Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975

The master or owner of a regulated ship may apply to the Minister for an exemption from the requirement to navigate with a pilot in the compulsory pilotage area.

The application must:

be in writing; and

contain the prescribed information; and

be made in a form approved by the Minister.

The Minister may grant an exemption if, in the Minister’s opinion:

to require that ship to navigate with a pilot would not improve environmental protection in the Great Barrier Reef Region; or

the ship would not pose a threat to the environment because it is likely to remain:

stationary; or

in a limited area;

Without limiting the considerations the Minister may take into account in deciding whether or not to grant an exemption under paragraph (3)(b), the Minister must consider:

the proposed duration of the ship’s stay within the compulsory pilotage area; and

the nature of the area in which the ship will be stationary or navigating within the compulsory pilotage area; and

the purpose of the ship’s proposed stay in the compulsory pilotage area.

The exemption must be in writing and may be given in respect of the whole or part of the ship’s proposed navigation in the compulsory pilotage area.

The Minister may, by writing, delegate to a person referred to in subsection (7) the Minister’s power under this section to grant an exemption.

The people to whom a delegation may be given under subsection (6) are any of the following:

the Authority;

the CEO;

if an arrangement is in force under subsection 48A(2) between the Authority and a corporate Commonwealth entity:

the entity; or

if the entity is constituted by, or is administered by a body consisting of, 2 or more persons—the Chairperson of the entity or of the body, as the case may be; or

the chief executive officer of the entity.