Balloted hunting in NSW
Balloted hunts: Friday 1 March - Friday 3 May 2024
Some NSW State forests are more popular with R-Licensed hunters than others. Bookings in these popular forests can be hard to secure, especially during the peak hunting period of March and April each year.
To ensure hunter access and participation is managed sustainably, DPI Hunting administers balloted hunting in some of these forests. The ballots provide a fair and equitable opportunity for all R-Licensed hunters to during the most popular time of year.
In 2024, eligible R-Licence holders are able enter the public land hunting ballots for:
- Maragle South State Forest
- Mannus State Forest (Seymours section)
- Mannus State Forest (bows only section)
Hunt bookings for these forests are not available in March or April for Mannus or Maragle South State forests. Ballot winners are issued written permission to hunt through the ballot program. Normal bookings are available until the ballot start date and after Friday 3 May 2024.
Written permissions available through the ballot
| State forest name | Ballot dates | Permissions available |
|---|---|---|
| Maragle South | 1 March - 3 May |
51 permits total: 39 individual permits 12 youth permits (6 x minor + 6 x adult) |
| Mannus (Seymours section) | 1 March – 3 May |
32 permits total: 26 individual permits 6 youth permits (3 x minor + 3 x adult) |
| Mannus (bows only section) | 1 March – 3 May |
32 permits total: 26 individual permits 6 youth permits (3 x minor + 3 x adult) |
Eligibility
Only individuals who hold a current NSW Restricted Game Hunting Licence (including minor R-Licence holders) are eligible to register for balloted hunts.
R-Licence holders must have completed their additional training before entering the public land hunting ballots (does not apply to R-Licence holders who have completed the new R-Licence Accreditation Course, either online or through a Hunter LEAP Trainer).
You must only apply for a ballot once- either as an individual or as part of a youth hunt.
Registrations will be cancelled without notice if you are not eligible for the ballot.
Completing additional training
If you completed the old R-Licence Accreditation Course and have not yet completed your additional R-Licence training (which must be completed before access is granted to book hunts online) simply watch the short public land hunting tutorial and complete the declaration before registering.
It takes 10 minutes to watch the tutorial and tick the declaration box. Note, there is no confirmation screen. Once the declaration box is ticked, you have completed the additional training and will have access to the hunt booking system.
About balloted hunts
- The number of written permissions to hunt issued to ballot winners is determined by the available hunting area for March and April and is subject to change.
- Each permission is for four days.
- Several ballot periods are reserved for youth hunts and all permissions in that period will be issued to eligible minors along with their eligible supervising hunter.
Youth hunts
Three periods are reserved for youth hunts in each of the ballots. DPI Hunting has selected these periods as they fall over a weekend or during the school holidays.
- Period 8: Friday 29 March - Monday 1 April (Easter long weekend)
- Period 12: Sunday 14 April - Wednesday 17 April
- Period 14: Monday 22 April - Thursday 25 April
Eligible minor applicants must register a group application that includes a fully licensed adult hunter.
How to register a youth hunt:
- Primary applicant (adult hunter) registers, indicating they are part of a group hunt.
- Primary applicant creates a group name (e.g. surname of the applicants).
- Secondary applicant (youth hunter) registers, using the group name.
2024 balloted hunt periods
| Period 1 Friday 1 March - Monday 4 March | Period 2 Tuesday 5 March - Friday 8 March | Period 3 Saturday 9 March - Tuesday 12 March | Period 4 Wednesday 13 March - Saturday 16 March |
| Period 5 Sunday 17 March - Wednesday 20 March | Period 6 Thursday 21 March - Sunday 24 March | Period 7 Monday 25 March - Thursday 28 March | Period 8 (youth) Friday 29 March - Monday 1 April |
| Period 9 Tuesday 2 April - Friday 5 April | Period 10 Saturday 6 April - Tuesday 9 April | Period 11 Wednesday 10 April - Saturday 13 April | Period 12 (youth) Sunday 14 April - Wednesday 17 April |
| Period 13 Thursday 18 April - Sunday 21 April | Period 14 (youth) Monday 22 April - Thursday 25 April | Period 15 Friday 26 April - Monday 29 April | Period 16 Tuesday 30 April - Friday 3 May |
Ballot draw results 2024
The winners of each ballot have been drawn randomly through the Easypromos platform using the Eventbrite registration order numbers. An alternate (secondary) list of hunters has also been drawn who may be contacted should a balloted hunt be made available.
Check the results below to see if your Eventbrite registration number appears. DPI will notify all winners via email over the coming days.
Maragle South State Forest:
Mannus State Forest (Seymours section):
Mannus State Forest Ballot (Bows only section):
Terms & conditions
- By entering the 2024 ballot, licence holders agree to the collection and retention of personal information and for NSW DPI to apply for and issue written permission to hunt on their behalf.
- Hunters must observe their written permission conditions, including all standard rules and regulations , specific forest conditions that appear on their written permission and the rules governing this ballot.
- Hunters will receive official notification via email if successfully drawn in the ballots.
- DPI Hunting staff are ineligible for the ballots.
More information
If you have any questions about the ballot, email hunting.ballot@dpi.nsw.gov.au.
