Native Game Bird Management Program

The NSW Native Game Bird Management Program allows licensed, responsible volunteer hunters to help landholders manage the impacts of native game birds over their agricultural lands.

Everyone who hunts native game birds under this program needs to hold a current NSW Game Hunting Licence that is endorsed for native game bird hunting. This involves passing the Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT) before they can take part in the program. These requirements set a benchmark for individuals hunting native species in NSW and ensure that landholders are still able to access the free assistance of hunters to protect their crops.

Those who wish to hunt native game birds also require the landholder’s express authority to do so. This means the landholder needs to give their permission for hunting to occur and they can do so in any manner they see fit. Having permission to enter land is a key principle in the NSW Game Hunting Licence Code of Practice and a mandatory condition of NSW game hunting licences.

Native game birds (ducks)

There are 10 species of native game ducks that may be authorised for hunting under the program, subject to a quota and licence allocations.

  • Australian Shelduck or Mountain Duck (Tadorna tadornoides)
  • Australian Wood Duck or Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata)
  • Black Duck or Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa)
  • Blue-winged Shoveler or Australasian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis)
  • Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea)
  • Grass Whistling Duck or Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)
  • Grey Teal (Anas gracilis)
  • Hardhead Duck or White-eyed Duck (Aythya australis)
  • Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus)
  • Water Whistling Duck, Wandering Whistling Duck or Whistling or Wandering Tree Duck (Dendrocygna arcuata)

To sustainably manage native game birds, landholders may:

As part of the program, hunters are required to:

If you need more information on the program, contact the Wildlife Management Support Team on gamebirds@dpi.nsw.gov.au or 02 6363 7650.


Harvests

Native game bird2014-152015-162016-172017-182018-192019-202020-212021-22
Australian Shelduck 101 30 146 2 10 0 7 47
Wood Duck 6,638 1,623 9,412 3,692 433 161 2,019 2,331
Black Duck 8,709 2,454 11,700 3,986 695 378 1,926 2,663
Blue-winged Shoveler 8 0 65 7 0 0 1 0
Chestnut Teal 175 14 54 0 0 0 0 0
Grey Teal 5,715 1,677 25,028 3,580 396 165 2,424 3,327
Hardhead 437 223 1,121 86 18 5 2 43
Pink-eared Duck 109 297 882 63 0 0 0 0
Water Whistling Duck 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Grass Whistling Duck 377 193 1,342 95 2 3 26 119
Total22,2786,51149,75011,5111,5547126,4058,530

Program participation

Landholders

Landholder statistics2014-152015-162016-172017-182018-192019-202020-212021-22
Number of ricegrowers 700 349 773 633 96 105 473 514
Rice harvest (tonnes) 690,272 244,184 801,714 623,002 54,771 44,914 417,295 687,051
Active licences 215 220 432 376 82 80 277 301
Active properties 536 500 887 809 145 124 472 602
Ricegrower participation 31% 63% 56% 60% 85% 76% 58% 58%
Landholder register 15 10 40 37 0 0 15 15

Hunters

Hunter statistics2014-152015-162016-172017-182018-192019-202020-212021-22
Number of WIT endorsed hunters 2,000 2,683 3,418 3,633 3,030 2,651 2,792 2,796
Change in WIT endorsed hunters - +34% +27% +6% -16% -12% +5% -
Game birds harvested 22,278 6,511 49,750 11,511 1,554 712 6,405 8,530
Returns submitted 822 85 1,327 430 69 48 321 374
NGBM Licences with harvests 92 35 147 104 21 20 67 74
Properties with harvests 159 53 255 159 31 21 94 114