Visitors to the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, in Port Campbell National Park, will need to book a time slot from 16 October, when the Keerray Woorroong Visitor Centre opens as part of a $126 million redevelopment.
Entry will stay free until April 2027. After that a fee applies, but the amount has not been announced.
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What Changes for Visitors
From 16 October, anyone planning to visit the Twelve Apostles needs to book ahead, the ABC, The Standard and Traveller reported. The booking requirement starts on the day the centre opens, and it applies even while entry is free.
Booking does not mean paying, at least for now. Entry remains free until April 2027, when the fee begins. Neither the ABC nor The Standard has reported a figure, and the fee has not been set.
Regional Development Minister Michaela Settle has described the coming fee as “really small”, the ABC reported.
Locals and traditional owners are to be exempt. What has not been settled is who counts as a local. The Standard reported that the exemption and its boundary are both still to be confirmed. Until the boundary is set, it is not clear who will qualify.
The Centre and the Coastline
The centre is part of a $126 million redevelopment. Its name, Keerray Woorroong, is the name of the area’s Country and language, The Standard reported.
The building includes a 230-seat cafe, according to both outlets.
Despite the name, seven limestone stacks remain, the ABC and Traveller reported.
Where the Money Goes
Money raised from the fee will go to the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, to be spent on visitor infrastructure and environmental work, the ABC and The Standard reported. That spending is the reason given for the fee.
Authority chair Libby Mears said the authority wanted the fee to be fair, and wanted locals to keep visiting.
“We’re working really hard to make sure it’s fair and reasonable and that local people, who kind of have a sense of ownership over this place, are really encouraged still to come,” she told The Standard.
That leaves the same question as the exemption: how the fee will treat people who live nearby.
It is not the only place in Victoria changing how visitors arrive. wrp has also reported on Melbourne Airport’s new pick-up and drop-off zones, which have now opened at one of the state’s busiest gateways.
Local Pushback
The fee has drawn criticism. Local MP Richard Riordan has spoken out against it, Traveller reported. The outlet’s own report described the new centre as controversial.
The Port Campbell Community Group also opposes the fee. Marion Manifold, from the group, told the ABC that “we believe public land should not be commercialised and should remain in public hands”.
Professor Susanne Becken of Griffith University offered a comparison when she spoke to the ABC.
“It’s like building a bigger car park. More cars come in so you need a bigger car park,” she said.
Free Until April
For visitors, the practical change starts on 16 October: book a slot before travelling to the site.
Payment comes later. Entry stays free until April 2027, and the fee that follows has no announced amount. The minister has called it “really small”, but no figure has been published.
Two questions remain open before then: how much the fee will be, and where the line is drawn for the local exemption. Traditional owners are to be exempt in either case. Until April 2027, a booking is the only new requirement for entry.
Sources: ABC News, “Tourists must pay and book ahead to see iconic Twelve Apostles”, 7 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-07/tourists-need-to-pay-and-book-to-visit-twelve-apostles/107233206); The Standard, “Want to visit the Twelve Apostles? You now have to book and soon pay”, 7 October 2026 (https://www.standard.net.au/story/9364010/twelve-apostles-launches-new-booking-system-for-visitors/); Traveller, “Pay to view: Controversial new visitor centre opens at Twelve Apostles”, 7 October 2026 (https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/pay-to-view-controversial-new-visitor-centre-opens-at-twelve-apostles-20261007-p6137q.html)
Image by Dietmar Rabich, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons.
Limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles in Port Campbell National Park, as they looked in October 2019, years ahead of the new visitor centre and booking system.