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

PART A
ITEMS REQUIRING GREATER CLARITY
Noosa Council is seeking clarity in the Bill regarding the division of roles and responsibilities
between the SCWA, local governments, and existing State agencies. While the Bill establishes
broad functions for the Authority - such as preparing a Waterways Management Strategy and
Program, installing and maintaining infrastructure, managing navigational access, and
overseeing sand and sediment movement - it does not adequately articulate how these
responsibilities intersect with, complement, or override the well-established statutory functions
of local government.
The following points identify items requiring greater clarity in the Bill:
A1. Ambiguity in functional boundaries between SCWA and local government
    Part 1, clause 4 of the Bill states that it does not displace local government obligations under
    the Planning Act 2016, Local Government Act 2009, and Coastal Protection and
    Management Act 1995. However, it simultaneously assigns SCWA functions that overlap
    substantially with areas traditionally managed by local government, including infrastructure
    planning, foreshore integration, sand management, dredging related decision making, and
    environmental management.
    The coexistence of these dual responsibilities creates uncertainty around:
         1. which organisation becomes the lead decision maker on waterway infrastructure;
         2. how issues will be resolved when Council and SCWA priorities di er; and
         3. How the Minister-approved SCWA Strategy and Program will interact with Council’s
            statutory planning instruments, foreshore precinct plans, operational works
            assessments, and land-use masterplans, and whether these documents could, in
            practice, override or constrain Council’s planning priorities where infrastructure or
            navigation objectives di er.
         4. how further clarity on a future legislative hierarchy will aid planning and community
            consultation.

A2. Lack of clarity around tenure and land-based integration
    Several sections including Part 1, clause 7, Part 2 clause 12b, and Part 8 Div 2 clauses 65-66
    provide some information on how SCWA's infrastructure functions relate to in water public
    marine facilities, yet many projects necessarily integrate with land-based assets, including
    parks, car parks, road reserves, foreshores, and reserves managed under the Land Act 1984.
    The Bill does not specify:
         1. how tenure conflicts will be addressed when SCWA’s proposed works occur on or
            adjacent to land with restricted or incompatible reserves;
         2. whether SCWA can request or require local governments to surrender or repurpose
            community land;

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