Statutory review of the regulated standards under the Reef protection regulations
You are invited to provide feedback on the environmentally relevant activity (ERA) standards (regulated standards), prescribed methodologies and guides, which are part of the Reef protection regulations for commercial sugarcane and banana cultivation and beef cattle grazing in the Great Barrier Reef catchment.
Feedback from agricultural producers, peak bodies and others with an interest in the regulated standards is an important part of the review. The review team wants to hear about:
- whether parts of the sugarcane, banana and grazing regulated standards (and supporting materials) may be difficult to understand and, as a result, may be difficult to comply with
- relevant recent studies or projects that will help ensure the standards remain evidence based and current with industry practices that minimise nutrient and sediment run-off.
The scope of the review is limited to the regulated standards and supporting materials. The review is not looking at changes to the legislative framework, such as the offence provisions or the regions prescribed within the Great Barrier Reef catchment.
Feedback received that is within scope will help inform a report that contains the review findings. Any proposed updates to the regulated standards and supporting materials will be subject to a formal regulatory process and public consultation, post-review.
Subscribe here to receive updates on the consultation activities and regulated standards.
For more information or questions about the statutory review of the regulated standards:
- visit www.qld.gov.au/ReefRegulations
- email officeoftheGBR@detsi.qld.gov.au
- call 13 QGOV (13 74 68), or
- ask a question.
How to provide your feedback
You can provide your feedback in a number of ways:
- completing an anonymous survey select "Take Survey" below (preferred) or download and complete the PDF from the Documents section. The survey has a range of questions about your experiences with understanding and implementing the requirements of the standard(s).
- submitting a comment online (unlimited text) – select "Leave a comment" below to provide your written feedback.
- emailing officeofthegbr@detsi.qld.gov.au.
- chatting with a member of the review team – register here. The 30-minute chats provide a friendly and informal setting to provide feedback via telephone or MS Teams. The review team is available on weekdays from early June to early August 2025 for the chats.
- participating in a workshop – register here for the online workshop on 29 May 2025 about the sugarcane regulated standard. Other workshops will be added soon to this page.
Public consultation closes Friday 8 August 2025.
Privacy statement
It is important that you feel comfortable to answer the survey openly and honestly, so we have explained the purpose and use of the survey responses below.
What is involved?
You will be asked some questions about your experience with the regulated standards as part of a survey for the statutory review of the regulated standards being conducted by the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI).
Responding to the survey should take no more than 15 minutes.
What is the purpose?
Your feedback will inform the statutory review of the regulated standards and help us understand whether changes are needed to the regulated standards and supporting documents to make them easier to understand and clear to comply with, fit for purpose and evidence based.
What is the data used for?
The primary purpose of the survey data is to inform the statutory review of the regulated standards.
De-identified data (i.e. no personal information is included) may also be used to inform other projects funded by the Queensland or Australian Governments related to improving water quality flowing to local waterways and the Great Barrier Reef. It may be also used in publications and reports. It may be used for research purposes and, as such, may be provided to research institutions. No identifying information will be shared.
The survey is anonymous but you will be given the option to provide your contact details if you would like to discuss a matter with the review team.
We will only use your personal information for this purpose. It will otherwise not be used or disclosed unless authorised or required by law. Your personal information will not be used for compliance purposes.
How is the data managed?
Where survey participants, such as yourself, have completed the survey, the data is provided to DETSI staff involved with the project and any relevant associated projects. The data will only be transferred to DETSI if you press the ’submit’ button at the end of the survey. The data will be stored in a secure folder with limited access on a secure, online platform. The platform is called ‘In the loop’, hosted by EngagementHQ, a third-party cloud-based service platform owned and operated by Granicus.
Your responses will be strictly confidential.
Your personal information will be handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009.
For further details view the DETSI privacy policy.
What if I don’t want to answer some of the questions?
Taking part in this survey is voluntary and you can stop responding to the survey at any time. Data will only be transferred to DETSI after you have clicked the ‘submit’ button at the end of the survey. You are welcome to skip any questions.
Where can I find out more information?
Please email any queries to OfficeoftheGBR@detsi.qld.gov.au.
