A risk-based supplementary monitoring program is also an important

ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 22 by the ANAO over the period from July 2012 to July 2014. 23 Further, there were shortcomings in GBRMPA’s delivery and documentation of some of the activities that were undertaken.

34. Overall, permit monitoring undertaken by GBRMPA has been

insufficient to determine permit holders’ compliance with permit conditions. Improved monitoring of permit holders’ compliance with post-approval reporting requirements and the establishment of a risk-based program of supplementary monitoring would better position GBRMPA to manage the risks posed to the Marine Park by permitted activities. Responding to Non-compliance Chapter 7

35. While GBRMPA is working to develop revised compliance policy,

strategy and guidance documentation, the material developed to date is generally in draft form and does not address all fundamental regulatory requirements. GBRMPA should improve compliance and enforcement guidance materials to better assist staff to effectively respond to non-compliance in a consistent and timely manner.

36. The EAP Section is well-positioned to identify non-compliance with

permit conditions, particularly in relation to post-approval reporting requirements. However, many instances of non-compliance that were evident from permit monitoring activities undertaken by the EAP Section were not reported to the FMCU and, as a result, were not recorded in the Compliance Management Information System CMIS to enable analysis and assessment for potential enforcement action. 24 The implementation of new processes for 2014–15 to record potential permit holder non-compliance with post-approval reporting requirements will better position GBRMPA to take timely and appropriate enforcement action.

37. GBRMPA’s CMIS database indicates that 59 of the 76 permit-related

non-compliance incidents identified over the period July 2012 to June 2014 were investigated. However, the reasons for deciding whether to investigate 23 The supplementary monitoring undertaken was limited to nine of the 27 facilityworksstructure and mooring permits and two of the 70 tourism-related permits in relation to ecotourism certification considerations. 24 Of the 81 instances of non-compliance detected by the ANAO over the period from July 2012 to September 2014 from an examination of GBRMPA records relating to 32 of the 185 permits examined, only 18 instances 22.2 per cent relating to one permit had been recorded as non-compliance incidents in CMIS. ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 23 these incidents were generally not documented in 89.5 per cent of cases and the prioritisation of, and planning for, investigations was not undertaken in accordance with established procedures. Further, while half of the 51 finalised investigations were completed within a relatively short time period 10 days or less, extended timeframes were required to finalise a significant proportion of investigations—many of which have been impacted by consistent, lengthy delays of months, and even years in obtaining timely information or action from other areas of GBRMPA outside of the FMCU.

38. In general, the documentation of enforcement decision-making in

relation to permit-rated non-compliance has been poor. In relation to the 51 finalised investigations: • the officer making the enforcement decision and the date when the decision was made was unclear in 21 cases 41 per cent and 18 cases 35 per cent, respectively; and • the FMCU retained documentation to sufficiently explain the reasons underpinning the enforcement decision in only seven cases, with partially complete documentation retained for a further 14 cases. 25

39. While enforcement actions have generally been executed as intended

by GBRMPA and the FMCU with advisory letters the most common action taken, there were a small number of cases related to the education of permit holders where the investigations were closed despite enforcement action not having been undertaken. GBRMPA should better document the reasons for key decisions taken during investigations and verify that enforcement action has been undertaken prior to the closure of investigations. Summary of entity response

40. GBRMPA’s summary response to the proposed report is provided

below, while the full response is provided at Appendix 1. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority the Authority agrees without qualifications with all five recommendations contained within the report. The Authority had already identified the need to strengthen its permissions system through commitments in the Great Barrier Reef Region Strategic Assessment 25 The type of enforcement action such as advisory letter or prosecution had little or no bearing on the extent to which reasons were documented.