Jetty Repairs FAQ — Port Stephens

That depends on the kind of work and where the jetty is. NSW Planning's fact sheet 'Waterway structures: rules for exempt and complying development' sets out the state rules. Work outside those rules needs a development application, and on Port Stephens that can go to either of two councils. NSW DPIRD's aquaculture lease records put sites in both Port Stephens Council and MidCoast Council areas, so check which council your property is in. A jetty on Crown waterway land also needs a licence from Crown Lands. And because the port sits inside the Port Stephens – Great Lakes Marine Park, check your frontage's zone too.

Port Stephens sits within the Port Stephens – Great Lakes Marine Park, so the question is which zone. NSW DPIRD's marine protected areas mapping names the zones in and around the port. Sanctuary zones include Salamander Bay, Cromartys Bay, Mallabula, Fly Point – Corrie Island, Little Swan Bay, Fame Cove and Number One Cove. Special purpose zones include Soldiers Point, Lemon Tree Passage, Nelson Bay Marina, Anchorage Marina and Oyster Cove. Habitat protection zones include Soldiers Point and Tilligerry Creek, with another further up the Karuah River. If your jetty is in or beside one, say so in your enquiry and check whether the zone affects the work before anything is booked.

It can change how the job is done. NSW DPIRD's 2025 mapping of estuary vegetation recorded about 317 hectares of Posidonia seagrass in Port Stephens, plus about 112 hectares of mixed Posidonia and Zostera seagrass, about 2,210 hectares of mangrove and about 1,000 hectares of saltmarsh. If seagrass grows under or beside your jetty, or the walkway crosses mangrove or saltmarsh, mention it in your enquiry. It can affect where a barge sits, where new piles go and how materials reach the site.

Then the work may need to be planned around it. In September 2026, NSW DPIRD's aquaculture lease layer listed 753 recognised aquaculture sites in Port Stephens, about 1,230 hectares, across the Nelson Bay, Karuah and Tea Gardens sub-areas. Not every site holds a current lease: 433 were listed as current, 198 as historic and 122 as available. If a lease lies in front of your jetty, include that in your enquiry. It affects where a barge works from and how to keep offcuts, sediment and debris out of the lease.

For piles, the main cost drivers are length, the timber chosen and what the pile is driven into, and driving into rock costs more. Jetties that can only be reached from the water are usually worked from a barge, with a diver for anything below the waterline, and the work is timed around tides and weather. Local checks can add steps: which of the two councils your property is in, its marine park zone, and any seagrass, mangrove or aquaculture lease at the jetty.

Both are used. The timber option is hardwood such as ironbark or turpentine, treated to H6, the hazard class for timber in sea water. Marine borers such as shipworm and gribble attack timber in salt water, which is what the treatment is for. Fibre-composite piles are not eaten by borers and generally last longer, but cost more up front. If you are unsure, ask for both options to be priced, and ask how each would suit the exposure and the harbour floor at your jetty.