Notice Inviting Comments on a Proposal to Prepare Management Plans for Christmas Island National Park and Pulu Keeling National Park

Administered by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Legislation au C2025G00049 In force Gazette

Legislation content

 

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Notice under subsection 368(2)

NOTICE INVITING COMMENTS ON A PROPOSAL TO PREPARE MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR CHRISTMAS ISLAND NATIONAL PARK AND PULU KEELING NATIONAL PARK

This instrument is to let interested parties know that the Director of National Parks (the Director) proposes to prepare a draft of the 5th Christmas Island National Park Management Plan and the 3rd Pulu Keeling National Park Management Plan.

The Director now invites members of the public to provide comments as part of the development of these plans. Comments must clearly identify the National Park which is the subject of the comments. If comments are intended to apply to both National Parks, this must be clearly expressed. 

Comments will inform the preparation of draft management plans for Christmas Island National Park and Pulu Keeling National Park. The draft management plans will be made available for comment in accordance with subsection 368(5) of the EPBC Act before they are finalised. Once finalised, the plans will guide management of the two national parks for a period of 10 years.

How to Comment

The Comment Period opens on January 31st and all comments must be submitted no later than 11.30 PM AEDT (7:30pm Christmas Island time and 7:00pm Cocos (Keeling) Islands time) on 21st March 2025 by one of the following means:

  1.      The ‘Have your Say’ portal at the following web address: https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/.

 

  1.      Hand delivery to either of the following addresses:

 

Christmas Island National Park Headquarters

Nursery Court

Drumsite

Christmas Island

Pulu (Keeling) National Park Headquarters

Jalan Bunga Mawar

Home Island

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

 

 

Comments submitted after the indicated date or via other means may not be considered in the preparation of the draft management plans.


Privacy Notice

If you choose to make a submission to this consultation process, we will collect personal information about you. Please review this notice before submitting your response.

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The Privacy Act regulates how we may collect, use, disclose and store personal information. We also hold personal information in accordance with the Archives Act 1983 (Cth).

We use technology by Converlens Pty Ltd to provide this consultation service and website. Our contractual arrangements require Converlens to comply with the Privacy Act and store data securely in Australia.

What personal information will be collected

Personal information means information or an opinion about an individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether or not it is true or recorded in material form.

By submitting a response to this consultation, you consent to the Director of National Parks collecting your personal information provided in your response. This may include:

  • your name, address, email address and telephone number
  • your opinions about the Christmas Island National Park and/or Pulu Keeling National Park and how the proposed management of Christmas Island National Park and/or Pulu Keeling National Park may impact you or your community.

How we will use and disclose your personal information

Personal information will be disclosed to staff in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the Director of National Parks, the Minister for the Environment and Water and the Minister’s office for the purpose of informing the development of draft management plans for Christmas Island National Park and Pulu Keeling Park. We will not use or disclose personal information without your consent, except where authorised or required by law.

If you need to include personal information about another individual in your submission, you will need to inform that individual of the contents of this statement and obtain their consent to us collecting their personal information.

For more information, please refer to https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/national-parks/parks-australia/privacy-policy or https://converlens.com/privacy.html.

We may also disclose your personal information where authorised or required by law.

Public disclosure

Your submission will not be published or made publicly available in any format. However, your submission and any personal information provided in response to this consultation process may be used and disclosed as described above.

The Director of National Parks reserves its right to edit, and/ or not consider or publish submissions that contain potentially offensive, defamatory or irrelevant material.

Submissions marked as confidential may be disclosed on a confidential basis as authorised or required by law.

Anonymous submissions

You can provide an anonymous submission. However, this means we cannot contact you about your submission, the consultation process, or other matters relevant to you. It may also limit our ability to take your submission into account.

Privacy Policy and Contact Us

For more information on how we handle personal information, how to access or correct your personal information, and how to make a complaint, see our see our Privacy Policy at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/national-parks/parks-australia/privacy-policy.

The Coverlens privacy policy is available at https://converlens.com/privacy.html.

If you have a question about this privacy notice, please use the Contact Us link on our website at https://parksaustralia.gov.au/about/contact-us/

Further Information

More information about Christmas Island National Park is available at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/national-parks/christmas-island-national-park

 

More information about Pulu Keeling National Park is available at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/national-parks/pulu-keeling-national-park

 

 

For further information or if you have a question, please email IOTnationalparks@dcceew.gov.au.

 

 

[signed]

 

Rob Hanlon

Division Head

On behalf of the Director of National Parks

31/01/2025

 

Overview

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) was enacted to address the need for comprehensive environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in Australia. It was introduced to provide a legislative framework that ensures the protection and management of Australia's environmental assets, including its national parks, in a manner that balances conservation with sustainable development. The EPBC Act is administered by the Australian Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and its primary policy objective is to promote the protection of the environment and biodiversity. This legislative instrument, issued under the EPBC Act, invites public comments on the proposed draft management plans for Christmas Island National Park and Pulu Keeling National Park. The public is encouraged to provide feedback to help shape the final management plans, which will guide the parks' management for the next decade. Personal information provided in submissions will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Archives Act 1983, and the consultation process is facilitated through the 'Have your Say' portal or physical submission at designated addresses.

Scope and Application

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the primary Commonwealth legislation governing the protection and management of matters of national environmental significance. The Act applies to actions or activities that may impact these matters, including the development of management plans for national parks. In this context, the Director of National Parks is proposing to prepare the 5th Christmas Island National Park Management Plan and the 3rd Pulu Keeling National Park Management Plan. These plans will guide the management of these national parks for a decade. The Act provides the Director with the authority to invite public submissions as part of the plan development process, thereby ensuring that the interests and concerns of the community are considered. The invitation for comments is open to the public, and submissions must clearly identify which national park they pertain to. Submissions can be made online through the 'Have your Say' portal or via hand delivery to specified locations on Christmas Island and Pulu Keeling (Cocos) Islands, with a deadline of 21st March 2025. Submissions made after the specified time or via other means may not be considered. The Act’s application is limited to the scope of preparing these management plans, and it does not extend to the broader management or operational activities of the national parks.

Key Provisions

The main sections of the notice under subsection 368(2) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) inform interested parties that the Director of National Parks (the Director) proposes to prepare draft management plans for Christmas Island National Park and Pulu Keeling National Park. Section 368(2) invites public comments on these draft plans, which must be submitted by 11.30 PM AEDT on 21 March 2025. The comments should specifically address the management of each respective national park. Once finalised, these management plans will guide the management of the parks for ten years. Submissions should be made through the 'Have your Say' portal or by hand delivery to specified addresses. The notice also includes a privacy notice that outlines how personal information provided in submissions will be handled and protected under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Archives Act 1983 (Cth). The Act imposes specific obligations on the Director of National Parks, including the responsibility to invite and consider public comments in the development of the draft management plans. It also mandates that the Director ensure that submissions are managed in accordance with privacy laws and that the consultation process is transparent and accessible to the public. The Director is required to collect personal information from submitters, which must be used solely for the purpose of developing the management plans. Additionally, the Director must ensure that any personal information collected is securely stored and handled according to legal requirements. Under the EPBC Act, there are no specified offences, penalties, or consequences for breach of the provisions related to public consultation for management plans. However, the Act does provide mechanisms for the Director to exclude submissions that contain offensive, defamatory, or irrelevant content. Submissions marked as confidential may also be disclosed in accordance with legal requirements. The Act ensures that personal information provided during the consultation process is handled in compliance with privacy laws, and failure to comply could result in legal consequences for the Director of National Parks.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.