The primary purposes of this law are 1) to determine South Africa's coastal zones, 2) to provide for the co-ordinated and integrated coastal zone management by all spheres of government, 3) to preserve, protect, extend, and enhance the status of coastal public property as being held in trust by South Africa's government, 4) to secure equitable access to the opportunities and benefits of coastal public property, and 5) to give effect to the Republic's international legal obligations regarding coastal management and the marine environment. Specifically, this law defines coastal public property and coastal protection zones, and outlines the federal, provincial, and municipal government responsibilities regarding such property and in such zones. It mandates that the member of the Executive Council responsible for administering this law take into account the "potential for the number and severity of natural disasters to increase due to the effects of global climate change and other impacts on the environment, and the importance of taking preventive measures to address these threats."

This Act establishes a system of integrated coastal and estuarine management in South Africa. The Act provides, within the framework of the National Environmental Management Act, for the coordinated and integrated management of the coastal zone by all spheres of government (national, provincial and municipal) in accordance with the principles of cooperative governance. It was amended by the Act No. 36 of 2014 called "National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Amendment Act" mainly to amend certain definitions, clarify coastal public property and the ownership of structures erected on and in coastal public property, among other things.