Established in 2018, AusSeabed is a collaborative national seabed mapping initiative focused on delivering freely accessible seabed mapping data and coordinating efforts to map the gaps across the Australian maritime region of responsibility. AusSeabed is driven by a cross-sector steering committee bringing together organisations from the government, academia and private sectors to ensure an inclusive and diverse representation of the seabed mapping community. The Annual Highlights Report presents the key achievements of the AusSeabed program over the 2021/22 financial year. The report is structured in five sections, the first four are aligned to the 2021/22 work plan objectives and the fifth highlights engagement activities over the past year.

This document presents an overview of the AusSeabed 2022/23 Work Plan created by the AusSeabed Steering Committee and endorsed by the AusSeabed Executive Board. The work plan builds on the great work delivered in 2021/22 (see the Annual Highlights Report & Annual Progress Report). For more information on the direction and vision of the program, please refer to the AusSeabed Strategy. For further information about AusSeabed see <a href="https://www.ausseabed.gov.au">https://www.ausseabed.gov.au</a>

Although the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics was created in 1946, it did not compile an annual report until 1971. The series continued under this title up to 1976, all but the last providing summaries of annual activities by broad sections (functions and organisation, field operations, laboratory studies, observatories, and so on). The 1976 Annual Report adopted a shorter format, a general outline of the role, objectives and programs of the Bureau being followed by a selection of short articles on the "more innovative and conclusive activities" of that year. This new format was retained in 1977 when a title change was made and the annual summaries became known as BMR Yearbooks.

Established in 2018, AusSeabed is a collaborative national seabed mapping initiative focused on delivering freely accessible seabed mapping data and coordinating efforts to map the gaps across the Australian maritime region of responsibility. AusSeabed is driven by a cross-sector steering committee bringing together organisations from the government, academia and private sectors to ensure an inclusive and diverse representation of the seabed mapping community. This Annual Progress Report provides a detailed account of the progress made against the AusSeabed program activities planned for 2021/22. A summary of highlights can be found in the Annual Highlights Report.