Great Barrier Reef Operators Adopt New Reef-Safe Certification Standard
Cairns and Port Douglas reef operators have rolled out a unified Reef-Safe Tourism standard covering anchoring, sunscreen policy and citizen-science contributions. Here's what to ask suppliers before confirming your 2027 shore excursion programme.
The Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators (AMPTO), in partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, has introduced a unified Reef-Safe Tourism certification covering all commercial operators departing Cairns and Port Douglas. The standard rolls together previously fragmented codes on anchoring, fuel handling, sunscreen policy and crown-of-thorns starfish reporting.
Certified operators commit to using only fixed moorings at high-use sites (no anchor drops on coral), supplying reef-safe sunscreen on board, and contributing standardised reef-health observations to the Eye on the Reef monitoring programme. The certification is independently audited annually and is now visible on operator websites and shore-excursion collateral.
For shore-excursion planners working with cruise lines and incentive groups, the practical change is that you can now ask one question — 'are you Reef-Safe certified?' — and get a meaningful answer. Pre-2026 you had to interrogate operators on each criterion individually.
Operators we work with that have already certified include Quicksilver, Sunlover, Passions of Paradise, Wavelength and Sailaway. Several smaller charter operators are working through the audit and are expected to certify before the 2026/27 cruise season. We are now defaulting to certified operators for all new shore-excursion programmes and have updated our supplier briefings accordingly.