Australia's Maritime Boundaries and Zones
Under international law, Australia has rights and responsibilities over its adjacent waters. The main international agreement outlining these rights and responsibilities is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In general, Australia has greater rights over the maritime zones closer to its coasts.
Australia’s maritime zones are:
Internal waters are any waters on the landward side of the territorial sea baseline. The baseline is generally the low-water mark, but straight baselines may be drawn further out from the low-water mark to encompass areas such as the mouths of rivers, bay, ports, roadsteads and fringing reefs.
Australia’s territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles* from the territorial sea baseline. Due to the proximity of Papua New Guinea, the territorial sea around certain Torres Strait islands is only three nautical miles wide, in accordance with the Torres Strait Treaty entered into with Papua New Guinea.
Australia’s territorial sea is governed by the Commonwealth, States and Territories in accordance with the offshore constitutional settlement.
Australia’s contiguous zone is adjacent to its territorial sea, extending up to 24 nautical miles from its territorial sea baseline. In this zone, Australia may exercise the control necessary to prevent or punish infringements of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations.
Australia’s exclusive economic zone extends from the outer edge of the territorial sea up to 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline. The outer limit is less than 200 nautical miles in some areas, in accordance with agreements with neighbouring countries.
In the exclusive economic zone, Australia has sovereign rights to explore and exploit, conserve and manage the natural resources of the waters, seabed and subsoil. Jurisdiction also extends to the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures, marine scientific research, the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and other rights and duties.
Australia’s continental shelf is the area of the seabed and subsoil extending beyond the territorial sea for up to 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline and beyond that distance to the outer edge of the continental margin as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Australia’s continental shelf has been mapped and the details of this submitted to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Australia has sovereign rights over the continental shelf for the purposes of exploring and exploiting the mineral and other non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil, together with sedentary organisms. In this area, Australia also has jurisdiction with regard to marine scientific research as well as other rights and responsibilities.
* A nautical mile is a unit of distance equal to 1,852 metres.
Australia’s maritime zones are set out in:
- Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973
- Seas and Submerged Lands (Territorial Sea Baseline) Proclamation 2006
- Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation 2006
- Seas and Submerged Lands (Limits of Continental Shelf in the Tasman Sea and South Pacific Ocean) Proclamation 2005