Twelve Apostles visitors to be charged entry fee

Tourists will soon have to pay an entry fee to see the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, the environment minister Steve Dimopoulos announced. The charge will apply to the $126m Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, due to open at the end of 2026, and Dimopoulos said “every single dollar” would go back into the surrounding area.

He described the 240km stretch of coastline as “under threat” from climate change, coastal erosion and the impact of millions of visitors, and added: “We want to make sure the Great Ocean Road is there for the next 100 years. We cannot be the generation that lets it fall away.” The fee will not apply to people who live near the site or to members of the Eastern Maar Indigenous community, and an accompanying booking system is intended to stage visits and ease congestion.

The cost will be decided after consultation with local government, tour operators and residents, with a strong view within government that it should be under $20.

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