The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) commenced on 25 August 2017.
Proposed changes to wildlife licensing have been made to support the objectives of the new Act.
A discussion paper and other related documents about these changes were released for public comment. Submissions for this consultation have now closed.
About the proposed changes
Native plants and animals in New South Wales are protected by the BC Act.
Under the BC Act, the regulation of human-wildlife interactions is proposed to change to a new risk-based approach where:
- low-risk activities will be exempt from regulation
- moderate-risk activities will be regulated by enforceable codes of practice
- high-risk activities will continue to be licensed
- activities not permitted under exemptions, codes or licensing will remain prohibited.
Discussion paper
The Office of Environment and Heritage has prepared a discussion paper on proposed changes to wildlife licence classes. This paper explains how a risk-based approach to regulating human-native wildlife interactions would be implemented. A summary paper was also prepared which outlines the proposals made in the discussion paper.
- Discussion Paper: Towards a risk-based approach to wildlife licences (PDF 803KB)
- Discussion Paper: Summary (PDF 529KB)
Draft codes of practice for native animal keeping
Draft BC Act codes of practice and a revised Animal Keepers Species List were also issued for public comment. The codes of practice are for species that are lower risk and relatively easy to keep, such as native birds, frogs and reptiles, and are widely available from captive-bred sources.
The Animal Keepers Species List sets out species proposed to be regulated by codes of practice and species for which a keeper's licence will be required.
- Draft Code of Practice for Keeping Native Birds (PDF 103KB)
- Draft Code of Practice for Keeping Native Frogs (PDF 137KB)
- Draft Code of Practice for Keeping Native Reptiles (PDF 271KB)
- Draft Animal Keepers Species List (PDF1.45MB).
More information
Read more about the wildlife licensing reforms.
For further information about the discussion paper and related documents please contact the Wildlife Biodiversity Reforms team by email wildlife.reforms@environment.nsw.gov.au
