Active project record

Originally reported: 2022
Last reviewed: 21 July 2026
Current status: Unresolved; awaiting Commonwealth environmental assessment and further state approvals

This page records the proposed Halls Island standing camp at Lake Malbena and its status when last reviewed. It is not maintained in real time. Significant later developments may be covered through Keep It Wild Australia’s Protected Areas Tourism Watch reports.

The original proposal

The Halls Island proposal involves a small, privately operated tourism camp at Lake Malbena in Walls of Jerusalem National Park, within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

The proposal was advanced by tourism operator Daniel Hackett through Wild Drake Pty Ltd and associated RiverFly 1864 interests. It originated through the Tasmanian Government’s tourism opportunities process, under which the concept was accepted for further assessment rather than granted final development approval. The state’s current accepted-concepts register describes it as a luxury standing camp and records that a lease or licence was signed subject to conditions while Commonwealth and other approvals remained outstanding. (Coordinator-General Tasmania)

The current proposal is substantially smaller than some descriptions used during the public debate. Commonwealth assessment material describes a standing camp intended to accommodate up to six guests, together with guides, using several accommodation structures and a communal pod containing kitchen facilities. The development would also include toilets, storage, boardwalks, wastewater and greywater systems and associated infrastructure. (DCCEEW)

Guests and staff would travel from the Derwent Bridge area by helicopter, landing on exposed rock near Lake Malbena before crossing to Halls Island. Earlier iterations and public accounts referred to four principal demountable structures and potentially dozens or, under some operating scenarios, substantially more helicopter movements each year. The exact operating limits that would apply under any eventual approval remain unresolved. (OpenAustralia)

Location and protected-area setting

Lake Malbena lies within Walls of Jerusalem National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

The park forms part of Tasmania’s highland wilderness landscape, characterised by glacial lakes, alpine vegetation, pencil pine forests and remote mountain terrain. Halls Island occupies approximately 10 hectares within Lake Malbena and contains the historic Halls Hut. (Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service)

The proposal is significant partly because it would introduce purpose-built private accommodation and regular helicopter access into an area valued for its remoteness and wilderness character.

State planning history

The project has had a lengthy and complicated state approval history.

The Central Highlands Council initially refused the planning application in 2019. The proponent appealed, and the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal subsequently allowed the proposal to proceed. That decision was challenged through the Tasmanian courts. (ABC News)

In September 2021, the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Tasmania overturned the tribunal decision. The court required the matter to be reconsidered, including a clear determination about whether the proposal was consistent with the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Management Plan. (Environmental Defenders Office)

The proponent later withdrew or paused the state appeal process while pursuing the Commonwealth assessment. As a result, the project does not currently hold a completed, operative set of approvals allowing construction and operation to begin. (Herald Sun)

Commonwealth environmental assessment

The project was referred under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in March 2018 as EPBC 2018/8177.

The original Commonwealth referral decision was challenged, and in 2020 the proposal was declared a controlled action requiring assessment because of its potential effects on matters protected under the EPBC Act. Relevant issues have included World Heritage and National Heritage values, wilderness character, Aboriginal cultural heritage, threatened species, helicopter noise, fire risk, erosion and associated environmental impacts. (Environmental Defenders Office)

The proposal has remained in assessment for several years while the department sought further information from the proponent.

Commonwealth records released in 2026 show that departmental officers were preparing material for a decision during late 2025, but no final approval or refusal had been issued. Correspondence dated 19 December 2025 stated that the department was still working to enable a decision as quickly as practicable. (DCCEEW)

As at July 2026, the EPBC Public Portal continued to list the project as awaiting additional information. It should therefore not be described as federally approved. (EPBC Act Public Portal)

Lease and licence arrangements

The project has also involved state leases and licences over Halls Island and the existing hut.

The Tasmanian Government’s accepted-concepts register states that the proposal has a signed lease or licence subject to conditions and remains dependent on Commonwealth, World Heritage and other approvals. (Coordinator-General Tasmania)

The agreement included milestones requiring the proponent to obtain the approvals needed for the development. In early 2026, parliamentarians and other opponents called for the arrangements to be cancelled when a further deadline approached.

The Tasmanian Government subsequently extended the relevant milestone to 31 March 2027, citing the continuation of the Commonwealth assessment process. State reporting indicated that the underlying lease may continue until 2038, while the 2027 date concerns the time allowed to secure outstanding project approvals. (Herald Sun)

The lease extension does not constitute development approval. It preserves the proponent’s opportunity to continue seeking the approvals needed for the project.

Halls Hut and heritage concerns

Halls Island contains a historic hut associated with Tasmanian bushman Reg Hall. The hut is separate from the proposed new accommodation structures but is relevant to the lease and to the proponent’s stated heritage-management objectives.

During 2026, concerns were raised in the Tasmanian Parliament and media about the hut’s condition and responsibility for its maintenance. The government indicated that the hut was subject to a separate lease arrangement and requested prompt inspection and attention to any necessary maintenance. (ABC News)

The condition of the hut and competing views about its future are distinct from the environmental assessment of the proposed standing camp. They nevertheless form part of the continuing dispute over private tenure and management of Halls Island.

Corporate and legal complications

Wild Drake Pty Ltd, the company historically associated with the proposal, was ordered into liquidation by the Federal Court in 2024 following proceedings concerning unpaid legal costs. The proponent nevertheless stated that work on the environmental assessment would continue. (ABC News)

The implications of that liquidation for the project, leases and any eventual operating entity have not been clearly set out in current official project material.

The state government has continued to refer to Daniel Hackett and the existing contractual arrangements while maintaining that the proposal remains subject to all necessary approvals. (Herald Sun)

What has changed

The proposal has not progressed into construction since Keep It Wild Australia first reported it.

Its state planning approval was overturned, the matter was returned for reconsideration and the proponent shifted its focus to completing the Commonwealth EPBC process.

The Commonwealth assessment has continued for much longer than originally expected. Additional information has been supplied and reviewed, but the current public status remains “awaiting additional information”, with no final federal decision published. (DCCEEW)

The project’s commercial and corporate position has also become more complicated following the liquidation of Wild Drake Pty Ltd. At the same time, the Tasmanian Government has extended the relevant approval milestone until March 2027 rather than ending the lease arrangements. (ABC News)

The result is an unusual position: the project remains active in a legal and administrative sense, but it is not construction-ready and has no confirmed commencement date.

Commercial tourism implications

The proposal would create accommodation intended specifically for a small, high-value commercial tourism product inside a national park and World Heritage property.

It differs from an ordinary licensed guided tour because it involves:

  • a dedicated private camp;
  • purpose-built accommodation and communal infrastructure;
  • an exclusive or controlled island site;
  • repeated helicopter access;
  • operational servicing and waste systems; and
  • a state lease or licence supporting the commercial use.

The small guest capacity limits the number of people using the camp at one time, but it does not remove questions about wilderness character, aircraft noise, precedent, private occupation and equitable access to protected public land.

The project is particularly relevant to Protected Areas Tourism Watch because it tests how Tasmania’s tourism-development process, state reserve management and Commonwealth World Heritage protections interact when a privately operated development is proposed in a remote national park.

Why this project matters

Lake Malbena has become one of Australia’s most closely scrutinised protected-area tourism proposals.

The debate has extended well beyond the physical footprint of several small buildings. It has raised broader questions about whether wilderness impacts should be assessed only by the area directly occupied by infrastructure or also by changes to remoteness, aircraft activity, visitor experience and the sense that a place remains largely free from commercial development.

The project has also exposed weaknesses in a process where an accepted tourism concept and conditional lease can remain active for many years while planning and environmental approvals are contested.

At the same time, the proposal has not been approved and should not be represented as an inevitable development. Its future depends on a Commonwealth environmental decision, renewed or completed state processes and the proponent’s ability to satisfy contractual, planning, heritage and operational requirements.

Confirmed

The proposal involves a privately operated standing camp on Halls Island at Lake Malbena within Walls of Jerusalem National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

It has been associated with Daniel Hackett, Wild Drake Pty Ltd and RiverFly 1864.

The camp is intended to accommodate up to six guests, together with guides, using purpose-built accommodation and communal facilities.

Access would involve helicopter flights from the Derwent Bridge area.

The proposal was declared a controlled action under the EPBC Act and requires Commonwealth environmental assessment.

The previous state planning decision was overturned by the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 2021.

As at July 2026, the EPBC project remained listed as awaiting additional information.

The Tasmanian Government has extended the relevant approval milestone until 31 March 2027.

Construction has not commenced. (EPBC Act Public Portal)

Not yet confirmed

Whether the Commonwealth will approve, refuse or require further changes to the proposal.

When a final EPBC decision will be made.

Whether the state planning appeal or a fresh state approval process will resume after the Commonwealth decision.

The final number of helicopter flights permitted each year.

The final design, footprint and environmental conditions applying to the camp.

Which legal entity would construct and operate the development following the liquidation of Wild Drake Pty Ltd.

Whether the existing lease and licence arrangements will remain in place after March 2027.

Whether Halls Hut will remain under the present lease arrangements or be managed separately.

Whether the project can satisfy all World Heritage, Aboriginal cultural heritage, planning and reserve-management requirements.

Sources and documents

  • Commonwealth EPBC Public Portal: Halls Island Standing Camp, Lake Malbena — EPBC 2018/8177
  • Commonwealth departmental correspondence and assessment records released under freedom-of-information laws
  • Tasmanian Office of the Coordinator-General: Accepted tourism concepts
  • Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Management Plan
  • Supreme Court of Tasmania decisions concerning the Halls Island planning appeal
  • Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment lease and right-to-information records
  • Halls Island Standing Camp referral and additional-information documents