The Australian National Shipwreck Database was originally developed by the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology and, until recently, maintained by the Western Australian Maritime Museum with Commonwealth funding. The Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage now maintains the database, which contains information about known shipwrecks in Australian waters.
Users can search for those shipwrecks that are protected by legislation, and can also search the database using keywords or through the advanced search facility that enables searches across a range of fields. It is also possible to search for shipwrecks within a defined region through the search by position and search by distance facilities.
The data have been collected by each of the State historic shipwreck agencies and are subject to ongoing editing and refining as new information is obtained. More information on a particular shipwreck may be obtained by contacting the agency in the same State or Territory as where the shipwreck is located. Information on shipwrecks may also be obtained from the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology.
Many of these wrecks and their associated relics are protected by Commonwealth or State/Territory legislation.