Oyster aquaculture is the largest aquacultural industry in New South Wales (NSW), with more than 4300 hectares of culture. The industry faces various challenges, including high levels of sedimentation and disease that threaten farmers' livelihoods and the seagrasses that share estuaries with oyster aquaculture. This study aims to compare the governance and regulation of aquaculture in Australia and the USA to identify best practices. Specifically, we examine key policy initiatives in multiple Australian states to understand current management recommendations for sediment remediation, seagrass protection, polyculture in oyster aquaculture leases, and the structure of federal oversight on oyster aquacultural regulation. We also examined policy initiatives and challenges facing the United States oyster aquaculture industry to ascertain similarities, differences, and potential policy recommendations applicable to NSW. We are also investigating sediment characteristics and sedimentation rates beneath NSW oyster aquaculture leases to determine impacts on estuarine sediment and establish historical baselines of nutrient accumulation. Sediment cores will be taken and dated through gamma spectrometry. These sediment cores will be assessed for changes in nutrient accumulation associated with the aquaculture, identified through nitrogen isotopes. This work aims to determine if sediment characteristics can be used to inform policy around best practices in oyster aquaculture.