NSW Department of Primary Industries

Granting a licence

More topics in this section

Applying or renewing online

Online licence applications require payment by credit card. If you cannot apply online, you can download one of our application forms.

To apply online, you need to have all documents that support your application saved as electronic files (.doc, .pdf or .jpg). The documents you need depend on the type of licence you want to apply for, but could be:

  • R-Licence accreditation form
  • proof of age and parent/guardian consent form (PDF, 58.71 KB) for a minor licence at the concession rate
  • proof of your veterans or pensioner concession
  • proof of your completed Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT) if you want to hunt native game birds.

Other information you may need to have with you:

  • Approved Hunting Organisation (AHO) name, your membership number and expiry date
  • Firearms Licence number
  • Registered business name and ABN.

Concession rates

You can apply for the concession rate if you are a minor (between 12 years and 18 years) or an eligible veteran or pensioner.

Minor concessions

If you are under 18 years of age, you need to provide proof of your age to claim the concession rate.

Proof of age can be your:

  • birth certificate
  • minor's firearm permit
  • proof of age card.

Your parent or guardian needs to consent to you having a licence. Have them fill in and sign the consent form (PDF, 58.71 KB) and attach it to your online application.

Pensioner concessions

Our legislation limits the types of pension cards we can accept for the concession rate.

You can claim the pensioner concession rate if you hold one of the following:

  • a current Pensioner Concession Card issued by Centrelink
  • a current Pensioner Concession Card issued by the Department of Veterans' Affairs
  • a Commonwealth Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold Treatment Card endorsed as:
    • TPI: Totally and Permanently Incapacitated
    • EDA: Extreme Disablement Adjustment
    • WAR WIDOW or WAR WIDOWER.
  • a letter from the Commonwealth Department of Veterans' Affairs stating that the person receive a disability pension of 70 per cent or higher, or an intermediate pension.

Only the person who signs the card where it reads 'Signature of cardholder' is the holder of that card. If an additional person is listed on the card (usually a spouse), this relates to health care benefits and not to other exemptions/concessions available to the pensioner concession cardholder.

Senior's Cards, Health Care Cards and Repatriation Health Cards do not qualify you for a concession rate.

Processing

Applications for NSW Game Hunting Licences are processed within 20 working days (four weeks).

The 20-day processing period starts when your application is received by DPI Hunting. The time frame does not include the time taken for your application to be delivered to us.

If you are missing documents or other information that we need to process your application, we will return it to you by email (for online applications) or post. The 20-day processing period is suspended when your application is sent back and resumes when we receive your revised application.

Please note - payment is not taken until a licence is processed.

When we have processed and approved your application, we send it to our licence provider. The provider only prints Game Hunting Licences once a week.

The processing period ends when your licence has been sent from our licence provider.

We cannot estimate how long it will take for you will receive the licence after it is sent. Please allow extra time during peak periods.

Interim licence

Once we have processed and granted a new licence, or renewed an expired licence, you will receive a PDF interim licence by email (so you must have the correct email address listed with us).

You may use the interim licence to hunt until its expiry date or until you receive your plastic licence card in the mail. If you don't receive your licence card before the interim licence expires, please contact customer service on 02 6363 7650 or hunting@dpi.nsw.gov.au.

Restrictions

We must refuse to grant a NSW Game Hunting Licence to a person who:

  • has been found guilty of any firearms offence in the past 10 years.
  • has been found guilty of an offence in the past 10 years involving:
    • cruelty or harm to animals
    • personal violence
    • damage to property or unlawful entry into land.
  • has been found guilty of an offence for releasing game animals for the purpose of hunting.
  • is not a fit and proper person to hold the licence.
  • has been found guilty of an offence prescribed by the Game and Feral Animal Control Regulation 2022 in the past 10 years.

This includes convictions from other Australian jurisdictions as well as overseas jurisdictions.

Find out more about the declarations you must make when applying for a NSW hunting licence.

Updating your contact information

Once we have granted your licence, you must advise us of any changes to your contact information within 14 days.

You can update your details by logging in to online licence holder services or by contacting the customer service team.

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au