Pulu Keeling National Park is a Commonwealth reserve under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and is managed by the Director of National Parks in accordance with the Act, the regulations made under it, and its management plan. The draft Pulu Keeling National Park Management Plan (in preparation) will highlight the need to develop and implement strict biosecurity strategies to assess and minimise the risk of biological invasion and the establishment of new invasive species and pathogens. These procedures have been developed to support these strategies.
North Keeling Island (Pulu Keeling National Park) located in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands chain, while low in terms of species endemism, has high conservation significance. This is primarily because it provides critical habitat for several seabird species, including an estimated 30,000 breeding pairs of the red-footed booby (Sula sula) as well as the endemic ground–dwelling Cocos buff-banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi). North Keeling Island has not suffered the same degree of disturbance as the southern atoll of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, many other oceanic islands or parts of mainland Australia. This means it can be a yardstick against which changes to similar islands in the Indian Ocean can be measured.
These biosecurity plans addresses the need to enhance biosecurity planning and response at multiple levels within park management in collaboration with a number of stakeholders. It sets out a comprehensive set of actions to address the threat of biological invasion and upgrade biosecurity management for Pulu Keeling National Park.