Australian Maritime Boundaries 2014a: Territorial Limits and Offshore Zones

May 2014 data from Geoscience Australia provides a digital representation of Australia's maritime limits and boundaries as established under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973. The dataset includes territorial baselines, outer limits of maritime zones, treaty boundaries with neighboring countries, and limits for state and territory offshore areas. Coverage spans the Australian marine jurisdiction from approximately 7°S to 70°S latitude and 40°E to 175°E longitude.

Use Cases

• Mapping territorial sea baselines and exclusive economic zones based on the legal limits described.
• Analyzing offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage areas under the OPGGSA 2006 based on the included scheduled area limits.
• Visualizing international maritime boundaries determined by treaties with neighboring countries.
• Supporting coastal and marine spatial planning based on the jurisdictional boundaries for Australian states and territories.

Strengths

• Developed by the authoritative national agency Geoscience Australia in consultation with other Commonwealth departments.
• Includes technical amendments based on user feedback, such as harmonization in block SC51.
• Provides a comprehensive digital representation of legally established maritime zones for a specific snapshot in time (May 2014).

Limitations

• The data snapshot is from May 2014; legal or geographical changes after this date are not reflected.
• Row count and detailed column-level documentation are unknown, requiring inspection after download.
• The description notes that in case of inconsistency, the legal limits under legislation 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 delineation of legal maritime limits and boundaries from legislation and treaties.

Time Range

Snapshot as of May 2014.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 06:55:51.430720; however, the underlying data currency is May 2014.

Geography

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