{"id":"F2022L00427","name":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Indian Ocean Territories Marine Parks) Proclamation 2022","slug":"environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-indian-ocean-territories-marine-parks-proclamat","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":441311,"registerId":"F2022L00427-fast-fetch-1775956642230","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Indian Ocean Territories Marine Parks) Proclamation 2022","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Indian Ocean Territories Marine Parks) Proclamation 2022\n\nI, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following Proclamation.\n\nSigned and Sealed with the\n\nGreat Seal of Australia on\n\n 17 March 2022\n\nDavid Hurley\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nSussan Ley\n\nMinister for the Environment\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\n5 Declaration of Commonwealth reserves\n\n6 Names of Commonwealth reserves\n\n7 Purposes for Commonwealth reserves\n\n8 Depth of land included in Commonwealth reserves\n\n9 Depth of seabed included in Commonwealth reserves\n\n10 IUCN categories of Commonwealth reserves\n\n11 Zones of Commonwealth reserves\n\n12 Geographic coordinates\n\nSchedule 1—Indian Ocean Territories Marine Parks\n\nPart 1—Christmas Island Marine Park\n\n1.1 Name of reserve\n\n1.2 Area of reserve\n\n1.3 Zones for reserve\n\n1.4 Zone 1 of reserve—national park zone\n\n1.5 Zone 2 of reserve—habitat protection zone\n\nPart 2—Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park\n\n2.1 Name of reserve\n\n2.2 Area of reserve\n\n2.3 Zones for reserve\n\n2.4 Zone 1 of reserve—national park zone\n\n2.5 Zone 2 of reserve—habitat protection zone\n\n2.6 Zone 3 of reserve—national park zone\n\n2.7 Zone 4 of reserve—national park zone\n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Indian Ocean Territories Marine Parks) Proclamation 2022.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 31 March 2022\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 344(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) Commonwealth reserve;\n\n(b) exclusive economic zone;\n\n(c) IUCN category.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.\n\nChristmas Island National Park is the Commonwealth reserve to which the name Christmas Island National Park was given by Proclamation continued in force by the Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 1999, as in force on the day this instrument commences.\n\nPulu Keeling National Park is the Commonwealth reserve to which the name Pulu Keeling National Park was given by Proclamation continued in force by the Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 1999.\n\nterritorial sea baseline means the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured under section 7 of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973.\n\n5  Declaration of Commonwealth reserves\n\n  The areas described in Schedule 1 are declared to be Commonwealth reserves.\n\n6  Names of Commonwealth reserves\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 346(1)(a) of the Act, the name of each Commonwealth reserve is the name given to the reserve in Schedule 1.\n\n7  Purposes for Commonwealth reserves\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 346(1)(b) of the Act, each Commonwealth reserve mentioned in Schedule 1 has the following purposes:\n\n (a) to protect and conserve biodiversity and other natural, cultural and heritage values;\n\n (b) to provide for ecologically sustainable use that supports positive social and economic outcomes.\n\n8  Depth of land included in Commonwealth reserves\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 346(1)(c) of the Act, if a Commonwealth reserve mentioned in Schedule 1 includes land, the land is included to a depth of 1,000 metres.\n\n9  Depth of seabed included in Commonwealth reserves\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 346(1)(d) of the Act, each Commonwealth reserve mentioned in Schedule 1 includes the seabed to a depth of 1,000 metres.\n\n10  IUCN categories of Commonwealth reserves\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 346(1)(e) of the Act, each Commonwealth reserve mentioned in Schedule 1 is assigned to IUCN category II (national park).\n\n11  Zones of Commonwealth reserves\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 346(2) of the Act, if a Commonwealth reserve mentioned in Schedule 1 is divided into zones:\n\n (a) the zones are identified in the Schedule; and\n\n (b) each zone is assigned an IUCN category.\n\n12  Geographic coordinates\n\n (1) Geographic coordinates in this instrument are expressed in terms of the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994.\n\nNote: The Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (also known as GDA94) was published in Gazette No. GN 35 of 6 September 1995.\n\n (2) However, the geographic coordinates in items 1 to 3 of the table in subclause 1.2(2) of Schedule 1 are expressed in terms of the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84).\n\nSchedule 1—Indian Ocean Territories Marine Parks\n\nNote: See sections 5 to 11.\n\nPart 1—Christmas Island Marine Park\n\n \n\n1.1  Name of reserve\n\n  This reserve is the Christmas Island Marine Park.\n\nNote: Section 7 states the purposes of the reserve, section 8 states the depth of any land that may be included in the reserve, section 9 states the depth of the seabed included in the reserve and section 10 states the IUCN category for the reserve.\n\n1.2  Area of reserve\n\n (1) The Christmas Island Marine Park consists of an area in the Indian Ocean that is enclosed by:\n\n (a) the outer boundary line described in subclause (2); and\n\n (b) the inner boundary line described in subclause (3).\n\n (2) The outer boundary line is the line commencing at the point described in item 1 of the following table and running progressively as described in the table.\n\n \n\n- Outer boundary line\n- Item Description\n- 1 The point of latitude 8°52′14.1″S, longitude 102°34′12.7″E\n- 2 South‑easterly along the geodesic to the point of latitude 9°46′49.8″S, longitude 105°50′55.4″E\n- 3 South‑easterly along the geodesic to the point of latitude 11°10′24.6″S, longitude 109°01′25.8″E\n- 4 Generally south‑westerly then north‑westerly along the outer limit of Australia’s exclusive economic zone to the point of commencement\n\n\nNote: Items 1 to 3 follow the boundary established by Article 3 of the Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia establishing an Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary and Certain Seabed Boundaries, as done at Perth on 14 March 1997.\n\n (3) The inner boundary line is the line commencing at the point described in item 1 of the following table and running progressively as described in the table.\n\n \n\n- Inner boundary line\n- Item Description\n- 1 The point of latitude 10°24′00″S, longitude 105°43′00″E\n- 2 South along the meridian of longitude 105°43′00″E to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 10°28′00″S\n- 3 West along the parallel of latitude 10°28′00″S to its intersection by the low water mark\n- 4 Generally south‑westerly along the low water mark to its intersection by the boundary of the Christmas Island National Park (Hosnies Spring Section)\n- 5 Generally south‑westerly along the seaward boundary of the Christmas Island National Park (Hosnies Spring Section) to its intersection by the low water mark\n- 6 Generally south‑westerly along the low water mark to its intersection by the boundary of the Christmas Island National Park (Ross Hill Section)\n- 7 Generally south‑westerly along the seaward boundary of the Christmas Island National Park (Ross Hill Section) to its intersection by the low water mark\n- 8 Generally southerly then westerly along the low water mark to its intersection by the boundary of the Christmas Island National Park (Murray Hill Section)\n- 9 Generally northerly, then westerly, then northerly and then easterly along the seaward boundary of the Christmas Island National Park (Murray Hill Section) to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 105°39′10.858″E\n- 10 North along the meridian of that longitude to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 10°24′00″S\n- 11 East along the parallel of latitude 10°24′00″S to the point of commencement\n\n\n1.3  Zones for reserve\n\n (1) The Christmas Island Marine Park is divided into the following zones:\n\n (a) the national park zone described in clause 1.4 of this Part;\n\n (b) the habitat protection zone described in clause 1.5 of this Part.\n\n (2) The national park zone described in clause 1.4 of this Part is assigned to IUCN category II (national park).\n\n (3) The habitat protection zone described in clause 1.5 of this Part is assigned to IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area).\n\n1.4  Zone 1 of reserve—national park zone\n\n  Zone 1 of the reserve (also identified as cinpz01) consists of an area that is enclosed by:\n\n (a) the outer boundary line described in subclause 1.2(2) of this Part; and\n\n (b) the boundary line commencing at the point described in item 1 of the following table and running progressively as described in the table.\n\n \n\n- Zone 1 of reserve—boundary line\n- Item Description\n- 1 The point of latitude 10°12′40″S, longitude 105°19′45″E\n- 2 East along the parallel of latitude 10°12′40″S to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 105°55′00″E\n- 3 South along that meridian of longitude to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 10°46′20″S\n- 4 West along that parallel to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 105°19′45″E\n- 5 North along that meridian to the point of commencement\n\n\n1.5  Zone 2 of reserve—habitat protection zone\n\n  Zone 2 of the reserve (also identified as cihpz01) consists of an area that is enclosed by:\n\n (a) the boundary line described in paragraph 1.4(b) of this Part; and\n\n (b) the inner boundary line described in subclause 1.2(3) of this Part.\n\nPart 2—Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park\n\n \n\n2.1  Name of reserve\n\n  This reserve is the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park.\n\nNote: Section 7 states the purposes of the reserve, section 8 states the depth of any land that may be included in the reserve, section 9 states the depth of the seabed included in the reserve and section 10 states the IUCN category for the reserve.\n\n2.2  Area of reserve\n\n  The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park consists of an area in the Indian Ocean and in parts of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Lagoon that:\n\n (a) is enclosed by:\n\n (i) the boundary of the outer limit of Australia’s exclusive economic zone adjacent to Cocos (Keeling) Islands; and\n\n (ii) the inner boundary line commencing at the point described in item 1 of the following table and running progressively as described in the table; and\n\n (b) excludes the area that is the Pulu Keeling National Park.\n\n \n\n- Area of reserve—reserve boundary line\n- Item Description\n- 1 The point of latitude 12°05′01″S, longitude 96°51′30″E\n- 2 East along the parallel of latitude 12°05′01″S to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 96°53′19.5″E\n- 3 South along that meridian to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°05′38″S\n- 4 South‑westerly along the geodesic to the point of latitude 12°05′40″S, longitude 96°53′3.5″E but following the high water mark around the southern tip of Direction Island\n- 5 South‑easterly along that geodesic to the point of latitude 12°05′44.5″S, longitude 96°53′4.5″E\n- 6 North‑easterly along the geodesic to the point of latitude 12°05′44.25″S, longitude 96°53′6″E\n- 7 South along the meridian of longitude 96°53′6″E to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°06′00″S\n- 8 East along that parallel to its intersection by the territorial sea baseline\n- 9 Generally south‑easterly along that baseline to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°07′27″S\n- 10 West along that parallel to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 96°53′21.862″E\n- 11 South‑westerly along the geodesic to its intersection by the high water mark at West Island at the parallel of latitude 12°09′59.476″S\n- 12 Along the high water mark in a generally southerly, then westerly, then northerly, then southerly direction to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°10′06″S on the western side of North Lagoon\n- 13 South‑easterly along the geodesic to its intersection by the high water mark at West Island and the meridian of longitude 96°49′44.546″E\n- 14 Along that high water mark in a generally south‑easterly, then north‑easterly, then north‑westerly direction to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 96°51′26.1″E at the tip of West Island\n- 15 North along that meridian to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°11′29″S\n- 16 East along that parallel to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 96°51′54″E\n- 17 South along that meridian to its intersection by the territorial sea baseline off the south‑eastern corner of West Island\n- 18 Generally westerly, then north‑westerly, then northerly along the territorial sea baseline to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°08′31.98″S\n- 19 Easterly along that parallel by the high water mark at West Island\n- 20 Generally north‑easterly along the high water mark to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°08′24.84″S\n- 21 West along that parallel to its intersection by the territorial sea baseline\n- 22 Northerly along that baseline to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°08′00″S\n- 23 East along that parallel to its intersection by the meridian of longitude 96°49′19″E\n- 24 North‑easterly along the geodesic to the point of latitude 12°06′00″S, longitude 96°51′30″E\n- 25 North along the meridian of longitude 96°51′30″E to the point of commencement\n\n\n2.3  Zones for reserve\n\n (1) The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park is divided into the following zones:\n\n (a) the national park zones described in clauses 2.4, 2.6 and 2.7 of this Part;\n\n (b) the habitat protection zone described in clause 2.5 of this Part.\n\n (2) The national park zones described in clauses 2.4, 2.6 and 2.7 of this Part are assigned to IUCN category II (national park).\n\n (3) The habitat protection zone described in clause 2.5 of this Part is assigned to IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area).\n\n2.4  Zone 1 of reserve—national park zone\n\n  Zone 1 of the reserve (also identified as ckinpz01) consists of an area that is enclosed by:\n\n (a) the boundary of the outer limit of Australia’s exclusive economic zone adjacent to Cocos (Keeling) Islands; and\n\n (b) the boundary line commencing at the point described in item 1 of the following table and running progressively as described in the table.\n\n \n\n- Zone 1 of reserve—boundary line\n- Item Description\n- 1 The point of latitude 11°46′18″S, longitude 96°45′52″E\n- 2 East along the parallel of latitude 11°46′18″S to the intersection by the meridian of longitude 96°58′55″E\n- 3 South along that meridian of longitude to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°15′41″S\n- 4 West along that parallel to its intersection of the meridian of longitude 96°45′52″E\n- 5 North along that meridian to the point of commencement\n\n\n2.5  Zone 2 of reserve—habitat protection zone\n\n  Zone 2 of the reserve (also identified as ckihpz01) consists of an area that:\n\n (a) is enclosed by:\n\n (i) the boundary line described in paragraph 2.4(b) of this Part; and\n\n (ii) the inner boundary line described in subparagraph 2.2(a)(ii) of this Part; and\n\n (b) excludes the following areas:\n\n (i) the area described in clause 2.6 of this Part;\n\n (ii) the area described in clause 2.7 of this Part;\n\n (iii) the area that is the Pulu Keeling National Park.\n\n2.6  Zone 3 of reserve—national park zone\n\n  Zone 3 of the reserve (also identified as ckinpz02) consists of an area adjacent to the south‑eastern end of Direction Island known as The Rip that is bounded by the line commencing at the point described in item 1 of the following table and running progressively as described in the table.\n\n \n\n- Zone 3 of reserve—boundary line\n- Item Description\n- 1 The point of latitude 12°05′40″S, longitude 96°53′3.5″E\n- 2 North‑easterly along the geodesic to the point of latitude 12°05′38″S, longitude 96°53′19.5″E but following the high water mark around the southern tip of Direction Island\n- 3 South along the meridian of longitude 96°53′19.5″E to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°05′42″S\n- 4 South‑westerly along the geodesic to the point of latitude 12°05′44.5″S, longitude 96°53′4.5″E\n- 5 North‑westerly along the geodesic to the point of commencement\n\n\n2.7  Zone 4 of reserve—national park zone\n\n  Zone 4 of the reserve (also identified as ckinpz03) consists of an area at the southern end of the place known as Trannies Beach, West Island, that is bounded by the line commencing at the point described in item 1 of the following table and running progressively as described in the table.\n\n \n\n- Zone 4 of reserve—boundary line\n- Item Description\n- 1 The point of intersection of the parallel of latitude 12°08′24.84″S with the territorial sea baseline adjacent to West Island\n- 2 East along that parallel to its intersection by the high water mark at West Island\n- 3 Generally south‑westerly along the high water mark to its intersection by the parallel of latitude 12°08′31.98″S\n- 4 West along that parallel to its intersection by the territorial sea baseline\n- 5 Generally northerly along that baseline to the point of commencement\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument declares the areas in Schedule 1 to be Commonwealth reserves (section 5), gives them names (section 6), sets purposes (section 7), depth extents (sections 8–9) and IUCN categories (section 10). It does not state that it amends or revokes earlier instruments. Decision authority is shown in the preamble (Governor‑General acting with advice of the Federal Executive Council) and by express reliance on subsection 344(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (clause 3). The proclamation is silent about permit regimes, enforcement mechanisms, fees or which agency will carry out on‑water compliance; compliance burdens therefore arise from the spatial restrictions set out in clause 11 and Schedule 1 but implementation details are not specified in the text."},"complexity_factors":["Extensive, technical geospatial boundary descriptions in Schedule 1 (Parts 1–2) requiring precise mapping and translation into GIS products.","Use of two geodetic datums (Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 and WGS84) for different coordinates (clause 12(1)–(2)), raising survey and conversion complexity.","Multiple zones with different IUCN assignments and purposes (clauses 1.3, 2.3, clause 10) creating spatially varying legal rules.","Cross‑references to the EPBC Act powers (clause 3 cites subsection 344(1); clause 11 refers to subsection 346(2)) and to external limits (EEZ outer limit, territorial sea baseline), requiring legal and nautical context.","Interplay with existing terrestrial reserve boundaries and exclusions (e.g. references to Christmas Island National Park, Pulu Keeling National Park in Schedule 1), which complicates perimeter definitions (Schedule items referencing low/high water marks and park boundaries).","Reliance on descriptive phrases such as ‘generally south‑westerly’ and references to high/low water marks and geodesics in Schedule entries creates potential for interpretation disputes and operational mapping decisions."],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation legally creates two Commonwealth marine parks around Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, setting their mapped boundaries, management zones, depth limits and IUCN categories. It declares conservation and ecologically sustainable‑use purposes for those waters. The measure affects anyone operating in the designated areas (for example fishers, tour operators and resource interests) by changing which activities are allowed inside the mapped zones."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of establishing marine parks in the Indian Ocean Territories. The scope is limited to declaring the reserves, naming them, setting their purposes, defining their boundaries with precision, and establishing zones. There is no evidence of scope creep beyond the core function of creating these protected areas under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999."},"complexity_factors":["Extensive use of precise geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude to seconds and decimals) requiring specialist cartographic knowledge to interpret","Multiple boundary descriptions using technical terms like 'geodesic', 'meridian', 'parallel', 'territorial sea baseline', and 'high water mark'","Cross-references to external treaties (1997 Australia-Indonesia Treaty) and other legislation (Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 1999)","Nested boundary definitions where inner boundaries reference outer boundaries and vice versa (e.g., Zone 2 boundaries depend on Zone 1 and the reserve boundary)","Exclusion clauses that carve out existing protected areas (Pulu Keeling National Park) from the new marine park","Dual coordinate systems used (Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 for most, but World Geodetic System 1984 for specific items in Christmas Island boundary)","Reliance on defined terms from the parent Act (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) including 'Commonwealth reserve', 'exclusive economic zone', and 'IUCN category'"],"plain_english_summary":"The Proclamation creates two Commonwealth marine parks around Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, declaring large ocean, seabed and adjacent coastal areas as protected. It establishes zones with differing protection levels—strict national park areas and more flexible habitat protection—to regulate activities. The parks affect fishers, commercial and tourism operators, researchers and local communities, protecting biodiverse reefs and marine life across Australia’s exclusive economic zone while allowing sustainable use in designated areas."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-indian-ocean-territories-marine-parks-proclamat","history":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-indian-ocean-territories-marine-parks-proclamat/history","analysis":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-indian-ocean-territories-marine-parks-proclamat/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-indian-ocean-territories-marine-parks-proclamat/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-indian-ocean-territories-marine-parks-proclamat/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/environment-protection-and-biodiversity-conservation-indian-ocean-territories-marine-parks-proclamat/documents"}}