Australian Maritime Boundaries 2014a: Territorial Sea and Economic Zone Limits

Geoscience Australia delineates Australia's maritime jurisdiction, including territorial sea baselines and outer limits of economic zones. The data is a digital representation of limits established under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, covering waters adjacent to the mainland, offshore islands, and External Territories. This version, published in May 2014, includes technical amendments based on user feedback.

Use Cases

• Map maritime jurisdiction for legal and regulatory purposes based on the described territorial sea baselines and zone limits.
• Determine offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage areas under the OPGGSA based on the included scheduled area limits.
• Analyze maritime boundaries with neighboring countries based on the treaty data incorporated into the dataset.
• Visualize the extent of Australia's coastal waters for environmental or security assessments based on the geographic coverage described.

Strengths

• Data is produced by the authoritative national agency Geoscience Australia in consultation with other Commonwealth departments.
• Coverage is extensive, spanning from 7°S to 70°S latitude and 40°E to 175°E longitude, including all external territories.
• Dataset incorporates technical amendments based on direct user feedback, suggesting iterative improvement.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data currency is May 2014; freshness should be verified for current applications.
• The description notes that in the event of inconsistency, legislative limits prevail over the digital data.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, developed in consultation with the Attorney-General's Department, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Australian Hydrographic Office.

Collection Method

Digital representation and harmonization of legal maritime limits and boundaries.

Time Range

Data reflects the legal situation as of May 2014.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-17 01:03:16.445103; data reflects limits as of May 2014.

Geography

Australia's marine jurisdiction, including the mainland, offshore islands, and External Territories (approx. 7°S to 70°S, 40°E to 175°E).