Australia’s oceans are diverse, ranging from tropical seas, through temperate to polar waters; and from shallow coastal waters to ocean trenches. The oceans support a vast array of marine life and many of our marine ecosystems are globally important, such as the Great Barrier Reef which is the largest coral reef system in the world.

Despite its importance to Australia, there is no comprehensive and nationally consistent system for measuring the condition of Australia’s ocean and coastal ecosystems. For this reason there is no headline indicator for this dimension.

For a more in-depth discussion about how oceans and estuaries relate to progress and whether they are improving in Australia, please see the Oceans and estuaries chapter in Measures of Australia’s Progress, 2010 (cat. no. 1370.0).