Great Otway National Park - July 2025

On 1 July 2025, management responsibility for parts of the Great Otway National Park within the Great Ocean Road coast and parks area, including signature walks and higher visitation areas, has been transferred to GORCAPA.

This includes several popular sites: campgrounds Blanket Bay, Aire River, Johanna and others; recreational areas such as Point Addis, Erskine Falls, Cape Otway Lightstation Precinct; and the Great Ocean Walk.

This is another key step toward achieving a holistic management approach for the iconic and treasured coast and parks of the Great Ocean Road.

Management by GORCAPA of the Great Ocean Road coast and parks, as one integrated and living natural entity enables a holistic approach and landscape governance to address the challenges of high and increasing visitation, severe weather events and climate change.

The Great Otway National Park comprises Country of both the Wadawurrung Traditional Owner Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) and Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC).

Parks Victoria continue to manage the majority of the Great Otway National Park, locations which are primarily accessed from the Princess Highway including Lake Elizabeth, Triplet Falls, Hopetoun Falls, Beauchamp  Falls, Stevenson Falls, Distillery Creek and many well-known mountain bike and walking trails, as well as Big Hill and Hammonds campgrounds and the Anglesea Heath, accessed via the Great Ocean Road.

Nothing about how the Great Otway National Park is protected is changing. The land transferred remains National Park and continues to be managed under the National Parks Act. GORCAPA must meet the same functions and stringent conservation obligations as Parks Victoria, in partnership with WTOAC and EMAC.

Parks Victoria continues to support GORCAPA’s management of national parks by providing day-to-day on-ground park management and remains the contact for permits and licenses until we advise otherwise.

GORCAPA is building its team to ensure conservation obligations are met and to protect cultural values with the support of Parks Victoria and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).

This is the fourth and final in the series of transfers of park management responsibility for National Parks within the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks to GORCAPA. It increases GORCAPA’s management responsibility by approximately 19,000 Hectares to a total of 40,634 Hectares and is enabling holistic management of public land from Point Impossible to the Hopkins River.

Since GORCAPA’s establishment in 2020 as the dedicated parks manager for the iconic coast and parks of the Great Ocean Road, there has been significant consolidation of land management and advances toward holistic management of this precious living asset. Today GORCAPA has management responsibility for parks and reserves previously managed by 11 different entities.

Government will continue to invest in the National Parks, Marine National Parks and other areas managed under the National Parks Act.

Who do I contact about my tour operator licence related to these Great Otway National Park?

Parks Victoria remains the contact for Licenced Tour Operators and permits until we advise otherwise.

Image: Cape Otway 

Image: Aire River

Image: Great Ocean Walk

Image: Erskine Falls