Check notices before you go boating

Transport for NSW issues marine notices with safety advice for vessel operators.

Check notices before you go boating to see if there are potential hazards or special events on the waterway.

The notice types we publish include navigation warnings, and aquatic event licence or special event ‘exclusive use’ conditions.

We publish notices on this website (see below) and in the NSW Government Gazette. We also distribute them to organisations such as Marine Rescue and print media.

Penalties for breaching notices

Notices are required under the Marine Safety Act 1998.

Once a notice is published, it's an offence to breach it. You can be fined for failing to leave an area set aside for an exclusive use/special event.

Navigation warnings

Navigation warnings alert people to hazardous conditions on NSW waterways.

For example, if a vessel sinks in shallow water and becomes an obstruction, or if a coastal bar shifts and changes shape.

We make every effort to warn vessel operators of dangerous changed circumstances, or potential hazards.

Transport for NSW issues warnings in an advisory capacity as the safety regulator for waterways and boating. They also form part of our risk management approach to safe navigation. The warnings have no legal status.

Aquatic event licences and special events

A special event marine notice must be published when a special event is declared.

The notice advises the public of areas closed to recreational navigation.

They're issued when a body is given ‘exclusive use’ of waters. This may be to conduct an activity under an aquatic licence, or another event affecting navigation safety.

The notices may describe the parameters of the 'exclusive use' area, the time and date, and how the area is marked off.

The notices warn the public of events, so they don't, for example, accidentally move into the middle of a race, a dangerous set of construction works, or a fireworks barge.

Closures

Information on current closures of navigable waters in NSW:

Tumut Ponds

While not closed by Transport for NSW, other authorities advise that Tumut Ponds:

• is closed by Snowy Hydro Limited due to low water levels
• will be reopened when advised by Snowy Hydro Limited that water levels have increased to an appropriate level.

Notices by location

These notices are listed by location, from NSW north to south. You can sort the table by column, or use the search box to find a location or notice number.

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