Cave diving · Oceania
Cave diving in Australia
Most Australian cave diving happens in the karst plain around Mount Gambier in South Australia, where clear groundwater fills sinkholes, spring ponds and cave passages. Further sites lie under the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia, in New South Wales (Wellington, Burrinjuck and Glenbawn) and in the Northern Territory. The Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) lists more than 40 sites in its directory and rates each one against its own qualification levels.
How access works
Access in South Australia is tied to CDAA membership: the CDAA rates sites as Basic Cave, Cave or Advanced Cave, members book sites through the CDAA or the land manager, and landowners or agencies set extra conditions such as indemnity forms, guides, keys and timeslots. Sites on state land around Mount Gambier (Piccaninnie Ponds, Fossil Cave, Gouldens and Sisters sinkholes) are booked through the South Australian Department for Environment and Water. Visitors from overseas who already hold cave certification can apply for a three-month CDAA visitor permit. Nullarbor caves in Western Australia need written applications to the relevant state agency weeks in advance.
A general summary; each site page gives its own dated access information.
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Cave systems
Green Waterhole - Tank Cave system
Cocklebiddy Cave
Engelbrecht Cave
Piccaninnie Ponds Karst Wetlands
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Entrances and dive sites
| Site | Cave system | Type | Access | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocklebiddy CaveNullarbor Plain, near Cocklebiddy | Cocklebiddy Cave | Cave entrance | Restricted access | |
| Engelbrecht Cave EastMount Gambier (city centre) | Engelbrecht Cave | Cave entrance | Open to qualified divers, with conditions | |
| Engelbrecht Cave WestMount Gambier (city centre) | Engelbrecht Cave | Cave entrance | Open to qualified divers, with conditions | |
| Fossil Cave (Green Waterhole)Tantanoola | Green Waterhole - Tank Cave system | Sinkhole | Open to qualified divers, with conditions | |
| Tank CaveTantanoola | Green Waterhole - Tank Cave system | Cave entrance | Open to qualified divers, with conditions | |
 |
Piccaninnie Ponds (First Pond, Chasm and Cathedral)Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park, about 32 km south-east of Mount Gambier | Piccaninnie Ponds Karst Wetlands | Spring | Closed to diving |
 |
Ewens PondsEight Mile Creek, south of Mount Gambier | — | Spring | Open to qualified divers, with conditions |
| Kilsby's SinkholeMoorak, south of Mount Gambier | — | Sinkhole | Open to qualified divers, with conditions | |
| Little Blue LakeMount Schank, south of Mount Gambier | — | Sinkhole | Open to qualified divers, with conditions | |
| The ShaftAllendale East, south of Mount Gambier | — | Sinkhole | Open to qualified divers, with conditions | |
| Weebubbie CaveNullarbor Plain, near Eucla | — | Cave entrance | Restricted access |
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Dive centres and guides
| Provider | Where | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Water Ascent | Melbourne | 2026-10-14 |
| Deep Blue Ventures | McCrae, Victoria (Melbourne area) | 2026-10-14 |
| Dive Experience | Mount Gambier | 2026-10-14 |
| Diving Adelaide | Marleston (Adelaide) | 2026-10-14 |
A listing is not an endorsement.
Updates
| Published | Update | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-06-06re-check due | Engelbrecht Cave returns to City of Mount Gambier managementThe City of Mount Gambier announced that the long-time licensee of Engelbrecht Cave, a tourist cave that is also a cave-diving site, would hand... | City of Mount Gambier ↗ |
Every fact on this page, with its source (6)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The CDAA directory lists dive sites around Mount Gambier (SA), on the Nullarbor and Roe Plains (WA), at Wellington, Burrinjuck and Glenbawn (NSW) and at Rum Jungle Lake (NT), each with a CDAA rating of Basic Cave, Cave or Advanced Cave or marked Not Rated.Directory viewed 2026-10-14 showed roughly 45 site entries; the CDAA home page separately says members have access to over 50 dive sites around Australia. | Verified | [1] [7] |
| The CDAA uses three diver levels, Basic Cave, Cave and Advanced Cave; Basic Cave is the entry course and covers cavern and sinkhole sites. | Verified | [2] |
| Divers using the state-managed sites Gouldens Sinkhole, Sisters Sinkhole and Fossil Cave must be current CDAA members, complete a diving indemnity and receive a booking confirmation before diving. | Verified | [4] |
| Certified cave divers who are not Australian residents can apply for a non-transferable visitor permit that makes them CDAA diving members for three months; the fee is AU$50, applications should be lodged 6-8 weeks before arrival and need a sponsoring CDAA member, a 12-month cave dive log and certification cards.Fee as shown on the CDAA page viewed 2026-10-14 (page undated). | Verified | [3] |
| The CDAA says it was formed in September 1973, after a period in which cave diving was unregulated and several divers died. | Verified | [5] |
| For Cocklebiddy Cave the CDAA tells divers to apply in writing to the WA parks district office at least four weeks before a trip. | Verified | [6] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction