Marine Estate Management Regulation 2017

This Regulation is the Marine Estate Management Regulation 2017.

This Regulation commences on 1 September 2017 and is required to be published on the NSW legislation website.

Note.

This Regulation replaces the Marine Estate Management Regulation 2009 which is repealed on 1 September 2017 by section 10 (2) of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989.

In this Regulation:

permit means a permit under Part 2.

the Act means the Marine Estate Management Act 2014.

Note.

The Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Regulation.

If a provision of this Regulation requires or authorises the relevant Ministers to take any action or decide any matter, the provision is taken only to require or authorise the relevant Ministers to take the action jointly or decide the matter jointly.

Notes included in this Regulation do not form part of this Regulation.

This Regulation has effect subject to section 65 of the Act.

Note.

Section 65 of the Act provides that any requirements made by or under Part 5 of the Act are in addition to any requirement in any other Act or statutory instrument, such as requirements under the Fisheries Management Act 1994 and the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

Nothing in this Regulation is to be construed as authorising the harming of any particular species of plant or fish, or the harming of any plants or fish by a particular method, in contravention of the Fisheries Management Act 1994, the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 or statutory instruments made under those Acts.

In addition, nothing in this Regulation is to be construed as authorising the carrying out of any activity in contravention of a marine park notification or aquatic reserve notification under section 57 of the Act.

If this Regulation, the Marine Estate Management (Management Rules) Regulation 1999 or a marine park notification or aquatic reserve notification under section 57 of the Act requires the consent of the relevant Ministers before an activity may be carried out, the consent is to be in accordance with this Part.

An application for the consent of the relevant Ministers to the carrying out of an activity in a marine park or an aquatic reserve must be made in the form approved by the relevant Ministers.

The relevant Ministers may make a written request to any person who has made an application for consent to carry out any activity for further information to assist the Ministers in considering the application.

The relevant Ministers do not have to consider an application if any request for further information is not complied with within the time specified by the relevant Ministers in the request.

The relevant Ministers must have regard to the assessment criteria in deciding whether or not to give consent to the carrying out of any activity in a marine park or an aquatic reserve.

This clause does not apply to applications for consent to carry out activities (including educational or research activities) that the relevant Ministers consider will have minimal impact on the biodiversity, enjoyment or use of the marine park or aquatic reserve.

This clause does not limit the factors that the relevant Ministers may have regard to when considering an application for consent to carry out an activity.

For the purposes of this Part and section 54 (6) of the Act, the following matters are the assessment criteria for deciding whether or not to give consent to the carrying out of any activity in a marine park or an aquatic reserve:

the objects of the Act (as specified in section 3 of the Act),

the purposes of marine parks and aquatic reserves (as specified in sections 22 and 33 of the Act respectively),

the objects of the zone in which the activity is proposed to be carried out,

the activities that are permissible in the zone in which the activity is proposed to be carried out (as specified in the relevant management rules),

any operational plan for the marine park adopted by the Marine Parks Authority pursuant to section 25 (4) of the Marine Parks Act 1997 (before its repeal) that continues to have effect because of clause 5 of Schedule 2 to the Marine Estate Management Act 2014,

any management plan for the marine park or aquatic reserve,

any threatened species or other protected flora or fauna under the Fisheries Management Act 1994, the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 or the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 that may be affected by the proposed activity,

the form of transport to be used to gain access to the zone in, on or from which the activity is proposed to be carried out, having regard to the adequacy of facilities for parking, mooring and landing vehicles, vessels and aircraft, and for loading and unloading them,

the type of equipment to be used in connection with the proposed activity,

the arrangements that have been made for the prevention, mitigation and making good of any damage to the marine park or aquatic reserve arising from the proposed activity,

such other requirements as the relevant Ministers consider appropriate to the proposed activity.

The relevant Ministers must not give consent to the carrying out of any activity in a marine park or an aquatic reserve that, in the opinion of the relevant Ministers, is inconsistent with the objects of the Act or the purposes of marine parks and aquatic reserves.

The relevant Ministers must not give consent to the carrying out of any activity contrary to the provisions of any determination in force under clause 20.

The relevant Ministers may refuse to give consent to the carrying out of any activity in a marine park or an aquatic reserve if:

the application for consent was not made in the approved form, or

the applicant has failed to respond to a request for further information made under clause 7 or has responded in a way that the relevant Ministers consider is unsatisfactory, or

the applicant has been convicted of an offence under the Act or this Regulation, or under similar legislation of another jurisdiction, in the 12 months before the application was made, or

the applicant has been issued with 2 or more penalty notices for offences under the Act or this Regulation in the 12 months before the application was made (and the penalty notices have not been withdrawn and the relevant charges have not been dismissed by a court), or

the proposed activity is inconsistent with the assessment criteria (to the extent that those criteria are applicable to the application).

This clause does not limit the factors that the relevant Ministers may take into account when considering an application for consent under this Part.

The consent of the relevant Ministers to the carrying out of an activity in a marine park or an aquatic reserve is to be given in the form of a written permit.