Peninsula
  • Rookery Islands
  • Scullin and Murray Monoliths
  • Stornes
  • Taylor Rookery

Antarctic Specially Managed Areas

As of 2014 there is 1 Antarctic Specially Managed Area

  • Larsemann Hills

Marine reserves

The Australian Government manages an estate of marine protected areas known as Commonwealth marine reserves (CMR) which was established under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

South-West Network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves

The South-west Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network consists of the following reserves - Abrolhos, Jurien, Two Rocks, Perth Canyon, Geographe, South-west Corner, Eastern Recherche, Twilight, Bremer, Great Australian Bight, Murat, Western Eyre, Western Kangaroo Island and Southern Kangaroo Island.

North-West Network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves

The North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network consists of the following reserves - Carnarvon Canyon, Shark Bay, Gascoyne, Ningaloo, Montebello, Dampier, Eighty Mile Beach, Argo-Rowley Terrace, Mermaid Reef, Roebuck, Kimberley, Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island.

North Network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves

The North Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network consists of the following reserves - Oceanic Shoals, Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Arafura, Arnhem, Wessel, Limmen, Gulf of Carpentaria and West Cape York.

Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve

The Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve covers part of the Coral Sea immediately east of the Great Barrier Reef.

Temperate East Network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves

The Temperate East Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network consists of the following reserves - Jervis, Hunter, Cod Grounds, Solitary Islands, Central Eastern, Gifford, Lord Howe and Norfolk.

South East Network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves

The South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network consists of the following reserves - Apollo, Beagle, Boags, East Gippsland, Flinders, Franklin, Freycinet, Huon, Macquarie Island, Murray, Nelson, South Tasman Rise, Tasman Fracture and Zeehan.

The Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve

The Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve covers the waters surrounding the Heard Island and McDonald Islands.

Calperum and Taylorville Stations

For more details, see Calperum Station (reserve) and Taylorville Station (reserve)

Calperum and Taylorville Stations are pastoral leases located next to each other near Renmark in South Australia and which were purchased for conservation purposes using both private and Australian government funds. Calperum Station was purchased by the Chicago Zoological Society in 1993 while Taylorville Station was purchased by the Australian Landscape Trust in 2000 with the ownership of both leases being deeded to the Director of National Parks. Both properties are managed by the Australian Landscape Trust.

Historic Shipwrecks with protected zones

The following historic shipwrecks lie within protected or no-entry zones declared under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 for protection and management purposes.

Protection arising from Australian government policy and international treaty obligations

World Heritage listed areas

Source: UNESCO

For more details, see List of World Heritage Sites in Oceania

Ramsar sites

As a contracting party to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (known as the Ramsar Convention), Australia is encouraged "to nominate sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or that are important for conserving biological diversity, to the List of Wetlands of International Importance". As of March 2014, the Australian Government has nominated 65 Ramsar sites.

For more details, see List of Ramsar sites in Australia

Biosphere reserves

The following biosphere reserves belonging to the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve program are located within Australia:

For more details, see List of biosphere reserves in Australia

Indigenous protected areas

An indigenous protected area (IPA) is a class of protected area formed by agreement with Indigenous Australians and formally recognised by the Australian government as being part of the National Reserve System. As of August 2013, 60 IPAs with a total area of 48,000,000 hectares (120,000,000 acres) have been declared.

For more details, see Indigenous Protected Area

Protected areas managed by Australian states and territories

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