Parks Eco Pass is the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service program for licensing operators who conduct commercial tours and recreational and educational activities in parks.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service Parks Eco Pass office will be closed during our holiday shutdown period.
Please continue to email us and we will respond when we return. For anything urgent, please contact the:
Welcome to the National Parks and Wildlife Service Parks Eco Pass program. The program supports operators to work with National Parks and Wildlife Service to offer exceptional visitor experiences across NSW national parks.
Nature-based tourism is a major contributor to the NSW visitor economy. In partnership with National Parks and Wildlife Service, commercial operators play an invaluable role in promoting our parks and encouraging visitors to appreciate, understand and enjoy them.
The Parks Eco Pass program streamlines licensing and creates consistency across NSW national parks. It offers:
Slide controls:
The Parks Eco Pass program offers:
For more information on whether you require a Parks Eco Pass licence, please read the:
Licensing maintains the quality of activities provided in parks and prevents harm to natural areas. If you become aware of an unlicensed activity being run in a park, please report it to the:
Before applying for a Parks Eco Pass licence, all new and existing commercial operators must read the:
The handbook will help you understand the requirements of being a licensed Parks Eco Pass operator, including:
Please also read the Park Eco Pass general licence conditions and the conditions that apply to a specific location and activity in the Parks Eco Pass activity and location conditions spreadsheet before you apply to be a Parks Eco Pass licensed operator.
Commercial operators must ensure they are fully aware of, understand and are able to abide by all conditions of their Parks Eco Pass licence.
We want to work with commercial operators who share our values, run professional operations and deliver enjoyable experiences. We know that commercial operators who are fully invested in our parks will help us protect these valuable places for future generations to enjoy. If this sounds like you, please follow the below steps in the application process.
To discuss your application, including details of activities and locations and what support you might need to start your business, contact us by:
Identify whether your application relates to land jointly managed or the detailed interpretation of Aboriginal cultural heritage. If it does, the approval process has extra steps.
You can also visit the Destination NSW website for a broad range of information and resources available to tourism operators.
Complete the online assessment covering safety, conservation, important conditions, how to use the licence and handbook, fees, and our values.
Obtain a public liability insurance (PLI) policy for a minimum value of A$10 million.
The Department of Planning and Environment must be named as an interested party using the following exact text:
'The Minister administering the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 on behalf of the State of NSW ABN 20 770 707 468’.
Prepare a business plan in the template. All applicants must ensure their business plan is presented in the:
Complete the licence application form. You will need to upload:
Parks Eco Pass licences generally take about 2 weeks to finalise after you’ve submitted the required documents. Applications that relate to jointly managed parks may take longer.
Once you become a licensed operator, you will need to meet several induction and reporting requirements.
National Parks and Wildlife Service will meet with new Parks Eco Pass operators over the phone or in person within 3 weeks of sending out your new Parks Eco Pass licence. We will discuss business planning, cultural interpretation, conservation, safety, risk assessments, and customer feedback.
Parks Eco Pass operators must complete and provide a quarterly trip return report of the number of visitors they brought into park on their tour each month and in which national parks or reserves. Please provide the above information in the quarterly trip return report no more than 21 days after the end of each calendar quarter.
For selective licences, please ensure you complete tab 2 of the quarterly trip return report for visitor reporting purposes. You will be required to provide a report and pay for the turnover contribution fee in accordance with your licence.
Read your licence for the correct reporting requirements, which follow a separate structure to this.
Please send your daily use visitor numbers in the quarterly report via email to the Visitor Engagement and Revenue Branch at:
Parks Eco Pass operators must comply with the conditions that apply to a specific location and to each activity. These conditions are listed in the:
Your Parks Eco Pass licence will not contain activity- and location-specific conditions, so it is important you refer to the above spreadsheet.
National Parks and Wildlife Service will notify you if your activity and location conditions are updated.
All Parks Eco Pass operators must comply with:
The penalties for operators who do not comply with conditions are shown in the:
Operators must also comply with all laws relating to the conduct of the operations, including but not limited to:
The handbook must be read in conjunction with these conditions and law:
Parks Eco Pass licences do not give licence holders priority or exclusive use of an activity or area within a national park or reserve. However, there are circumstances where National Parks and Wildlife Service may consider it necessary to issue selective licences for exclusive rights to an activity or location.
National Parks and Wildlife Service will restrict the number of licences for any activity or location for:
For more information about the selective licensing process, please refer to the:
Complete and submit the:
You will need to upload:
Please use the licence amendment form to notify us of any proposed changes to your details, activities or locations. National Parks and Wildlife Service needs to approve any changes. Please provide as much detail as possible to help us consider your application and submit this application at least 2 weeks before any proposed change.
National Parks and Wildlife Service will provide promotional support through National Parks and Wildlife Service marketing channels, including one tour listing per Parks Eco Pass operator on the National Parks and Wildlife Service website. National Parks and Wildlife Service will also support your promotional needs through closer engagement with our key tourism partners including regional Destination Networks, Destination NSW and Tourism Australia.
A dedicated team is available to provide advice and support to all new and existing Parks Eco Pass operators:
park.businesses@environment.nsw.gov.au
02 9585 6082
The handbook has information for licensed Parks Eco Pass operators, including how to protect park values and encourage visitor enjoyment, general and reporting rules, licence fees, Aboriginal cultural and heritage interpretation, and activity- and area-specific licence conditions.
