Director of National Parks is a

government-owned corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

of the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...

responsible for the management of a portfolio of

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

and

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a con ...

s proclaimed under the ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

'' (''EPBC Act''). The agency is a

corporation sole A corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ("sole") incorporated office, occupied by a single ("sole") natural person.

. Parks Australia (formerly the Australian Nature Conservation Agency and the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service) is a division of the

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) was an Australian Government department which operated from 1 February 2020 until 30 June 2022. It represented Australia's national interests in agriculture, water and th ...

which supports the Director of National Parks in the management of six Commonwealth national parks, the

Australian National Botanic Gardens The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departm ...

, and Australian marine parks.

Legal status and history

The Director of National Parks was established under the EPBC Act as a corporation sole, i.e. the corporation is constituted by the person appointed to the office named the Director of National Parks. It was established on 17 July 2000 upon the proclamation of the EPBC Act and is a continuation of the office of the ''Director of National Parks and Wildlife'' which existed under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975''. As of May 2018, the office is held in an acting capacity by Dr. Judy West who succeeds Sally Barnes who was director from 2014 to 2018 and Peter Cochrane who was director from 1999 to 2013.

Responsibilities

The Director of National Parks’ responsibilities under the EPBC Act include:

* Managing Commonwealth reserves and conservation zones * Protecting biodiversity and heritage in Commonwealth reserves and conservation zones * Carrying out research relevant to Commonwealth reserves * Cooperating with other countries to establish and manage national parks and nature reserves in those countries * Making recommendations to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment.

Portfolio and delegations

The Director of National Parks’ portfolio consists of the following groups of protected areas: # Six Commonwealth national parks # The

# 58 Australian marine parks and # One Commonwealth marine reserve. The management of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Commonwealth Marine Reserve has been delegated by the Director of National Parks to the

Australian Antarctic Division The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The Division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the ...

, another agency within the Department of the Environment and Energy. The portfolio does not include the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

because this protected area is managed by another departmental agency, the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

Parks Australia

Parks Australia (formerly the Australian Nature Conservation Agency and the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service) is a division of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment since 2020 (previously the

Department of the Environment and Energy The Department of the Environment and Energy (DEE) was an Australian government department in existence between 2016 and 2020. The department was responsible for matters including environment protection and conservation of biodiversity as well ...

). Parks Australia staff are part of the federal environment portfolio. It supports the Director of National Parks in the management of six Commonwealth national parks, the

, and Australian Marine Parks. For the financial year 2016-17, Parks Australia had a staffing level averaging at 321 people and consisted for four sections reporting directly to the Director of National Parks and the following three branches – the Joint Management Branch, the Marine Protected Areas Branch and the Parks Island & Biodiversity Science Branch.Organisational structure chart
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References

External links

* * *

Links to state agencies

* (state agencies and major Commonwealth-managed parks) {{authority control Protected area administrators of Australia Government-owned companies of Australia