In September 2012, a three-week survey of the proposed Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve off northern Australia was conducted from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) research vessel RV Solander. Oceanographic, biological and acoustic sampling was conducted using techniques including towed and baited remote cameras, ocean drifters, benthic sleds, multibeam sonar, a box corer, and sediment and water collection. The result is an unprecedented, integrated description of biological communities and their relationship with the shallow seabed and open water environments of a poorly known region of Australian’s marine jurisdiction.