Australian Maritime Boundaries 2014a: Geodatabase of Territorial Limits

Geoscience Australia developed this digital representation of Australia's maritime zones, including territorial baselines and international treaty boundaries. The data covers the Australian marine jurisdiction from approximately 7°S to 70°S latitude and 40°E to 175°E longitude, with a currency date of May 2014. It was published in consultation with Commonwealth agencies including the Attorney-General's Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Use Cases

• Delineating maritime zones for legal and administrative purposes based on the described limits under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973.
• Mapping offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage areas based on the representation of scheduled areas under the OPGGSA.
• Analyzing coastal state powers and territorial waters based on the limits established under the Coastal Waters Acts.
• Visualizing international maritime boundaries with neighboring countries based on the treaty data included.

Strengths

• Data is produced by the authoritative national agency, Geoscience Australia, in consultation with other key government departments.
• Coverage is extensive, encompassing the mainland, offshore islands, and External Territories within defined latitudinal and longitudinal limits.
• Includes technical amendments based on user feedback, such as harmonization in block SC51.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality and structure require manual inspection after download.
• Data currency is May 2014; freshness should be verified for current applications.
• The description notes that in the event of an inconsistency, the legal limits prevail over the digital data.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Delineation of legal maritime limits and boundaries, developed as a GIS data product.

Time Range

Currency May 2014.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 04:45:01.073232; primary data currency is May 2014.

Geography

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