Complete this form to apply for a landholder’s licence to harm native animals under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.

This licence allows authorised persons to control protected native animals if shown to be causing a serious threat to safety, property damage or economic hardship on a property. Harm may include trap and euthanise, catch and release, or kill.

Applying for landholder licence to harm should be a last resort and longer-term, non-lethal solutions should be investigated and implemented where possible. Animals permitted to be harmed under this licence are listed in the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 Schedule 5 (protected animals).

All details must be completed by the applicant before sending this form to the department's Biodiversity and Heritage Regulator for assessment.

Since 1 July 2021, you cannot get a licence to harm flying foxes in New South Wales.

Requirements

The applicant is required to:

  • ensure administrative tasks are complete and submitted as required, including all application details, record keeping, reporting and notifying the Biodiversity and Heritage Regulator of any changes to information provided in this application. Previous licence holders who have not submitted the licence record sheet may not be granted a new licence.
  • check details entered for a person nominated for authority to harm on the applicant’s behalf
  • if applying for a licence to harm (shoot), submit a copy of firearms licence for the person nominated to shoot
  • submit details with this application if an applicant or nominee has answered ‘yes’ to Q1 and/or Q2 in sections 2 and/or 4. Note: answering yes does not automatically preclude an applicant from receiving a licence.
  • submit a Local Land Services (LLS) rates notice and a map of the property to verify property owner, size and address if this is the first time you have applied for a biodiversity conservation licence for this property, or the property boundaries have recently changed. Additional information may also be required by the officer assessing this application.

Information provided in licence applications

It is an offence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 to provide false or misleading information in, or in connection with a licence application.

Licence conditions

All licences are issued with strict conditions. It is an offence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 to contravene a condition of a licence. The licensee and any authorised persons on the licence must have read and understood the standard operating procedures or code of practice relevant to the species being harmed – for example:

Other statutory requirements

All authorised persons must comply with other statutory or regulatory provisions relevant to this licence such as local council requirements, the NSW Firearms Act 1996 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979.

Privacy statement

This application form requests information that identifies you and is defined as ‘personal information’ under the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998.

Information supplied on this form will be used by delegated officers of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to assess your application and will be entered into a computer system for granting licences. You may access and amend your personal information at any time by contacting the department.

Public register

As required by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, a public register of biodiversity conservation licences is published on the department’s website. The public register does not include personal information of individuals (for example, name, postal and email address, phone number and date of birth). Information about the location of plants and animals covered by licences will be restricted to postcode.

Landholder’s licence to harm native protected animals application

1.Purpose of application

List the native animals presenting a threat to safety, property damage or economic hardship and estimate the total number present and the number requested to be harmed to reduce the impact.






2. Applicant details















3. Property details










Methods of control

Examples of long-term solutions may include exclusion netting, floppy-top or other fencing, scare devices, gating, shelter, olfactory devices, blocking entrances into a roof cavity or chimney, roosting areas made undesirable or changing the way something is done to avoid conflict. Also see living with native animals.




4. Application for a general licence to harm

Complete the application for a general licence to harm if a person other than the landholder is required to carry out the authorised harm on the property. This licence is required as part of the landholder licence to harm native animals, is site specific and will be issued by the local NPWS Area office for the same period as the landholder licence.


Professional pest management operators with a non-site-specific licence issued by NPWS Wildlife Team and renewed annually may be used for some situations. For more information see catch and release licences.















If you need to add another general licence, please click the 'add another general licence' button outside the bottom right corner of this box.
5. Declaration by applicant

I the applicant, applying for this landholder’s licence to harm native animals, a class of biodiversity conservation licence under Part 2 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, acknowledge that it is an offence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 to provide false or misleading information in, or in connection with this application and I state the information I have provided is true and correct. By signing this application, I also acknowledge I will be required to comply with conditions of my licence, and any other statutory obligations.



6. Declaration by nominated person for authority to harm

I, the nominated person for authority to harm a protected native animal acknowledge that it is an offence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 to provide false or misleading information in, or in connection with this application and I state the information I have provided is true and correct. By signing this application, I also acknowledge I will be required to comply with conditions of the Licence, and any other statutory obligations.




Declaration

For the purposes of the following questions, 'the applicant and associates' include the persons nominated to be authorised under this licence, any partner or other associate to these persons including relatives and friends, and any companies to which these persons have been a director or associated in the management of a corporation.


'Technical competencies’ means the specific skills and knowledge required to undertake the activities in accordance with your licence conditions (if granted).









‘Technical competencies’ means the specific skills and knowledge required to undertake the activities in accordance with your licence conditions (if granted).




Contact us

Biodiversity and Heritage Regulator

Phone: 1300 173 376

Email: [email protected]