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

ANAO Report No.3 2015–16 Regulation of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals 67 which time its application had been handled by four different GBRMPA assessing officers with differing views of assessment requirements.

3.32 While permit holders and other stakeholders expressed some positive or

neutral comments on GBRMPA’s permit assessment performance, most comments highlighted perceived shortcomings or areas for improvement. The issues raised by permit holders and general stakeholders in submissions provided to the ANAO—apart from the timeliness of application processing— include: • GBRMPA’s scientific skills and knowledge—permit holders and some general stakeholders acknowledged the high level of scientific marine knowledge within GBRMPA, while other general stakeholders considered that additional technical expertise in relation to ports, shipping and dredging would be beneficial; • communication—permit holders were generally satisfied with their communication with GBRMPA as their permit applications progressed though the assessment process. However, general stakeholders held mixed views, with some satisfied with their communication with GBRMPA while others were dissatisfied; • the basis for assessments—some general stakeholders expressed concern about ‘shifting goalposts’ in regards to the information GBRMPA required to assess non-routine applications and a need for GBRMPA to balance the science with ‘real-life’ operational practicalities; and • risk management—some general stakeholders considered that permit application assessments would benefit from a more rigorous consideration of risks to the Marine Park based on scientifically documented environmental threats. Conclusion

3.33 GBRMPA places a heavy reliance on the templates that it has developed

to assess mandatory and discretionary considerations and risks associated with the routine permit application assessments that comprise around 90 per cent of all Marine Park permit application assessments. The templates generally facilitated an appropriate assessment of the permitted activities most commonly requested by applicants for the various permit types such as vessel-based tourism and research against most mandatory considerations, some relevant