Since its formation, ACF has protected the reef from oil drilling, limestone mining, overfishing and trawling. In 1969, ACF kickstarted a Royal Commission which led to a ban on oil drilling on the reef. Six years later, after a national campaign by ACF and other community groups, the Australian government declared the Great Barrier Reef a national marine park. In the 1980s, the ACF community campaigned for the Reef's World Heritage listing – and won. In the early 2000s, one of ACF's greatest successes was in influencing the expansion of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Over 3,500 submissions from ACF supporters to the Marine Park Authority saw environmentally protected areas of the reef increase from five per cent to one third of its expanse.