Queensland Reef Water Quality Program

With the Great Barrier Reef under increasing pressure from a number of threats, improving Reef water quality is a key priority for the Queensland Government as it can be managed locally.

Climate change is the biggest threat and the government has set bold but achievable targets for reducing emissions while creating jobs through the Queensland Climate Action Plan.

The most manageable threat to Reef health is reducing pollutant run-off to local waterways. In particular, sediment, nutrients and pesticides affect the health of coral and seagrass ecosystems.

The government has committed $289.6 million over five years to 2025–2026 to continue the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program which funds a range of projects working with industry, agricultural producers, communities and Traditional Owners.

The $289.6 million is made up of:

• $270.1 million allocated to the program from the Queensland 2021–2022 budget
• $10 million allocated to the Reef Credits Scheme
• $9.5 million balance remaining from the discontinued Farming in Reef Catchments Rebate Scheme reallocated to continue supporting farmers.

Initially developed in response to the recommendations of the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce, the program builds on previous successes and the goal is to accelerate progress towards the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan targets.

While the main source of water pollution is agriculture, urban and industrial areas can create concentrated pollution that has important local impacts.

The program delivers projects under seven work areas which are aligned to the Reef 2050 WQIP implementation work areas.

QRWQP work areas and what's being done

Supporting the agricultural industry
($125.1 million)

• Reef protection regulations including compliance
• Voluntary best management practice and incentives programs ($20.75 million) including Smartcane BMP, Banana BMP, Hort360 BMP and Grazing Resilience and Sustainable Solutions
• Tailored extension support including $7.6 million towards recruiting industry experts to help graziers and sugarcane growers improve practices
• Agricultural Extension Work Placement Program ($2 million)
• Research and science projects across grazing, sugarcane and horticulture

Restoring functional landscapes
($75.1 million)

• Streambank remediation ($6 million) and gully remediation ($10 million) including funding to support gully research work on Spyglass Research Station in the Burdekin region
• Reef Assist program ($20 million) delivering environmental rehabilitation projects and creating regional jobs and training opportunities across the Reef catchment
• Place-based integrated projects ($13 million) with up to $5.5 million for Reef place-based integrated projects, $1.5 million to the Atherton Tablelands Integrated Collaboration and $6 million for Phase 2 of the Wet Tropics and Burdekin Major Integrated Projects
• Wetlands management ($2.1 million)
• Reef Credit Scheme ($10 million) to recruit brokers to support landholders in establishing Reef Credit projects and help kickstart the Reef Credit market
• Other activities that support the delivery of land restoration projects

Urban and point source innovation program
($14.7 million)

• Focuses on point source evaluation and innovative approaches to managing urban run-off

Foundational science and translation
($5.1 million)

• Guides program development and support tools including land use mapping, nutrient offsetting and Reef science

Robust governance
($11.6 million)

• Traditional Owner engagement
• Reef 2050 WQIP coordination
• Reef science coordination

Paddock to Reef program and report cards
($50 million)

• Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program which provides the framework for evaluating and reporting progress towards the Reef 2050 WQIP targets and Reef water quality report cards to track progress towards these targets ($41 million)
• Regional report card partnerships ($3.75 million)
• Traditional Owner led inshore coral and marine water quality monitoring in the southern Great Barrier Reef ($915,000)
• Other Traditional Owner led water quality monitoring projects

Improving threatened species in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area
($8 million)

• Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program which provides active nest protection and predator control for marine turtle hatchlings ($1.4 million)
• Further program design currently underway for this work area

Everyone living and working on land that drains into local rivers and streams that flow into the Reef and all visitors to the Reef can also help to improve water quality.

If you want to learn more about the current and previous projects, visit the Collection of Reef and Land (CORAL) database. Information can be sorted via a searchable project list or through an interactive map.

View the QRWQP annual reports and investment plans and other background documents.