On the 100-year anniversary of the Australian Coral Reef Society (ACRS), previously known as the Great Barrier Reef Committee (GBRC), we provide an overview of ACRS activities throughout its history, with a detailed account of key milestones in the last 40 years. We outline how the ACRS as promoted the protection and conservation of reefs, through expert advice, reviews, and submissions to enquiries. Examples are provided under the following themes: ACRS consultancy on zoning the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park, marine protected area design, water quality on the GBR, port expansions along the Queensland coastline and environmental reform for the offshore oil and gas industry. We illustrate how scientists over recent decades have worked to better understand and encourage policy responses to the impacts of climate change on Australia’s coral reefs. For a hundred years, the GBRC-ACRS has provided an avenue for Australian coral reef scientists, managers and conservationists to influence reef governance through policy. While these unique avenues for delivering timely and targeted expertise have helped to reduce proximate threats to reefs at local scales, their outcome in relation to climate change, arguably the largest threat to Australia’s coral reefs, remains to be seen.

在澳大利亚珊瑚礁协会 (ACRS)（前身为大堡礁委员会 (GBRC)）成立 100 周年之际，我们概述了其历史上的 ACRS 活动，并详细介绍了过去 40 年中的关键里程碑年。我们概述了 ACRS 如何通过专家建议、评论和提交查询来促进珊瑚礁的保护和养护。在以下主题下提供了示例：ACRS 关于大堡礁 (GBR) 海洋公园分区、海洋保护区设计、GBR 水质、昆士兰海岸线沿线港口扩建以及近海石油和天然气行业的环境改革的咨询。我们展示了近几十年来科学家如何努力更好地理解和鼓励政策应对气候变化对澳大利亚珊瑚礁的影响。一百年来，GBRC-ACRS 为澳大利亚珊瑚礁科学家、管理者和保护主义者提供了一条通过政策影响珊瑚礁治理的途径。虽然这些提供及时和有针对性的专业知识的独特途径有助于减少对当地珊瑚礁的直接威胁，但它们与气候变化相关的结果仍有待观察，气候变化可以说是对澳大利亚珊瑚礁的最大威胁。