Explore or extract resources around submarine cables

Submarine cables can be easily damaged. Any damage can stop the flow of voice and data information to and from Australia.

Under Schedule 3A to the Telecommunications Act 1997, we have set protection zones for some cables.

We ban or restrict certain activities in these zones.

There are 3 protection zones for the cables:

• 2 zones off the Sydney coast 
• 1 zone off the Perth coast 

Before you start exploring or exploiting resources, you must consult with each cable owner about:

• the planned activities
• how you will prevent your activities from interfering with or damaging the cables

Read the legal declarations for the Sydney Protection Zones and the Perth Protection Zone.

There are a number of submarine cables outside the Sydney and Perth protection zones.

Find the owners of any nearby cables and discuss your activities before you do anything.