Full Breakdown
Booking Required and Fees Introduced for Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre
By Drooid · · How we work
New booking system and upcoming entry fee
From October 16 2026, visitors to the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road must reserve a time slot through the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority website before entering the newly built Keerray Woorroong Visitor Centre. The initial booking window is free, but the Victorian government has announced that an entry fee will be imposed beginning in April 2026. Local residents and members of the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation are exempt.
Redevelopment background and visitor infrastructure
The $126 million redevelopment adds a 3 300-square-metre visitor centre designed by Grimshaw with landscape input from Aspect Studios. Facilities include exhibition and retail spaces, a rooftop garden, a 230-seat restaurant and café, and a parking area with roughly 600 car spaces and 100 coach/coaster bays. A two-kilometre return path links the centre to the viewing platforms, encouraging longer stays and deeper engagement with the site’s natural and cultural heritage. The government aims to raise annual visitation from the current 2 million to 6 million.
Government rationale and official response
Acting Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Minister Catherine King said the centre will support sustainable tourism along Victoria’s south-west coastline and that the booking system will help manage peak-time overcrowding. Revenue from the entry fee is slated to fund additional visitor infrastructure and environmental projects.
Community opposition and concerns
Port Campbell Community Group secretary Marion Manifold criticised the fee, arguing that public land should remain uncommercialised and that past funding has not returned to the national park. She suggested an airport tax as an alternative and warned that increased visitor numbers could strain local water, sewerage, traffic and parking systems. Local MP Richard Riordan also questioned how the fee revenue will be allocated.
Verbatim quotes
- “The redevelopment is already playing an important part in the local economy and will encourage even more visitors to spend time in the region, boosting local jobs and businesses,” — Ms King, territories minister
- “If funds are required we prefer an airport tax on visitors into Australia,” — Ms Manifold, community group secretary
- “The crowds, traffic congestion and bus parking also has a wider impact on Great Ocean Road towns and small communities,” — Ms Manifold, community group secretary