Sustainable Ports Development Act 2015

The purpose of this Act is to provide for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area through managing port-related development in and adjacent to the area.

The purpose is achieved by—

prohibiting particular future development in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area; and

providing for the development of master plans that establish a long-term vision for the future development of priority ports consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development; and

implementing master plans through port overlays that regulate development in and surrounding priority ports.

Also, the purpose is to be achieved in a way that includes the following—

long-term planning for priority ports to provide a strategic and coordinated approach to managing economic, environmental, cultural and social values in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area;

concentrating port development in priority ports;

recognising the diverse functions of the port network, including trade, tourism and defence operations;

efficiently using port and supply chain infrastructure;

expanding port and supply chain capacity in a staged and incremental way to meet emerging demand for imports and exports;

identifying and protecting land and infrastructure critical to the effective operation of the port network.