National Parks Act 1975
National Parks Regulations 2024
Set Aside Determination – For temporary closures (planned burns)
The National Parks Regulations 2024 have been made under sections 32AA, 37 and 48 of the National Parks Act 1975
Regulation 11 provides that the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority may make a determination to set aside an area as an area in which an activity or conduct is permitted, required, restricted or prohibited. The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority may include in the determination any conditions subject to which the activity or conduct must or must not be carried out.
Additional temporary determinations and set asides are put in place from time to time for purposes such as planned burning, seasonal road closures or pest animal control programs. These temporary determinations and set asides operate in conjunction with ongoing determinations for general park management and, where there is a conflict or perceived conflict, the temporary determinations take precedence.
I, Leia Howes, Acting Director of Environment and Coastal Operations, as an authorised representative of the Great Ocean Road Coasts and Park Authority, make the following determination(s) under the National Parks Regulations 2024.
Name Leia Howes
Title Acting Director of Environment and Coastal Operations
Date 18/3/2026
Areas set aside as prohibited for planned burns
Regulation(s)
20(1)(a) Areas where access is prohibited or restricted
To set aside an area to which access for a person or class of persons is prohibited without a permit.
The ’Closed Public Safety Area’ 1 within National Parks proposed for planned burning in the approved Joint Fuel Management Program for 2024-2027 (Attachment 1).
From March 2025 to 30 June 2026 for the period during which all access to a ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ is prohibited during the period from commencement of ‘Fire Operations’ 2 in a ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ to the cessation of ‘Fire Operations’ in that ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ as determined by the following ‘Fire Operations’:
a. commence or commenced in a ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ upon a notice being displayed on or near that ‘Closed Public Safety Area’; and will cease upon a notice of the completion of ‘Fire Operations’ in that ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ being displayed on or near that ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ by an employee of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, Parks Victoria or VicForests.
All access to the areas set aside is Prohibited 3 for the full 24 hours of each day during the Fire Operations period as described in a and b of specified conditions.
1 ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ means all access is prohibited in the ‘Fire Operations Area’ including a buffer of 150m. ‘Fire Operations Area’ means any area of land managed by the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority as a ‘burn’, ‘planned burn’ or ‘non-burn fuel treatment’ in any ‘Fire Operation Plan’ or in any map approved from time to time under a ‘Fire Operations Plan’.
2 ‘Fire Operations Plan’ means any plan that has been or is:
a. prepared from time to time in accordance with the Code of Practice for Bushfire Management of Public Land prepared from time to time under Part 5 of the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987;
b. issued or published and applies from time to time during the period of this approval; and
c. related to the role of the Secretary under Section 62(2) of the Forests Act 1958.
3 ‘Prohibited’ means:
a. a person may not enter a ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ or contingency area on foot or on a bicycle or other vehicle.
b. a person may not remain in or be present in a ‘Closed Public Safety Area’ or contingency area.
c. a person must not place an obstruction within a ‘Closed Public Safety Area or contingency area.’
Notes
Regulation 7 Application of Regulations to permit holders, etc.
A person acting under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of any lease, licence, permit, authorisation, consent o r other authority granted under the Act, or an agreement entered into under the Act, is not subject to these Regulations to the extent that the activities authorised by the lease, licence, permit, authorisation, consent, other authority or agreement are inconsistent with these Regulations
Regulation 8 Disapplication of Regulations to certain persons acting in the course of their duties
These Regulations, other than regulations 23, 40 and 86(1), do not apply to a person who -
(a) Is acting as a servant or agent of the Crown; or
(b) Is acting under and in accordance wit a contract with the Crown or a person acting as a servant or agent of the Crown;
(c) Is acting under the direction of a person acting as a servant or agent of the Crown; or
(d) Is acting with the permission of a person acting as a servant or agent of the Crown; or
(e) Is an authorised officer acting in the course of the authorised officer’s duties.
Regulation 9 Application of Regulations to traditional owner group members where land is subject to agreement under Part 6 of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010
(1) If a traditional owner group entity has entered into a traditional owner group agreement, any provision of these Regulations (other than a provision of these Regulations specified in the Table in subregulation (2)) that provides for an offence for carrying out an activity or doing anything that is an agreed activity does not apply to a member of the traditional owner group
(a) who is bound by the traditional owner group agreement; and
(b) who carries out the agreed activity to which the offence relates in accordance with the traditional owner group agreement and on land to which that agreement applies.
(2) For the purpose of subregulation (1) the following Table sets out the specified provision and the extent to which that provision applies to a member of the traditional owner group.
Table
Column 1
Specified regulation
Regulation 14(2)
Regulation 17
Regulation 21(1), (2) and (3)
Regulation 22
Regulation 24(1) and (2)
Regulation 32
Regulation 76(1)
Regulation 79(1)
Column 2
Extent to which specified regulation applies
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole, except if the member lights or maintains a fire in a park for the purpose of undertaking cultural activities
The whole
Column 1
Specified regulation
Regulation 82(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5)
Regulation 83(1) and (2)
Regulation 84
Column 2
Extent to which specified regulation applies
The whole
The whole
The whole
Regulation 10 Application of Regulations to Aboriginal group members where land is not subject to agreement under Part 6 of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010
An Aboriginal group member, when undertaking an Aboriginal tradition on land in a park that is not land over which there is an agreement under Part 6 of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010, is exempt from these Regulations, other than the provisions set out in Column 1 of the following Table to the extent set out in Column 2 of the following Table.
Table
Column 1
Specified regulation
Regulation 14(2)
Regulation 17
Regulation 21(1), (2) and (3)
Regulation 22
Regulation 24(1) and (2)
Regulation 32
Regulation 76(1)
Regulation 79(1)
Regulation 82(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5)
Regulation 83(1) and (2)
Regulation 84
Regulation 11 Determinations setting areas aside
Column 2
Extent to which specified regulation applies
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole, except if the member lights or maintains a fire in a park for the purpose of undertaking cultural activities
The whole
The whole
The whole
The whole
(3) If the land manager makes a set aside determination under the Regulations, the land manager must, as soon as practicable after making the determination:
(a) cause signs or notice of the determination and the conditions they must comply with, to be displayed; and
(b) publish the determination on the land manager’s website.
Regulation 13 Signs and notices
(1) If the land manager makes a determination under the Regulations and is required to display a sign or notice in relation to that determination, that sign or notice must:
(a) be displayed in a place and manner that is likely to be seen by any person affected by the determination; and Example
A sign placed at each entry to an area set aside.
(b) identify in words or symbols any activity that is prohibited, restricted or permitted in the area under determination; and
(c) either:
(i) specify the conditions of the activities that are prohibited, restricted, or permitted; or
(ii) specify by reference to a determination published under regulation 11(3)(b) the activity that is prohibited, restricted or permitted and any conditions that apply to carrying out that activity.
(2) If the land manager revokes or amends a determination made under these Regulations, the land manager must as soon as practicable cause any sign or notice that has been displayed under these Regulations to be removed or amended to reflect the revocation or amendment of that determination.
1
Details of planned burn(s) (approved as at September 2024) listed for National Parks in the approved ‘Fire Operations Plan’ in accordance with the Joint Fuel Management Program for 2024/2025-2026/2027
*JFMP year indicative