Harbour Master permission – disturbance of seabed | Port Authority of New South Wales

The written permission of the Harbour Master is required for any proposed works—whether or not they relate to a Port Authority facility—that will disturb the bed of a port or are otherwise subject to section 110 of the Ports and Maritime Administration Regulation 2021.

Section 110 – Disturbance of bed of port states:

"A person must not use drags, grapplings or other apparatus for lifting an object or material from the bed, or otherwise disturb the bed, of a port specified in Schedule 4 except—(a) with the written permission of the relevant harbour master, and (b) in accordance with the conditions of the permission." Maximum penalty—50 penalty units.

Obtaining permission from a Harbour Master to disturb the bed of a port does not imply that any other permission, approval, or consent required under state or federal legislation has been granted. Works must not commence until all necessary permissions, approvals, or consents have been issued by the relevant authorities.

The relevant port areas under Schedule 4 of the Regulation are:

Botany Bay
Clarence River (Yamba)
Eden
Newcastle Harbour
Port Kembla
Sydney Harbour

Details of applicant

Name

First name

Last name

Company/Organisation/Agency
ABN
Position
Postal address

Address

City/Town

State

Postcode

Telephone
Email

Details of best contact person (if different from above)

Contact name

First name

Last name

Company / organisation / agency
Contact ABN
Contact position
Contact postal address

Address

City/Town

State

Postcode

Contact telephone
Contact email

Details of disturbance activities

The site is located within the following port:

(as per Schedule 4 of the Ports and Maritime Administration Regulation 2021)

Is this disturbance within naval waters?
Manner in which the seabed is to be disturbed:

Manner in which the seabed is to be disturbed:
If other, please describe the manner of activity:

Nautical coordinates in WGS84 of the exact location of the proposed disturbance activity:

Note: A nautical chart may be attached at the end of this form, showing the location and extent of disturbance activity (including Computer-Aided Design (CAD) information)

Brief description of the disturbance (including methodologies):
Anticipated impact on safety, security and efficiency of navigation and maritime operations in the vicinity, and proposed mitigation strategies:
Has the applicant obtained landowner’s consent for this disturbance activity?

Note: Landowner’s consent is required under relevant legislation for works affecting the seabed and evidence of such may be requested by Port Authority.

Owner of the seabed where the disturbance activity will occur:
Desired start date of disturbance activity
Expected completion date of disturbance activity
Proposed timing of disturbance activity (e.g. daytime, night time):
Has Transport for New South Wales Maritime been consulted for this disturbance activity?
Summary of stakeholder consultation conducted:
Attach nautical chart showing location and extent of disturbance activity, as well as supporting documents (e.g. Operational Plan or SWMS)

Maximum 4 files. 10 MB limit. Allowed types: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, bmp, eps, tif, pict, psd, txt, rtf, html, odf, pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, xml, avi, mov, mp3, mp4, ogg, wav, bz2, dmg, gz, jar, rar, sit, svg, tar, zip. 20 MB limit per form.

By submitting this form, I agree for my personal information to be (i) collected for the purpose of handling my application, and (ii) handled in accordance with Port Authority’s Privacy Statement.

Proposals requiring development approval or consent

Works or activities involving disturbance of the bed of a port may require development consent from the relevant consent authority or assessment and approval as development permitted without consent. If you are uncertain about the development approval requirements, please seek professional planning advice and/or consult with the relevant seabed landowner.

For certain development proposals where Permission to Lodge is required from Port Authority as landowner, a Harbour Master Permission may also be necessary. In these cases, the application will be referred to the Harbour Master for assessment. Port Authority’s approval as landowner and the permission of the Harbour Master for a disturbance of the seabed are separate processes.

Underwater Cultural Heritage

There is a legal obligation under the NSW Heritage Act 1977 and the Commonwealth Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 to ensure that maritime or underwater cultural heritage is not moved, disturbed, damaged, or destroyed. Developers and proponents should refer to the Maritime Heritage permits and the NSW State Maritime Heritage Database for guidance on necessary requirements and compliance.

Harbour Master permission – disturbance of seabed

Details of applicant

Details of disturbance activities

Proposals requiring development approval or consent