Park agencies generally have the same overall goals of managing areas sustainably to contemporary standards while respecting traditional wisdom.  Parks in Australia, as is the same across the world, are resourced to different levels with the consequence that there is a noticeable difference in standards from park to park across the Australian landscape.

One of the worlds most popular jobs is that of park ranger, due to the somewhat romantic idea of what this role is about.  A conversation with park rangers from around the world will make you realise that the role of a park ranger means very different things from park to park, agency to agency and country to country.  Ranger job advertisements are located here if your heart lies in that direction.

In the long distant past (circa 1965) people could get park ranger jobs in Australia relatively easily.  If you were a knock about sort of bloke (yep, bloke) you could “get in”.  In modern times selection criteria for this type of work have become more stringent and have generally encouraged greater gender and cultural diversity.  Qualifications are expected and you can find links to a range of relevant study options here.

As well as park organisations, there are many other agencies that manage natural resources in Australia.  A selection of links in alphabetical order can be found here.

An increasingly important tool for park users and those people who manage parks is the use of mapping, Global Positioning (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Early versions of these tools required users to be comfortable and adaptable with technology and were not all that user friendly.  As time moves forward however, these tools and systems become far more accessible.