Here is an attempt to a better understanding of how things work with land tenure with the Wilbinga Conservation Park as it stands now so that the petition presented on this site is not seen as emotionally driven.

Some comparison of a National Park as opposed to a Conservation Park

A Western Australian conservation park gets its protection mainly from the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 (WA). Under this law, land can be officially reserved as a conservation park to protect natural environments, wildlife, and recreational values.

Its protection comes from several linked mechanisms:

  • Legal reservation of the land — the area is formally set aside for conservation purposes under WA legislation.
  • Management by government conservation agencies — mainly the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and the Conservation and Parks Commission.
  • Restrictions on harmful activities — activities like clearing vegetation, damaging habitats, taking wildlife, or some forms of development are controlled or prohibited.
  • Additional environmental laws — including the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and sometimes Australia’s federal environmental laws if threatened species or nationally important ecosystems are involved.
  • Management plans and ranger enforcement — conservation parks are managed according to approved plans, and rangers can enforce conservation regulations.

Conservation parks are generally protected for both nature conservation and public recreation, although they usually allow a wider range of recreational uses than nature reserves.

A Western Australian national park gets its legal protection mainly from the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 (usually called the CALM Act). This law sets aside land as a national park and gives rules for how it must be protected and managed.

The protection works through a few key things:

  • Legal reservation of the land — the land is officially reserved as a national park under WA law.
  • Management by the Conservation and Parks Commission and DBCA — these agencies are responsible for protecting biodiversity, wildlife, and natural values.
  • Restrictions on activities — activities such as clearing vegetation, mining, logging, taking plants or animals, and some recreational uses are limited or controlled by law.
  • Additional environmental laws may also apply, including the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and federal laws like the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 for nationally important species or habitats.

In simple terms:
A WA national park is protected because the government has legally declared the area a national park under the CALM Act, and laws then control what people can and cannot do there.

And some more interesting reading... 

Yes. A Western Australian conservation park can be upgraded to a Class A reserve status in Western Australia.

“Class A” is not a different type of park — it is a higher level of legal protection applied to a reserve under the Land Administration Act 1997 (WA). A conservation park, nature reserve, or national park can all potentially be classified as Class A.

The main effect of Class A status is that:

  • the purpose and boundaries of the reserve receive stronger protection,
  • changes such as excision (removing land), cancellation, or altering the purpose generally require approval by both Houses of the WA Parliament,
  • and it becomes much harder for the land to be reduced or repurposed.

The process usually involves:

  1. recommendation by the WA government and relevant agencies,
  2. formal reservation actions,
  3. approval by the Governor,
  4. and parliamentary processes.

Many of WA’s most significant conservation areas already have Class A status because it provides the strongest form of reserve protection available under state law.

So, in short:

  • Yes, a conservation park can become a Class A reserve.
  • Doing so increases its legal security and makes future changes much more difficult.

And here is a link to a map that displays the conservation park http://www.friendsofwilbinga.com.au/mapping, the blue shaded area is the conservation reserve, the brown shaded area is UCL, also managed by Parks and Wildlife and to note, the beaches are also UCL, (unallocated crown land) not managed by Parks and Wildlife.  

A national park gets its protection because automatically its designated as a class A reserve. 

As for the registered DBCA volunteers, you can sign this petition as you are signing to support the current strategic management plans of Wilbinga working with Parks and Wildlife Services, supporting the status quo of how Wilbinga is managed right now! You won't risk the Wilbinga Shacks Crew running/standing adoption agreement as nothing changes. 

Differences between the parks - click to understand better.