Licensing and regulations
Licensing
Licensing
Applying For A Game Licence
Anyone wishing to hunt game in Victoria, including juniors (12-17 years), must hold a current Game Licence. "Game" includes those species of duck, deer, quail, pheasants and partridges declared to be game in Victoria. A range of licence types is available, depending on the requirements of the individual hunter. For a full listing, please see the table below. The Game Licence must be endorsed for the appropriate type(s) of game that you wish to hunt and only permits you to hunt game in Victoria. Persons less than 12 years old are not permitted to use a firearm or to hunt or take game.
Should you wish to apply for a Game Licence, please complete the form below. Alternatively, contact the Customer Service Centre on 136 186 to have an application form sent to you by post or email.
Application for a Game Licence (PDF - 250 KB)Game licence applications may be lodged by mail as described in the application form or over the counter at most DSE offices, between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Upon receipt of your payment, your application will be processed and a Game Licence sent to you in the mail. The turn-around time for Game Licence applications is approximately three weeks, however, delays may occur during peak periods.
Game Licence fees are listed in the table below. Pensioners and juniors are eligible to receive a 50% discount on the price of a licence.
| Type Of Game Licence Available | Game Species Which May Be Hunted | Game Licence Fee Per Year Or Part Thereof* |
| Deer (stalking) | Stalking of Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Red Deer, Fallow Deer | $46.70 |
| Deer (stalking and hounds) | Hound hunting of Sambar Deer and stalking of Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Red Deer, Fallow Deer | $46.70 |
| Game birds (including duck) | Stubble Quail, European Quail, pheasants, partridges and eight species of waterfowl | $46.70 |
| Game birds (not including duck) | Stubble Quail, European Quail, pheasants and partridges | $46.70 |
| Game birds (including duck) and deer (stalking) | Stubble Quail, European Quail: pheasants, partridges, eight species of waterfowl and stalking of Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Red Deer, Fallow Deer | $74.80 |
| Game birds (including duck) and deer (stalking and hounds) | Stubble Quail, European Quail: pheasants, partridges, eight species of waterfowl, hound hunting of Sambar Deer and stalking of Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Red Deer, Fallow Deer | $74.80 |
| Game birds (not including duck) and deer (stalking) | Stubble Quail, European Quail, pheasants, partridges and stalking of Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Red Deer, Fallow Deer | $74.80 |
| Game birds (not including duck) and deer (stalking and hounds) | Stubble Quail, European Quail, pheasants, partridges, hound hunting of Sambar Deer and stalking of Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Red Deer, Fallow Deer | $74.80 |
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What if I want to hunt ducks?
Before you can hunt game birds including duck, you need to pass the Waterfowl Identification Test. This test ensures that only those hunters able to demonstrate adequate identification skills are permitted to hunt ducks in Victoria. The Department has developed an information sheet providing more detail on the Waterfowl Identification Test. For a copy of this information sheet, please select the “Information Sheets” link from the column at the left of the page, and then select the link “Waterfowl Identification Test”.
What if I want to hunt Sambar Deer with scent-trailing hounds?
Before you can hunt Sambar deer with hounds, you need to pass the Hound Hunting Test. This test is designed to ensure that hunters using scent-trailing hounds to hunt Sambar Deer are aware of their legal, ethical and safety requirements when hunting. The Department has developed an information sheet providing more detail on the Hound Hunting Test. For a copy of this information sheet, please select the “Information Sheets” link from the column at the left of the page, and then select the link “Hound Hunting Test”.
Existing Game Licence Holders
If you have an existing Game Licence, a renewal notice will be sent to you in the mail approximately six weeks before your licence is next due to expire. Should you wish to renew your licence, please follow the instructions on the renewal form. Your new licence will be sent to you after receipt of payment. The turn-around time for Game Licence renewals is approximately three weeks, however, delays may occur during peak periods. Please note that early payment of Game Licence renewals will facilitate the early issue of a renewed licence.
Have you changed your address?
If you change your address, you must advise the Wildlife and Game Licensing Service within seven days of doing so. Your Game Licence should be returned for amendment, together with written notification advising of your new residential address and new postal address (if different from the new residential address). Your written notification may be either a letter or a completed amendment form.
Should you wish to amend your address on your Game Licence, please complete the form attached below. Alternatively, contact the Customer Service Centre on 136 186 to have an amendment form sent to you by post or email.
Amendment of a Game Licence (PDF - 165 KB)You will then need to send your notification, together with your outdated Game Licence to the Wildlife and Game Licensing Service, PO Box 500, East Melbourne 3002. A new licence with your updated details will be sent to you free of charge.
Providing your new address also ensures that you will receive a copy of the Victorian Hunting Guide and any other information that the Department needs to send to you.
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How do I amend my licence type?
Should you wish to change your licence type, please complete the form attached below. Alternatively, contact the Customer Service Centre on 136 186 to have an amendment form sent to you by post or email.
Amendment of a Game Licence (PDF - 165 KB)You will then need to complete the form and send it to the Wildlife and Game Licensing Service, PO Box 500, East Melbourne 8002, together with a cheque or money order for a $11.60 administration fee and any additional payment for the licence type you wish to obtain. Upon receipt of payment, an updated licence will be sent to you.
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What if I lose my licence?
If you lose your Game Licence, you will need to send a signed Statutory Declaration stating that you have lost your licence, together with a cheque or money order for a $11.60 replacement fee, to the Wildlife and Game Licensing Service, PO Box 500, East Melbourne 8002. Upon receipt of payment, a new licence will be sent to you.
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Hunting On A Receipt
If you pay for your Game Licence in person at a DSE office, you will be issued with a receipt. This receipt is deemed to be an 'interim licence' and you can hunt with this until you receive your licence in the mail. If you sent a cheque or money order by mail and you have confirmed that this has been cashed, you may hunt using your cheque stub or money order stub as proof of payment. This applies to payment receipts for all new, renewed or amended licences.
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Firearms Licences
To possess, use or carry a firearm in Victoria, you must hold and carry a current Firearms Licence issued by Victoria Police or any equivalent current interstate Firearms Licence. In addition, all firearms must be registered. This includes all shotguns and rifles.
For information on Firearms Licences and the possession, use and ownership of firearms, contact your Regional Firearms Officer or the Licensing Services Branch, Victoria Police, on 1300 651 645.
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Regulations
Why is recreational game hunting regulated in Victoria?
Game hunting in Victoria is regulated to:
- Provide continued sustainable (except where other management objectives seek to control or reduce populations), humane, ethical and safe recreational hunting opportunities.
- Ensure equitable sharing of game resources between stakeholders.
- Minimise the destruction of non-game species.
- Ensure the protection of wildlife habitats.
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How is game hunting managed?
To remain sustainable, game harvest levels must not exceed the annual rate of production. There are a number of mechanisms that can be used to regulate harvest levels, including season length, bag limits, number of hunters and the times and places where hunting can occur. In Victoria, the most commonly applied harvest regulators are season length and bag limits, but in certain instances, tighter controls (eg. balloted hunting) are used to achieve particular management objectives.
Open and close seasons are one of the most common management tools used by wildlife agencies throughout the world to ensure the conservation of game resources and reduce hunting disturbance to both game and other wildlife during important stages of their life cycle. Open seasons are timed so as not to impact on productivity or core breeding stocks. The length of an open season is also used as a mechanism to regulate harvest, as harvest levels are known to show a positive relationship with increasing time.
The primary consideration when setting open season dates is the probable impact that hunting will have on the species at a particular given time. Although the need to provide hunting opportunity is important, it must come second to minimising any likely detrimental impact on the status of the population and must be consistent with the biology of the species.
For game populations, harvesting is generally timed to coincide with the post-breeding period when the population is temporarily increased by replacement and recruitment and the activities of hunters are less likely to damage breeding stocks. Close seasons allow game to breed undisturbed prior to hunting, maximising production and reducing the risk of any long-term effects of harvesting on the total population. Local elimination of small breeding populations of game species is also less likely than with a twelve-month season. The use of open and close seasons also means that enforcement efforts can be concentrated into particular periods.
In addition to protecting game during periods of vulnerability, close seasons can also be a useful tool to ensure that hunting activity is conducted during periods consistent with other land management activities or peaks in other recreational pursuits. In most cases, these periods are not considered suitable for hunting anyway, due to high levels of disturbance which can disrupt hunting activities. To a large extent, hunting takes place during the colder months (autumn and early winter) when other recreational activities are reduced and the chance of conflict is less likely. In instances where there may be significant conflict or some threat to public safety, areas or periods may be closed to hunting.
The length of the open season is used as a mechanism to regulate harvest levels, as levels are known to increase with longer seasons. If, for example, hunting is reducing a game animal population excessively, shortening of the open season could reduce the harvest to a sustainable level.
Bag limits are used to restrict the number of animals taken on a daily or a seasonal basis and are used to ensure that harvesting does not compromise the long-term conservation status of the population. Bag limits can apply to a species generally or they can be more specific and set different limits for sex and/or age categories. The regulation of harvests using bag limits can also result in a more even distribution of game among hunters and can limit or prevent the accumulation of game species for illegal commercial sale.
Bag limits have their greatest impact when set below levels that most hunters can achieve. If bag limits are excessively high, they have little effect on regulating the total harvest. High bag limits may also act as a goal that some hunters may strive to fulfil, placing unnecessary pressure on game populations and possibly leading to poor shooting practises. High bag limits that are rarely attained by the majority can also discourage goal-oriented hunters and can result in both the general and hunting communities believing that management is poor and that the population is not capable of sustaining such high levels of harvest.
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