The main urban centre in the Tully Basin is the township of Tully, which is located inland and has a population of 2,436. Several localities, including Hull Heads, Tully Heads, and Mission Beach, are located on the coast.

    The Tully Basin is steep in its upper areas which are primarily occupied by tropical rainforest and sclerophyll forests (largely in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area), while the coastal floodplain has largely been cleared and drained for agricultural purposes.

    Streams emerge from the coastal mountain range with high velocities and volumes resulting from rainfall events.

    Koombooloomba Dam is located in the upper catchment and is used for power generation.

    Wetlands listed in the Directory of (Nationally) Important Wetlands include Tully River-Murray River floodplains, Edmund Kennedy Wetlands and Licuala Palm Forest.

    The Tully Basin has an area of 1,685 km2 and has a high proportion of natural/minimal use lands (75%). The remaining area is comprised of 12% sugarcane, 4% bananas, 5% grazing, 2% forestry, 1% other crops, 1% urban and 3% other land uses.

    Key results for 2024-25

    The Tully Basin grade has remained ‘good’ with the score decreasing from 70 to 67. 

    • Water quality remained ‘good’ with the score decreasing from 72 to 64.
    • Pesticide risk increased from low risk to moderate risk.
    • The pesticide grade declined from ‘good’ to ‘moderate’.
    • Filterable reactive phosphorus (FRP) improved from ‘good’ to ‘very good’.
    • Wetland extent remained ‘very poor’ and one hectare of wetland habitat was recorded as lost since 2019.
    • The flow indicator improved from ‘moderate’ to ‘good’ due to the return of a more typical rainfall pattern for the region including the timing of the wet season rainfall and flow events. Poorer scores in 2023-24 were influenced by Severe Tropical Cyclone Jasper (TC Jasper) and the early onset of the wet season and intense rainfall and flood events from mid-December.  

    The diagram below shows the detailed results for each indicator by year. Click on the timeslider to see data from previous years.

    Further Information

    For a detailed breakdown of the results and trends, visit the results dashboard or read the methods and results technical reports.