Our Story

Our role

The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (the Authority) was established on 1 December 2020 to deliver better protection and management of the iconic coast and parks of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

In partnership with the Traditional Owners, our role is to manage, protect and foster resilience of the natural, cultural and heritage values of coastal Crown land and marine waters along the Great Ocean Road.

Simplifying the complex and fragmented governance of the Great Ocean Road was a key priority issue for establishing the Authority. Prior to the reforms, there were 30 responsible organisations with accountabilities along the Great Ocean Road. This management model created challenges in planning and delivering for the future in a coordinated manner.

The reforms have expanded our functions and powers to manage public land of all types within the Great Ocean Road coast and parks. Our role is to simplify these fragmented and conflicting management arrangements and deliver on a shared vision for the future of the entire Great Ocean Road region.

This includes:

  • Guiding sustainable tourism, supporting local employment, and enhancing the visitor experience
  • Strengthening the protection of land and seascapes from the impacts of climate change
  • Improving economic development for a prosperous and liveable region.

As a public land manager for the Great Ocean Road coast and parks, we manage a wide variety of public land from National Parks to coastal beaches and town foreshores.

All revenue raised through our commercial endeavours is reinvested back into the coast to ensure the Great Ocean Road region can be enjoyed now and for generations to come.

Our work

From 1 December 2020 to 30 June 2021, we generated $12.8 million in direct revenue. Approximately 91% of this revenue was generated from our self-managed caravan parks, all of which was reinvested back into the coast and community to support the following key initiatives:

An infographic overview of the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority's year in review.

Some of our recent key achievements and priorities include:

  • Beginning our journey towards the internationally recognised ECO Destination Certification – we’re leading the delivery of this in collaboration with our five Local Government Areas, Parks Victoria, Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism and Traditional Owners.
  • Creating the Point Grey – Lorne Redevelopment Community Co-design Group to inform and refine the design for the Lorne Fishing Cooperative building – this has been a great success and the level of shared community knowledge and leadership has been incredibly valuable. 
  • Leading the Wye River coastal erosion mitigation process – our team has managed this important work and partnered with the Wye River Surf Life Saving Club and community to find short and long-term solutions.
  • Achieving 750,000 visitor nights across our eight caravan parks – this has helped generate significant local employment opportunities and ensure we can give back to our communities and visitors to the Great Ocean Road region.
  • Embedding strong collaboration and partnerships with Traditional Owners Eastern Maar and Wadawarrung. A significant opportunity and great example of this will be in the management of the Cape Otway Lightstation – we’re partnering with Eastern Maar to deliver plans for the precinct and ensure we create opportunities to advance self-determination and help achieve the vision of their Country Plan.

To find out more about our conservation, education, coastal reserves and capital works programs, our caravan park initiatives, our planning work, and our community engagement initiatives, click on the links above, read our latest Annual Report and view the video below.

Our identity and framework

This is the essence of who we are. Our Board and staff collaborated using the  Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Act 2020 Act to form our Values, Vision, Objectives, and Principles  – this reflects our core ethics and guides the work we do and how we do it.

Values, Vision, Purpose and Principles diagram.

Our Coast and Parks Principles

The Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Act 2020 requires the Authority to adhere to the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Protection Principles. These include General and Economic, Aboriginal Inclusion, Environmental and Social Principles. 

We take a strategic and practical approach to protecting the Crown land and marine waters we are responsible for, including the management of coastal erosion, visitor safety and coastal infrastructure. Our primary purpose is to protect, conserve, enhance and manage these iconic natural landscapes and the State-owned infrastructure that sits upon them.

We bring a coordinated approach to supporting the sustainable use and management of the Great Ocean Road coast and parks to ensure they can be enjoyed by all. 

Our brand

The development of our brand was a thorough and deeply collaborative process over several months, involving strong engagement and collaboration with the Traditional Owners, our Board members, stakeholders and staff – all groups contributed their knowledge and insights to help inform the brand strategy and logo creation.

Our Authority and caravan park logos incorporate the stories and desires of the Traditional Owners and highlight the Authority's diverse responsibilities and expanding portfolio

The short animation below explains the story of our logo and how it has been brought to life. You can find out more about our new caravan parks logo here