Ranked by how many distinct species or groups are recorded for each site in this directory. It rewards the thoroughly surveyed sites, the Nelson Bay sponge gardens, the Mornington piers, Julian Rocks and the Solitary Islands, as much as the tropical reefs.
Updated daily from the directory. 30 sites listed.
1. Christmas Island · External Territory
Flying Fish Cove
17 species recorded · Arguably Australia's best shore dive: a pristine coral slope and wall 50 m from the car park, endemic and hybrid reef fish, and whale sharks passing the drop-off in season.
2. Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory
The Rip (Direction Island)
17 species recorded · A fast, coral-lined drift channel from the ocean into the lagoon, full of sharks, humphead parrotfish and Napoleon wrasse, with a safety rope to stop and watch.
3. Coral Sea · External Territory
Admiralty (Osprey Reef)
15 species recorded · A coral village of huge bommies with a centuries-old anchor in a swim-through, flashlight fish at night and a sheer wall below.
4. Christmas Island · External Territory
Perpendicular Wall
15 species recorded · A true vertical wall into the abyss at the island's north-western tip, with colourful fans, schooling fish and a real chance of sharks, mantas and whale sharks.
5. Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory
Cannons
14 species recorded · Old cannons among Porites corals on sand, with garden eels and gobies – and a chance of dugong, dolphins and mantas.
6. Coral Sea · External Territory
False Entrance (Osprey Reef)
14 species recorded · Spectacular bommies and blue-water swim-throughs in a blind gully, with schooling trevally and barracuda and dense grey reef shark aggregations.
7. Christmas Island · External Territory
Leanne's Leap
14 species recorded · An easy one-way drift from drop-off into a lush coral garden, often linked with Submarine Rock.
8. Coral Sea · External Territory
Nonki Bommie (Holmes Reef)
14 species recorded · A split pinnacle with a canyon between its two fingers, draped in giant sea fans and soft corals.
9. Christmas Island · External Territory
The Cemetery
14 species recorded · A gentle, shallow drift over colourful coral a few metres from shore – an ideal first drift dive.
10. Norfolk Island · External Territory
The Crack (Nepean Island)
14 species recorded · Drift along a bay of gutters and caves over a carpet of hard coral, with goldribbon cod, black cod and green turtles.
11. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Turtle Arch
14 species recorded · Turtle-shaped pinnacle near Cooks Arch covered in coral and marine growth, to 21 m.
12. Coral Sea · External Territory
Anemone City (Flinders Reef)
14 species recorded · Five lagoon pinnacles carpeted in purple anemones and clownfish.
13. Christmas Island · External Territory
Fuel Buoys
13 species recorded · Healthy coral reef beneath the Navy refuelling buoys, with a surreal straight trench carved by the giant mooring chain.
14. Coral Sea · External Territory
North Horn (Osprey Reef)
13 species recorded · The Coral Sea's signature shark dive on a seamount wall.
15. Christmas Island · External Territory
The Morgue
13 species recorded · A macro-rich slope with giant Acropora and feather stars, ribbon eels and Spanish dancers – the island's favourite boat night dive.
16. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Cascade Pier
13 species recorded · Easy shore dive over sand, rock outcrops and coral heads with visibility often over 40 m, sheltered in south-easterlies.
17. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Cooks Arch
13 species recorded · Swim through an arch in a 12 m-high rock that drops to 21 m, with caves and crevices nearby.
18. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Policemans Helmet
13 species recorded · Easy wall dive with overhangs beneath a helmet-shaped rock.
19. Christmas Island · External Territory
The Sandpatch
12 species recorded · A dense garden eel colony and easy shallow reef right off the beach; the island's go-to training and night dive.
20. Coral Sea · External Territory
Fairy Grotto (Osprey Reef)
12 species recorded · A range of big coral bommies with caverns and swim-throughs beside a 1,000 m wall.
21. Christmas Island · External Territory
Million Dollar Bommie
12 species recorded · A solitary coral bommie rising from sand, with a dense garden eel colony and outstanding photography on the summit.
22. Christmas Island · External Territory
Submarine Rock
12 species recorded · A submarine-shaped reef and 50 m drop-off with healthy boulder corals and passing mantas, eagle rays and grey reef sharks.
23. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Black Bank
12 species recorded · Colourful boulder reef riddled with caves, arches and swim-throughs.
24. Christmas Island · External Territory
Chicken Farm
12 species recorded · A vertical north-coast wall with exceptionally large gorgonian fans below 33 m.
25. Christmas Island · External Territory
Ethel Beach
12 species recorded · A colourful sloping reef off one of Australia's best beaches – the island's wet-season shore dive and a red crab spawning site.
26. Coral Sea · External Territory
Golden Wall (Holmes Reef)
12 species recorded · A sheer wall glowing with golden sea whips and gorgonians, with pelagic schools off the edge.
27. Christmas Island · External Territory
Lost Lake East
12 species recorded · Typical north-coast reef and wall with dense fish life, next to the Lost Lake caves.
28. Christmas Island · External Territory
North West Point
12 species recorded · Sandy reef ledges with sleeping reef sharks and dense schools – the gentler companion dive to Perpendicular Wall.
29. Christmas Island · External Territory
Admin Wall
11 species recorded · A sheer, effectively bottomless wall reached from the beach, with trevally, reef sharks and seasonal whale sharks.
30. Coral Sea · External Territory
Crystal Plateau (Bougainville Reef)
11 species recorded · A clear-water hard-coral terrace on the edge of the abyss, with sharks and giant potato cod.
The guide
Counting species
The ranking counts the species and groups recorded in each site's marine-life entry, which favours sites that have been surveyed and written about carefully. That is a reasonable proxy for biodiversity, and it produces a list that experienced divers will recognise: the great macro piers of Victoria and South Australia, the subtropical convergence sites of southern Queensland where tropical and temperate species overlap, and the pinnacles of the Ribbon Reefs.
It undercounts the Great Barrier Reef, where every outer-reef site has hundreds of species and the site records simply say 'reef fish, corals'. It also reflects the temperate south's real strength: southern Australia has the highest proportion of endemic marine species of any temperate coast on earth, and the sponge gardens of Port Phillip and the gulfs are where they live.
Where the overlap is
The subtropical coast from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast and around to Bundaberg is the biodiversity sweet spot for a visiting diver. The East Australian Current brings tropical species south; the temperate species reach north; and structures like the Brisbane, the Seaway walls and Wonder Reef give them all somewhere to live. Winter brings grey nurse sharks and clear water, summer brings mantas and leopard sharks, and the macro life is there all year.
Editorial last reviewed September 2026. The list itself is regenerated from the directory daily.
Frequently asked questions
Which Australian dive site has the most marine life?
By recorded species, the temperate sponge-garden and pier sites (Fly Point, Blairgowrie, Edithburgh) and the subtropical islands (Julian Rocks, the Solitaries) lead, alongside the Great Barrier Reef's best bommies.
More rankings
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- The Warmest Dive Sites in Australia
- The Coldest Dive Sites in Australia
- Australia's Clearest-Water Dive Sites
- The Oldest Shipwrecks You Can Dive in Australia
- WWII and Wartime Wrecks You Can Dive in Australia
- All rankings →