About

About ReefTO

The Great Barrier Reef Traditional Owner Taskforce (ReefTO) is a Traditional Owner-led, grassroots initiative that honours the decades of work by Elders to assert their cultural authority and rights to sea country and to drive genuine partnerships across the Reef. In doing so, ReefTO aims to achieve Traditional Owners’ aspirations for the health, management and protection of the Reef and interconnecting Country.

We are guided by the Reef 2050 Traditional Owner Implementation Plan (TO Implementation Plan) – the first of its kind, developed by mob, for mob. A living document launched in November 2022, the TO Implementation Plan brings together actions from across the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan into a cohesive framework for implementation. It outlines six critical work areas – climate change, land & coast, sea country, partnerships and capacity, knowledge systems and investment.

The ReefTO Taskforce

Establishment of the ReefTO Taskforce was a key recommendation in the TO Implementation Plan. Operational since July 2024, the ReefTO Taskforce is responsible for overseeing delivery of the TO Implementation Plan. ReefTO has three key objectives over the next 2-3 years:

1. Engaging with Traditional Owners on options for a Sea Country Alliance (Reef-wide and regionally) and implementing the preferred option.

2. Overseeing the delivery of strategic policy and capacity building actions in the TO Implementation Plan

while a Sea Country Alliance is being established.

3. Monitoring and reporting on the delivery of Traditional Owner actions in the TO Implementation Plan,
including actions delivered by ReefTO and by other agencies.

ReefTO is supported by a Coordination Unit.

In taking carriage of, and driving the actions in the Plan, ReefTO will amplify Reef Traditional Owner voices, elevate their priorities, and enhance Reef Traditional Owner participation and leadership in Reef governance, management and decision-making.

In carrying out its functions, the ReefTO Taskforce will always be guided by, and act in the best interests of, Traditional Owners across the Great Barrier Reef.