The following list shows only the Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas that are managed by the Australian government which represents a small portion of all protected areas located in Australia. Each state and territory is responsible for the management of the protected areas under its jurisdiction with exception to protected areas such as the
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory. The majority of Australian protected areas are managed by the state and territory governments.
National Parks The following protected areas which are designated as national parks are managed by the Australian government and in some instances in conjunction with indigenous land owners: •
Booderee (owned by the
Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and co-managed) •
Christmas Island •
Kakadu •
Norfolk Island •
Pulu Keeling •
Uluru-Kata Tjuta Australia's first national park - and the second in the world - is
Royal National Park in New South Wales, established in 1879.
National Heritage List The
National Heritage List is a
heritage register, a list of
national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and historic places, including those of cultural significance to
Indigenous Australians. Once on the National Heritage List the provisions of the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 apply. Some of these also form part of the
World Heritage Sites listed in a separate section below.
Botanical Gardens •
Australian National •
Booderee (owned by the
Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and co-managed)
Antarctic Specially Protected Areas As of 2014 there are 12 Antarctic Specially Protected Areas •
Amanda Bay •
Ardery Island and Odbert Island •
Clark Peninsula •
Frazier Islands •
Hawker Island •
Marine Plain •
Mawson's Huts •
North-eastern Bailey Peninsula •
Rookery Islands •
Scullin and Murray Monoliths •
Stornes •
Taylor Rookery Antarctic Specially Managed Areas As of 2014 there is 1 Antarctic Specially Managed Area A majority of the reserves are not in effect until new managements plans are released following a review of reserves established in 2012. In addition to the Coral Sea CMR and the Heard Island and McDonald Islands CMR, there are a further 57 Commonwealth marine reserves grouped into 5 geographical regions called
Commonwealth marine reserve networks: • North network (8 reserves) • North-west network (13 reserves) • Temperate East network (8 reserves) • South-east network (14 reserves) • South-west network (14 reserves)
Calperum and Taylorville Stations Calperum and Taylorville Stations are
pastoral leases located next to each other near
Renmark in
South Australia and which were purchased for conservation purposes using both private and Australian government funds.
Calperum Station was purchased by the
Chicago Zoological Society in 1993 while
Taylorville Station was purchased by the Australian Landscape Trust in 2000 with the ownership of both leases being deeded to the
Director of National Parks. Both properties are managed by the Australian Landscape Trust. ==Protection arising from Australian government policy and international obligations==