General News
14 February, 2026
Bushy Creek causeway a keeper
A ROGUE causeway constructed at the Bushy Creek crossing near Julatten by a private resident has been retrospectively “accepted” by the Department of Primary Industries.
The work at the popular public swimming hole began in October and had sparked concerns by local residents that the activity appeared to be unauthorised.
After being notified by the public, Mareeba Shire Council had confirmed it was not conducting any site works and would be assisting the Department in its investigations.
The crossing is a public waterway that intersects with a council-gazetted road.
The new works included concrete approaches to the creek and hardened concrete bollards to be placed across the waterway, to provide better access to private properties on the other side of the creek.
It would replace the shallow rock base crossing, which was often impassable in the wet season.
Residents had complained in writing to both council and in heated social media exchanges, about a lack of signage, lack of information about design, planning or approved engineering and environmental and safety considerations – both during construction and regarding long-term structural integrity.
Liability was also questioned should an accident occur, or the water flows changed and caused environmental damage.
In a statement from the department last week, a spokesperson said the bed level crossing was permissible under the Accepted development requirements for operational work that is constructing or raising waterway barrier works: September 2025 (accepted development).
The Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol had inspected the waterway barriers and “determined it was compliant with this approval pathway, providing for fish access to, or movement within, the waterway”.
In a previous statement, the department explained that the inspection would check the barriers to ensure they did not “disrupt the natural lifecycle of native fish species, injure fish or affect their overall health, damage fish habitats, and prevent fish movement within and between waterways”.
An “accepted development” allows for a builder to provide details of the work after the fact, on structural, material and design planning. The details must comply with all of the requirements in a relevant accepted development document under the Planning Act 2016.
The move avoids the red tape of approvals through both council and the department.
A Mareeba Shire spokesperson said last week the council was made aware of the status of the causeway, and it had been well constructed and provided access by car and foot across the local swimming spot. Council had not received any more notifications from the public.
