Global · Case study

Port of Brisbane, Long Term Maintenance Dredging Management Plan

Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaOngoing

The Port of Brisbane operates a structured maintenance dredging program supported by a Long Term Maintenance Dredging Management Plan that outlines the environmental controls for its dredging activities (Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, 2023).

The port lies at the mouth of the Brisbane River on Moreton Bay. The Moreton Bay Marine Park lies to the south and east of the Future Port Expansion seawall (BMT Commercial Australia, 2025), and annual maintenance dredged material is placed at the Mud Island Dredge Material Placement Area under a long term permission granted under the Marine Park zoning plan (Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, 2024). Dredging therefore has to manage impacts on sensitive marine habitats, including seagrasses, migratory shorebirds, and a local trawl fishery (BMT Commercial Australia, 2025).

The port's maintenance dredging program includes, among others, sediment quality testing protocols consistent with the National Assessment Guidelines for Dredging (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009), placement at sea in the Mud Island Dredge Material Placement Area or on land in the Future Port Expansion reclamation area, and dredge plume monitoring during operations (BMT Commercial Australia, 2025; 2026). Monitoring in 2026 found that dredging and placement caused localized, short-term turbidity, with no evidence that dredge plumes reached sensitive receptor sites (BMT Commercial Australia, 2026).

The port's policy is to maximize beneficial reuse of dredged material (BMT Commercial Australia, 2025). Most material dredged within port limits is used in reclamation works for port development (BMT Commercial Australia, 2025). The Future Port Expansion reclamation area is to be filled mainly with about 7 million cubic meters of maintenance dredged material (Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, 2023). One aim of the plan is open and transparent communication with all relevant stakeholders (Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, 2023).

Transferability

For DMC ports, the Port of Brisbane approach demonstrates structured environmental management of recurring maintenance dredging.

Transferable elements include, among others, use of standardized sediment testing methodologies, dredge plume monitoring, beneficial reuse planning, and stakeholder engagement.

The plan-based approach provides a framework that can be adapted to DMC regulatory contexts and local environmental conditions.

Sources

All information used for this case study was based on publicly available resources.