Australian Maritime Boundaries 2014a: Territorial Sea Limits and Offshore Zones

Geoscience Australia delineates Australia's domestic and international maritime limits and boundaries. This 2014 geodatabase provides a digital representation of territorial sea baselines, outer limits of maritime zones, and state/Territory offshore area limits under Australian legislation. The coverage spans waters adjacent to the mainland, offshore islands, and External Territories, approximately between latitudes 7°S to 70°S and longitudes 40°E to 175°E.

Use Cases

• Mapping territorial sea baselines and maritime zone outer limits based on the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973.
• Determining state and Northern Territory offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage areas based on the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006.
• Analyzing maritime boundaries established by treaties with neighbouring countries.
• Visualizing coastal waters jurisdiction under the Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 and related legislation.

Strengths

• Published by Geoscience Australia in consultation with Commonwealth agencies including the Attorney-General's Department and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
• Coordinates are supplied in the GDA94 datum, functionally equivalent to WGS84.
• Includes technical amendments based on user feedback, such as harmonization of datasets in block SC51.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is limited; column-level documentation is absent.
• Data currency is May 2014; freshness should be verified for current applications.
• The description notes that in the event of an inconsistency between this data and legislative limits, the latter prevails.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Developed as part of Geoscience Australia's primary role in delineating maritime limits and boundaries.

Time Range

Currency May 2014.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 00:16:30.501616; data currency is May 2014.

Geography

Australian marine jurisdiction, including waters adjacent to the mainland, offshore islands, and External Territories, approximately 7°S to 70°S, 40°E to 175°E.