The assessments of permit applications by assessment officers against

ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 64 Review of draft permit application assessment reports

3.25 The review certifies the accuracy and completeness of draft permit

applications assessment reports after endorsements have been obtained from QPWS where requested and, from April 2013, that the applicants have paid any outstanding environmental management charges and the Reef Permits database has been updated. 74

3.26 As outlined earlier in Chapter 2, the checksheets, where prepared,

generally documented the review of permit application processing and assessment reports, but the significant gaps in the completeness of many of certified checksheets reduced the effectiveness of the reviews as a quality assurance measure. In relation to the 79 permit application assessments examined by the ANAO: • records supporting only one of the four non-routine permit assessments without completed checksheets provides a clear indication that the permit assessment process and the draft permit application assessment report were reviewed within the EAP Section before the assessment report was submitted to the delegate for decision; • the checksheets do not evidence that the reviews had been undertaken as required for four assessments 5.1 per cent; and • 48 of the 68 checksheets 70.6 per cent reviewed by managers were incomplete. Timeliness of permit application assessment processing

3.27 Minimising the time taken to assess permit applications enables

GBRMPA to: facilitate timely access to the Marine Park for new applicants to undertake their permitted activities or operations; and promptly reassess the risks posed by the permitted activities or operations of expiring permit holders who seek a new permit. GBRMPA’s permit processing procedures have established a target timeframe of 60 days to assess routine applications. Assessment timeframe targets have not been established for non-routine applications, which are generally more complex and, therefore, expected to take longer to assess. 74 Checksheet templates were updated in April 2013 to reflect a new requirement for assessment officers to record, and assessment managers to certify, that applicable environmental management charges had been paid and that the Reef Permits database had been updated. ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 65 Assessment timeframes for all permit applications

3.28 In relation to routine applications, GBRMPA has not met its assessment

timeframe target for a significant proportion of routine applications, with assessments taking much longer to complete than the target of 60 days. GBRMPA achieved its target timeframe for assessing routine applications 57.4 per cent of the time 413 of the 720 routine applications during the period July 2012 to June 2014. A further 226 routine applications 31.4 per cent required up to 120 days to assess, while the remaining 81 applications 11.2 per cent took between 120 days and around two years to complete. GBRMPA’s assessment timeframes for routine permits to new applicants and current permit holders are provided at Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1: Elapsed days to assess routine applications July 2012 to June 2014 Source: ANAO analysis of GBRMPA information.

3.29 In relation to non-routine applications, GBRMPA required up to 90 days

to complete assessments for 15 of the 63 applications 23.8 per cent, and up to a year to assess a further 28 applications 44.4 per cent. Assessments for the remaining 22 applications required between one and nearly four years to complete with the longest assessment for a new applicant being two years and eight months. 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 0- 30 3 1- 60 6 1- 90 91 -1 20 12 1- 15 15 1- 18 18 1- 21 21 1- 24 24 1- 27 27 1- 30 30 1- 33 33 1- 36 36 1- 39 39 1- 42 42 1- 45 45 1- 48 48 1- 51 51 1- 54 54 1- 57 57 1- 60 60 1- 63 63 1- 66 66 1- 69 69 1- 72 72 1- 75 75 1- 78 78 1- 81 N o. of P e rm it A ppl ic a ti ons Elapsed Days Permits to New Applicants Replacement Permits Target assessment timeframe