Australian Maritime Boundaries 2020: Legal Zones and Limits

Geoscience Australia delineates Australia's domestic and international maritime limits and boundaries. This 2020 geodatabase provides a digital representation of zones established under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, updated to reflect the 2018 Timor Sea Treaty. Coverage includes 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 exclusive economic zones based on the legal delineation described.
• Analyzing offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage areas under the OPGGSA 2006 based on the included limits.
• Visualizing maritime boundaries established by treaties with neighboring countries based on the treaty data mentioned.
• Supporting coastal state powers analysis for Australian States and the Northern Territory based on the represented limits.

Strengths

• Published by Geoscience Australia in consultation with other relevant Commonwealth Government agencies, including the Attorney-General's Department.
• Data currency is August 2019, with an update reflecting the 2018 Timor Sea Treaty.
• Coverage is comprehensive for the entire Australian marine jurisdiction, including external territories.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality and schema require manual inspection after download.
• In the event of an inconsistency between this data and legislative limits, the latter prevails, as stated in the disclaimer.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia

Collection Method

Delineation and digital representation of legal maritime limits and boundaries.

Time Range

Currency August 2019.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 08:56:53.185778; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia including all external territories, approximately 7°S to 70°S, 40°E to 175°E.