Anchoring and Mooring in Gold Coast Waterways

7 day anchoring area (one location)

• A vessel may stay for a maximum of 7 consecutive days in any 60 day period in one location.
• The vessel must then move at least one nautical mile from its original location or leave the area for 24 hours.
• Once the vessel leaves the area for 24 hours, the 7 consecutive day cycle then restarts.
• This anchoring restriction applies on the Broadwater from Rat Island (north of the Sovereign Islands) to near Burrows Street at Biggera Waters.

7 day anchoring area (one or more locations)

• A vessel may stay for a maximum of 7 consecutive days in any 60 day period in one or more locations.
• If the vessel stays up to 7 days and moves into another anchoring area for a minimum of 24 hours and then returns, the 7 consecutive days cycle restarts.
• This anchoring restriction applies on the Broadwater from near Burrows Street Biggera Waters to the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre at Southport.

24 hour anchoring areas

• A vessel can stay for only 24 hours in any 30 day period.
• This anchoring restriction applies on the Broadwater from the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre further south, including into the Nerang River, its tributaries, and the canal systems.
• Generally, the 24 hours anchoring restriction also applies in other rivers, creeks and canal systems across the Gold Coast.

Anchoring too close to jetties and pontoons

• A vessel must not anchor or moor within 30 metres of an approved structure (such as a jetty or pontoon), or within 30 metres of another vessel using the approved structure. 

Anchoring in the Moreton Bay Marine Park

• There are anchoring restrictions for waters of the Moreton Bay Marine Park north of Rat Island, which is just north of the Sovereign Islands.
• The Moreton Bay Marine Park is managed by the Department of Environment and Science (DES).
• For information about anchoring in the Moreton Bay Marine Park, please refer to des.qld.gov.au.

GCWA will consider an appropriate compliance response where a vessel anchors in an area for longer than a restricted period, or too close to an approved structure.  This could include either an infringement notice for an alleged anchoring offence or a removal notice to ensure compliance with the anchoring restriction or prohibition.

Where a vessel’s owner or operator fails to comply with a removal notice, GCWA may physically remove the vessel and then recover all removal expenses from the vessel’s owner.

Please download our Anchoring and Mooring Guidelines for information on anchoring or mooring on Gold Coast waterways.

Please contact us on 5539 7350 or via email at mail@gcwa.qld.gov.au if you would like to report a concern about anchoring or mooring.