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Matilda Bay Ferry Terminal Approved Despite Community Backlash

The Matilda Bay ferry terminal has planning approval, but community opposition and a dispute over water-user safety continue. Here’s what the decision does—and does not—settle.

By Bettesworth Construction Team 3 min read
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The Western Australian Planning Commission approved development applications for the Matilda Bay and Applecross ferry terminals on 11 December 2025. That greenlight is a planning decision, not confirmation that construction is complete or that the disputed safety and design questions have been resolved. The Matilda Bay proposal remains contested, with opponents challenging its effects on water users, recreation, public access and the bay’s environment.

What the Matilda Bay project would build

The Matilda Bay terminal is part of the Public Transport Authority’s METRONET on Swan Ferry Service Expansion. The PTA’s proposed design comprises a fixed jetty connecting to shore, a sheltered waiting area, a covered hinged jetty and a floating pontoon where passengers would board. The authority says the Hackett Drive location would improve connections to the University of Western Australia’s Crawley campus, QEII Medical Centre and the surrounding Matilda Bay area. These are the project’s stated design and transport aims, not a guarantee of how people will use the service.

The approval announcement put the Matilda Bay terminal’s estimated cost at about $29.9 million, according to the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia in 2025. That is an announced estimate, not a final construction cost.

What has been approved—and what remains separate

The Matilda Bay terminal development application’s public comment period closed on 23 October 2025. WAPC approved the Matilda Bay and Applecross terminal applications on 11 December 2025. The PTA’s project page now lists the terminal development applications as approved.

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That decision should not be confused with the separate application for ferry operations on the Swan and Canning Rivers. The PTA page recorded a public feedback period for that operating application from 31 August to 29 September 2026. The terminal approval does not itself settle that distinct process, establish final operating rules or show that construction has begun.

There is also a separate environmental process: the PTA says the Environmental Protection Authority advised that the proposal did not require formal assessment or approval under section 38 of the Environmental Protection Act. This is distinct from WAPC’s planning decision.

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Why residents and water users object

A petition presented to the WA Legislative Assembly on 19 February 2026 asked the government to abandon the Matilda Bay terminal and relocate it to JoJo’s. Petitioners described Matilda Bay as “one of Perth’s most iconic natural spaces” and warned that the proposal could “Turn a peaceful community reserve into a busy transport hub.” Those statements express the petitioners’ concerns; they are not independent findings about the project’s effects.

The petition raised possible impacts on recreation and access, wildlife and biodiversity, trees and views, rowing and water-sports clubs, and cultural and environmental heritage. Its recorded signature categories were 2,616 certified petitioners, 1,209 nonconforming signatures and 6,231 online signatures. Those categories should not be treated as a verified count of unique people.

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The unresolved dispute over safety

Safety is a central point of disagreement. In September 2026, ABC reported that advocacy group Safety on Swan had commissioned a report which said water users would face “serious risk” if the terminal proceeded. That is the report’s conclusion as described by ABC, not a regulator’s finding.

The government, by contrast, cited its own analysis that Matilda Bay was the safest location “with adjustments.” ABC reported that possible measures discussed included a wide ferry exclusion zone, reduced speeds in the bay and a 40-metre jetty intended to allow children and swimmers to use water close to shore. These were reported mitigation options, not confirmation of final, adopted rules.

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Matilda Bay or JoJo’s: the location arguments

The two locations are presented as trade-offs rather than as a settled, independent comparison. The government rejected JoJo’s as less suitable, citing a longer walk to UWA and proximity to a marine park with significant seagrass and a Bush Forever site. Safety on Swan argued that JoJo’s would be safer and could avoid extensive mitigation. Opponents of Matilda Bay also point to the bay’s recreation, public access and heritage values.

The available reporting does not provide a fully independent, apples-to-apples assessment of both locations across transport access, water-user safety, environmental constraints and public recreation. As a result, the approval establishes the planning outcome for the terminal application, but it does not resolve the competing claims about which site best balances those interests.

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What approval does not tell us

As of 8 October 2026, the available information does not establish a final construction contract, an exact construction timetable, adopted operating rules or whether the reported safety measures have been approved. The PTA’s planning index lists supporting planning, heritage, environmental, architectural, noise, traffic, coastal-process, photomontage and landscape documents; their listing alone does not establish the conclusions of those reports.

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