Plant licensing is governed by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act).

It is an offence to pick (section 2.2) and deal in (section 2.5) protected native plants (and plant parts) without a biodiversity conservation licence. Deal in includes buy, sell, possess, trade and import/export.

About grower licences

  1. A grower licence allows you to:
    • grow and harvest artificially propagated whole protected plants
    • grow and harvest cut flowers or foliage from artificially propagated plants

from species listed in all groups of Part 1 or Part 2 of Schedule 6 of the BC Act on property you own or occupy for commercial purposes.

  1. Threatened species and species from threatened ecological communities are listed in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the BC Act. These species are only available to the commercial plant industry from propagated and cultivated sources. The primary material must be lawfully obtained from another type of biodiversity conservation licence, such as a scientific, threatened species, licence to harm or other form of exemption and only available as grower products.
  2. If a threatened species is requested, the legal sourcing of the parent plant(s) must be verified and the proposed harvesting quantities stated.
  3. Each licence includes conditions. It's important you understand and can meet the conditions of your licence, if approved. It is an offence under the BC Act to breach your licence conditions.
  4. Allow up to 28 days for a licence application to be assessed. You will be contacted if further information is needed.
  5. The property identified in the application where the propagation will take place may be inspected before and after a licence is approved.
  6. Growers of Xanthorrhoea species must be able to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Whole-plant sustainable management plan that relate to growing grass trees.
  7. Orchid growers must be able to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Whole-plant sustainable management plan that relate to orchid growing.
  8. Licensees must keep a copy of their licence at the property where the plants are to be grown.
  9. Where the licensee has a retail or wholesale outlet, a copy of the licence must be available on request by an authorised officer. It is recommended the licence be displayed at the point of sale.
  10. The licensee shall forward to the Biodiversity and Heritage Regulator (BHR) yearly harvest return records no later than 28 days after the annual issue date. For example, if your licence is issued on 1 November 2023 and valid for 3 years, your harvest return will be due on 29 November 2024, 29 November 2025 and so on.
  11. A new licence will not be granted until the harvest return records have been submitted.
  12. It is an offence to sell any protected plants other than those specified on your licence.
  13. It is an offence to provide false or misleading information in applications and documents in connection with matters under the BC Act.
  14. Plant tags:
    • Tags are required for all whole plant species listed in Part 2 of Schedule 6 and cut flower species listed in Part 1, Group 4 of Schedule 6.
    • BHR tags are required for cut flower species listed in Part 1, Group 3 of Schedule 6 for some whole plants, as outlined in Appendix K of the Whole-plant sustainable management plan and for threatened species.
    • The quantity of BHR tags allocated to a licence will be determined upon assessment of the application.
  15. Growers wanted to export plant material to international markets will require an export permit from the Australian Government.

Attachment checklist

Applicants are required to provide additional information to support their application. This additional information is detailed in the Cut-flower sustainable management plan 2023–27 and the Whole-plant sustainable management plan 2023–27.

All details must be filled in and relevant documentation provided before this licence application will be processed.

Provide the following information:

  • Maps identifying:
    • the location of the growing/operating, including access from the nearest town and geographical information (e.g. latitude and longitude)
    • a polygon outline that shows the extent of the area of land under cultivation.
  • Where plant material is used to establish an artificial propagation operation, provide evidence the material was lawfully sourced.
  • For propagation activities on cultivated land, include:
    • a copy of any approvals for land clearing or other major disturbance
    • details if the property is managed under a conservation agreement or other relevant covenant
    • the predicted impacts of the proposed cultivation
    • any recent changes to the area such as fire or land clearing.
  • Include a copy of the 'grower tag' or details of the tagging method to be used

Apply now

Complete all sections of the application form and provide the required attachments.

Application for a grower licence – protected plants

| Resume a previously saved form
Resume Later

In order to be able to resume this form later, please enter your email and choose a password.

Password must contain the following:
  • 12 Characters
  • 1 Uppercase letter
  • 1 Lowercase letter
  • 1 Number
  • 1 Special character
Information for applicants
Use this form to apply for a biodiversity conservation licence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW), authorising the picking, possession, buying and selling of artificially propagated whole protected plants and/or cut flowers and foliage from artificially propagated protected plants.

Refer to the:
Applicant information

Individual applicant details


















Organisation applicant details
















Organisation contact person







Person(s) who will work on behalf of the applicant




Description of the property where the protected plants will be grown and harvested
Refer to NSW Land Registry Services about accessing land title information.







Whole plants/plant parts to be sold

Species to be harvested








Source of parent material

Application fee

Licences will not be granted without payment in full. You will receive a payment link via SMS once your application has been reviewed by our team (within 28 days).

The payment link will last for 24 hours after it has been issued. If you have missed the deadline for payment, please email [email protected] with your name, licence number and application type (for example, Growers Licence – XX years), and we will issue you with another link.
Declaration of applicant








Save my progress and resume later | Resume a previously saved form

Contact Information

Privacy collection notice

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is collecting your personal information through this form.

Why are we collecting your information?

We are collecting your information so we can respond to your enquiry.

How will we share your information?

We will not share your information with anyone else unless you give your consent, or the law requires or allows us to do so.

Are you required by law to give us your information?

You are not required by law to give us your information but, if you choose not to, we cannot respond to your enquiry.

Your right to access and correct your information

To access or correct your information, please contact:

Information Access and Privacy Unit
Locked Bag 5022
Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: 02 8275 1095
Email: [email protected]

More information

For more details on how your information is handled, please refer to Privacy and security.

Public register

As required by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, a public register of biodiversity conservation licences will be published on the department's website. The public register will 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.

Suspension or cancellation

The Environment Agency Head may cancel or suspend this licence:

  • on the grounds the licensee has contravened or failed to comply with conditions of the licence
  • on the grounds the licensee has been convicted of an offence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 or other relevant legislation
  • on the grounds the licensee has made a statement that the licensee knows, or ought reasonably to know, is false or misleading in, or in connection with, the application for the licence
  • for any reason the Environment Agency Head thinks appropriate.

Licence conditions

Below is a sample of the licence conditions for a grower licence for cut flowers and whole protected plants. Conditions may be added or removed in specific circumstances.

  1. Unless stated otherwise, words and expressions used in this licence have the same meaning as those set out in the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
  2. Under section 2.14 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act, it is an offence to contravene or fail to comply with a condition of this licence.
  3. Licences cannot be transferred to third parties.
  4. In this licence:
    1. ‘licensee’ means the person named as the licensee and persons working on behalf of the licensee
    2. ‘the department’ means the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
    3. ‘CFMP’ means Cut-flower Sustainable Management Plan 2023–27: protected and threatened plants in the cut-flower industry
    4. ‘WPMP’ means Whole Plant Sustainable Management Plan 2023–2027: commercial harvest, salvage and propagation of protected whole plants
    5. ‘authorised officer’ means an officer of the department.
  5. The licensee may only grow the plant species specified on this licence.
  6. The licensee may only sell the plant species specified on this licence, including whole plants, cut flowers, foliage, stems and bunch type and quantities.
  7. All plants requiring tags are to be tagged individually or in bunches or according to the conditions in the Cut-flower sustainable management plan 2023–27 and the Whole-plant sustainable management plan 2023–2027 for sale within Australia. Plant tags must:
    1. be able to be permanently attached to the plant product.
    2. for cut-flower material tags must be affixed to the plant material at the picking site or packing shed, even if the plant material is not sold.
    3. include:
      1. whether the plant material is ‘wild harvested/bush picked’ or ‘propagated/grown’
      2. a description of the plant origin
      3. scientific name of species
      4. a unique tag number.
  8. Export sales may be tagged in the units in which they are usually sold.
  9. It is the responsibility of the applicant to confirm the identification of the species they intend to grow or pick. PlantNet NSW Flora Online (the plant information network Royal Botanic Gardens) can assist, but where this is in doubt the species should be formally identified through a recognised authority such as the NSW Herbarium.
  10. No harvest levels will be set for material harvested under a grower licence.
  11. The licensee is to keep a copy of the licence at the property where the plants are grown.
  12. The licensee must comply with all licence requirements as documented in the Cut-flower sustainable management plan 2023–27 and Whole-plant sustainable management plan 2023–2027, as amended or replaced from time to time.
  13. The licensee must produce the licence to any authorised officer, or any owner, occupier or lessee of the land specified on the licence, as required.
  14. The licensee must produce the licence to all persons who buys or receives plants from the licensee.
  15. Any place where plants are to be picked, stored or processed is to be available for inspection upon request by an authorised officer.
  16. The licensee must comply with any requirements in the Cut-flower sustainable management plan 2023–27 and the Whole-plant sustainable management plan 2023–2027, as amended or replaced over time.
  17. Receipts for all sales must be kept for the term of this licence. The licensee must make these receipts available for inspection upon request from an authorised officer.
  18. Harvest return records are to be submitted yearly/annually. The licensee must forward to the Biodiversity and Heritage Regulator annual harvest returns of the form provided, no later than 28 days from the anniversary of issue date of this licence.
  19. No licence renewal or new licence will be granted until the harvest returns have been submitted.
  20. The licensee agrees to indemnify and keep indemnified, the Crown in right of NSW (the department), the NSW Minister responsible for the environment and administering the Biodiversity Conservation Act, the Environment Agency Head of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and their employees, agents and contractors, in the absence of any wilful misconduct or negligence on their part, from and against all actions, demands, claims, proceedings, losses, damages, costs (including legal costs), charges or expenses suffered or incurred by them resulting from:
    1. any damage or destruction to any real or personal property
    2. injury suffered or sustained (including death) by any persons arising out of or in connection with the activities undertaken pursuant to this licence.

Contact us

Biodiversity and Heritage Regulator – plant licensing

Phone: 1300 173 376

Email: [email protected]