Mooring access

Why is this project important?

With the expected increase of boating activity in the future, we need to plan for this demand while managing the marine estate's social, economic and environmental benefits.

This project aims to meet the demand for safe and sustainable boating access to our waterways.

What are we doing?

Transport is working to review and modernise the management and administration of moorings to balance the need to improve access to moorings with protecting the marine environment.

Transport has a number of areas of focus including:

• Continued improvement and implementation of policies for processing and issuing of moorings.
• Optimise mooring density in mooring fields to better meet demand.
• Working with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to streamline approval pathways for moorings.
• Progressing the development of mooring guidelines and research into environmentally friendly moorings (EFMs).

What have we achieved so far?

• Transport is conducting a collaborative research program with the CSIRO to gather an evidence base for developing best practice guidelines and regulatory options to increase EFM use and awareness.
• Stages 1, 2 and 3 have been completed. In water EFM trials and monitoring continues. Regular mooring audits have been incorporated in business-as-usual practices, with each mooring being audited every 2 years, with high-risk moorings being the priority.

Statewide

Transport for NSW

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW)