While a co-ordinated risk-based program of inspections has not been To guide the conduct of the visits, audits and inspections, GBRMPA has Site inspections are an effective tool to identify aspects of permit

ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 106 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. Recommendation No.4

6.36 To improve the effectiveness of permit compliance monitoring, the

ANAO recommends that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority: a develop and enhance standard operating procedures for undertaking compliance monitoring activities including in relation to post-approval reporting requirements; and b implement a coordinated, risk-based program of compliance monitoring activities. GBRMPA’s response: Agreed. ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 107

7. Responding to Non-compliance

This chapter examines the arrangements established by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to respond to non-compliance with permit conditions, including the frameworks and systems underpinning enforcement. Introduction

7.1 The conditions attached to GBRMP permits are considered necessary by

GBRMPA to manage the risks to the Marine Park posed by the permitted activities. Therefore, ongoing compliance with these conditions requires effective monitoring, with potential or identified non-compliance by permit holders investigated and appropriate enforcement action taken, where necessary. To assess the arrangements established to respond to identified non-compliance, the ANAO examined GBRMPA’s: • enforcement framework; • recording of non-compliance allegations and incidents; and • conduct and outcomes of non-compliance investigations. Enforcement framework

7.2 In mid-late 2013, GBRMPA began developing a compliance management

policy and strategy to outline its approach to, and the principles that guide, its compliance and enforcement activities. The latest draft of the compliance management policy dated March 2014 119 outlines, among other things, the range of compliance and enforcement measures available to GBRMPA, including: • education, information and awareness measures; • administrative measures including cautions, warnings, orders, and the variationsuspensionrevocation of permits; 119 GBRMPA informed the ANAO in May 2015 that the draft policy is expected to receive GBRMPA Board endorsement in the first quarter on 2015–16.