MAYORAL MINUTES · Attachment 1 to the Ordinary Meeting Minutes dated 19 March 2026 - Noosa Council Submission_SCWA Bill 2026

      Council requests explicit clarification that the upper Noosa River and Everglades—
       including reaches upstream of Lake Cootharaba (e.g., from Kinaba to Harry’s Hut and
       associated creeks) are included as “adjoining waterways.”
      If included, Council requests a clear spatial schedule (e.g., GIS shapefile and PDF map)
       indicating the upstream limit of SCWA coverage (e.g., to the Head of Navigable Waters, to
       specific      lat/long    coordinates,      or     to      park   boundary    interfaces).
       Reasoning: The Bill’s definition relies on named waters and “adjoining” waterways but
       does not provide upper catchment cuto s or coordinate based limits; clarity is essential
       given the area’s ecological sensitivity and high visitor use.
General Mapping & Interpretation Request
To support consistent administration, Council also requests:
      Publication of a statutory plan or schedule (appendix) illustrating all SCWA waterways
       “below high-water mark” and “adjoining” those waterways, consistent with s 7 of the Bill.
      Clarification on whether the term “adjoining waterways” is interpreted as:
           o hydrologically connected waters only;
           o all tidal waters contiguous with a listed waterway;
           o engineered canals and basins connected to listed waters; or
           o waterways within specified mapped polygons.
      Confirmation of how “high water mark” is to be applied in practice, including the datum
       used (e.g., GDA2020) and any tidal boundaries or revetment structures used to define the
       operational edge of SCWA jurisdiction.
Providing this clarity preferably by statutory map will ensure that SCWA and Council operate with
consistent spatial understanding, and will aid in future decisions on asset management,
sediment monitoring, navigation, environmental protection, and community engagement


A.10 Noosa Ferry Service and Commercial Marine Leases
Noosa Council seeks clarification regarding how the Bill will interface with the regulatory, tenure
and operational frameworks governing the Noosa Ferry service and other commercial marine
operators. The ferry service depends on access to multiple public marine facilities, including
pontoons and embarkation points, which are currently subject to a mix of tenure arrangements,
commercial leasing approvals, and operational permits managed across State agencies
(primarily the Department of Resources and Maritime Safety Queensland) and Council.
As the Bill assigns the SCWA new statutory functions to “install, manage and maintain
infrastructure for the Sunshine Coast waterways” and to “manage navigational access” within
those waterways and amends the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 to establish the SCWA as the
default manager of public marine facilities within Sunshine Coast waterways, the operational
boundary between SCWA’s infrastructure-management role and the existing State-led tenure and
leasing frameworks is unclear. In particular, it is not specified whether SCWA will inherit any

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