While Responding to Non-compliance

ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 110 officers responsible for making enforcement decisions. In addition, there is only limited guidance available to assist investigations staff to determine the appropriate circumstances for undertaking alternative responses, which includes: public education; advisory letters GBRMPA’s most frequent response to permit non-compliance; permit suspensions, variations and revocations; and prosecutions.

7.8 There is significant scope for GBRMPA to update and improve the

guidance available to its staff on initiating responses to non-compliance in accordance with its compliance policy. Such guidance could include: • factors to be considered when determining an appropriate response such as the nature and severity of the harm caused, the objectives of the law, the impact the contravention has on the integrity of the regulatory system, and any aggravating and mitigating circumstances; • examples of potential enforcement responses to common offences along with their advantages and disadvantages; and • clearly identifying the GBRMPAFMCU officers or their positions responsible for making enforcement decisions. Obtaining and recording non-compliance allegations and incidents

7.9 Sound processes to identify, refer and record non-compliance allow

regulators to undertake timely investigations, take proportionate enforcement action and facilitate the establishment of accurate and complete compliance histories that can be used for risk assessment purposes. GBRMPA’s draft Compliance Policy indicates that the effective management of compliance is reliant upon the gathering, management, analysis and dissemination of sound regulatory intelligence. To this end, the FMCU maintains a Compliance Management Information System CMIS database with on-line access to facilitate the recording, storage, searching and retrieval of compliance-related information.

7.10 A primary source of regulatory intelligence captured in the CMIS

database is formal incident reports. GBRMPA’s Compliance Management and Investigation Procedures require any allegation of non-compliance received by GBRMPA or FMCU partner agencies to be recorded in writing when received or as soon as practicable thereafter and forwarded to the FMCU for assessment. The FMCU has developed hard-copy and electronic templates available on ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 111 GBRMPA’s website to encourage the collection of all relevant information relating to non-compliance incidents, including the name of the complainants and source of the allegations. 123 A telephone number is also provided on GBRMPA’s website to enable complainants to contact the FMCU during business hours and out of hours for incidents requiring an urgent response.

7.11 Incidents and investigations related to breaches of permit conditions

have historically represented less than five per cent of all breach incidents and non-compliance investigations recorded by GBRMPA. The CMIS database indicates that there have been 76 reported breaches of GBRMP permit conditions, which have resulted in 59 permit-related non-compliance investigations during the period July 2012 to June 2014. 124

7.12 Nearly half of the permit-related non-compliance incidents recorded in

the CMIS database were initially reported by GBRMPA staff including those from the FMCU and EAP Section or Border Protection Command 125 which had previously been tasked with patrolling areas of the Marine Park by the FMCU. Other sources of permit-related non-compliance incidents were island caretakers, members of the public, other permit holders and current or ex-employees of permit holders Figure 7.2 provides a the breakdown of sources of permit-related non-compliance incidents. 123 GBRMPA’s website allows users to record and lodge incident details, including photographs. Sources of allegations include: members of the public; commercial operators; other Commonwealth or state agencies; audit or review processes; and intelligence and surveillance activity. 124 This data relates to identified incidents and investigations classified as ‘breach of permit’ in CMIS. However, depending on the circumstances, an individual breach may be classified in multiple ways in CMIS—for example, as a breach of permit, unpermitted activity or breach of a plan of management—and its classification may change over time. As a consequence, there may be additional incidents and investigations related to permits that have not been identified in the ANAO’s analysis due to their classification. 125 Border Protection Command reports vessel sightings from its day-to-day border patrol duties, as well as specific surveillance activities tasked by GBRMPA’s FMCU.