The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (the Reef Authority) prepares a Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report (Outlook Report) for the Great Barrier Reef Region (the Region) every five years. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Cth) (the Act) and the associated regulations specify what the report must contain and the relevant statutory timeframes (Appendix 1).
The Outlook Report underpins decision making for the long-term protection of the Great Barrier Reef (the Reef). Its purpose is to provide an accountable and transparent assessment of the overall performance of measures to protect and manage the Reef. The report provides a summary of the long-term outlook for the Reef based on assessments of condition, use, influencing factors, management effectiveness, resilience and risks.
The Outlook Report is a key input to Reef management, the review of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan)2 and reviews of zoning plans. It also plays a significant role in informing Australia’s reports to the World Heritage Committee addressing the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The first Outlook Report was released in 2009,3 the second in 2014 4 and the third in 2019.5
The Act does not provide for the Outlook Report to include recommendations about future protection or management initiatives. Rather, the report provides an evidence-based assessment that identifies future trends, risks and threats, to inform future protection and management initiatives. The Outlook Report 2024 builds upon previous reporting, predominantly since 2019. While much of the report’s assessment focuses on retrospective performance over a five-year period, a forward-looking long-term outlook is also provided (Chapter 10).
