Supporting Local Communities

As a marine tourism operator you're in a perfect position to help build your local communities, including Indigenous communities, and ultimately generate more local involvement in and commitment to the Great Barrier Reef and its tourism industry.

Your support may take a variety of forms whether it be hiring local staff, buying commodities from local suppliers, using local services and facilities, supporting regional schools or becoming involved in local initiatives. It may also be promoting the Reef's rich cultural heritage and supporting the local Indigenous communities who have a very strong traditional and spiritual connection to the area.

Supporting local communities may involve a few simple actions but could have exciting and far-reaching effects.

Responsible Reef Practices

In general

• Use local products (for example, food), services (for example, maintenance and cleaning) and facilities (for example, workshops and slipways).
• Hire your staff locally, including from Indigenous communities.
• Ensure that scarce community resources (for example, water) are used sparingly.

Support your local community

• Be a champion of the Great Barrier Reef.
• Be proactive in reporting incidents (such as pollution and suspected illegal activity).
• Provide information sessions to the community (for example, school talks) and take up ideas and products generated in your community (e.g. school posters and calico bags).
• Contribute to local community organisations and become involved with Reef Guardian Schools in your community.
• Offer discounted trips to community groups (such as schools, dive clubs, special interest groups, and charities).
• Become involved in reef-related community issues (for example, Local Marine Advisory Committee meetings, industry workshops, monitoring programs and policy reviews).
• Become involved in reef-related media programs (e.g. community radio, newspapers and travel programs).

Support local Indigenous communities

• Learn about local Indigenous communities and their connections to the Reef and its surrounds.
• Learn more about communicating with Indigenous Traditional Owners, including the appropriate people to contact and ways to make the most of meetings.
• Explore ways that both your operation and Indigenous people can benefit from Indigenous connections to the Reef (both commercially and culturally).
• Conduct your activities in culturally sensitive areas with appropriate permission, consideration, respect and preferably involvement of the Traditional Owners/native title claimants.
• Involve Traditional Owners/native title claimants in developing interpretive material, wherever possible. Only tell indigenous stories with permission from Traditional Owners.
• Explore ways for Indigenous interpretative material to be delivered by Indigenous people.

• Advise your clients about the cultural significance of certain areas, if given permission to do so by the Traditional Owners/native title claimants.