MIA releases state industry data from 2025 Health of the Marina Industry Survey

MIA releases state industry data from 2025 Health of the Marina Industry Survey © Marina Industries Association

The Marina Industries Association (MIA) has released detailed state data from the 2025 Health of the Australian Marina Industry Survey (HAMIS), building on the national findings presented at the Marinas26 International Conference & Trade Exhibition on Queensland's Gold Coast earlier this year.

The new state summary benchmarks Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and the remaining states and territories (grouped as "Other States" to protect respondent anonymity) against the FY2024-25 national average, giving marina operators, investors and government stakeholders a clearer, regional picture of how the industry is performing.

Nationally, the eighth edition of the biennial survey — conducted by research partner Michigan State University — found Australia's 305 marinas generated $965 million in gross revenue, supported almost 24,000 jobs and contributed an estimated $3.2 billion to the economy, at an average occupancy of 85.4%. Forty per cent of the nation's marinas took part, a participation rate researchers describe as the strongest of any marina survey conducted anywhere in the world.

The state-level figures show an industry with different growth engines depending on location. Queensland marinas reported the strongest revenue momentum, with almost half of operators (49.8%) recording higher gross revenue than the prior year.

Encouragingly, all three of the states reported individually posted average occupancy above the 85.4% national benchmark, with Western Australia leading the way at 88.3%, ahead of New South Wales (87.4%) and Queensland (86.1%).

Ownership structures across the three states are notably different. New South Wales has the highest proportion of privately owned marinas, at 88.6%, while Western Australia has by far the largest share under government ownership, at 63.0% — reflecting differing approaches to managing public waterways around the country.

Western Australia is also leading the way on renewable energy, with more than one in five of its marinas (20.6%) having already installed solar.

Western Australia has the highest concentration of full-service marinas, reporting the highest proportion of facilities offering both fuel (65.7%) and haul-out services (52.1%).

New South Wales reported the highest proportion of marinas leasing space to small business tenants, at 80.6%. Unsurprisingly, given its concentration of large shipyards and boatbuilding facilities, Queensland marinas host the highest average number of business tenants per site (11.1) and engage more contractors than any other state, at an average of 50.6 per marina.

"This state-level detail gives our industry a far richer picture than the national figures alone," said Andrew Chapman AM CMM, MIA President. "Queensland is leading on revenue growth, Western Australia is setting the benchmark on occupancy, and New South Wales continues to show that a smaller footprint doesn't mean a smaller opportunity for local business. Wherever you operate, this data is a powerful tool for benchmarking your business and advocating for your industry."

The full 2025 HAMI Report and accompanying state data are available to survey participants. The full report can be purchased from the MIA website.