Game Council NSW disbanded

On Thursday 4 July 2013 the NSW Government announced it will implement the key changes to Game Council NSW recommended by the independent Governance Review of the Game Council of NSW by Steve Dunn.
The changes are designed to improve the functions previously carried out by Game Council NSW and also acknowledge hunting as a legitimate recreational activity.
The report found that Game Council NSW had an ‘inherent conflict associated with its functions to both represent the interests of hunters, and to regulate their activities’.
Therefore the NSW Government said it will immediately take the following actions:
• Transfer the licensing, regulatory, enforcement, education and policy functions into the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI); and
• Establish an advisory Game Board that will undertake stakeholder engagement and representation, advocate hunting, advise on research priorities and commission research, and provide independent advice to Government.
The Director General of NSW Trade & Investment, Mr Mark Paterson AO, will become the Division Head of the Game Council Division in the interim to oversee the integration of functions into DPI.

Suspension of State forest hunting

The NSW Government also announced it will immediately suspend hunting in all 400 State forests, pending the transfer of functions and the outcome of a risk assessment.
This means that individuals with written permission to hunt on declared public land areas such as State forests and Crown Lands must no longer do so and must abide by the suspension until further advised.
Game Council and the Forestry Corporation of NSW will be contacting licence holders who have booked Written Permissions as soon as possible.
Advice is also being sought from the NSW Government on the status of licensing arrangements.

Game Bird Management Program

Game Bird Management regulatory functions will continue to be undertaken by the Office of Environment and Heritage in 2013 and will transfer to DPI in 2014.
Updates on the changes to Game Council NSW will be published on the website www.gamecouncil.nsw.gov.au. Game Council will also communicate changes to licence holders via email. If you would like to add an email address to your licence, or update your address, please email info@gamecouncil.nsw.gov.au

Review report

The Governance Review of the Game Council of NSW by Steve Dunn and the NSW Government’s response are also published on the website.

R-licence refunds
The NSW Government has advised that refunds are available on NSW Restricted (not General) Game Hunting Licence applications and renewals under limited circumstances.
Please note that the NSW R-licence will continue to convey the same provisions as a NSW G-Licence (General Game Hunting Licence) relating to the hunting of game animals (including deer) and gaining access to duck mitigation on the NSW rice fields.
If your NSW Restricted Game Hunting Licence application or renewal was processed in the one month from Tuesday 4 June 2013 to Thursday 4 July 2013, you are eligible for a full refund of your licence fee.
Please download, fill in all the required information, and submit the R-licence Refund Request Form to Game Council NSW. This form is available on the Game Council NSW website www.gamecouncil.nsw.gov.au
For licences processed one month ago or earlier, the NSW Government has made the following commitments:
1. If access to State forests or Crown Lands is permitted in the next six months, your NSW Restricted Game Hunting Licence will be extended for the equivalent time of the suspension.
2. If access to State forests or Crown Lands is not permitted in the next six months you will be entitled to a pro-rata refund for the time you have been unable to use your licence.
REFUNDS WILL NOT BE PAID FOR NSW GENERAL GAME HUNTING LICENCES.
All NSW Game Hunting Licences may still be used to hunt game animals on private land, with the permission of the landholder, and are still a pre-requisite for participation in duck mitigation in the NSW rice fields under the NSW Game Bird Management Program administered by NPWS. NSW Game Hunting Licences will also continue to provide holders with $20 million Public Liability Insurance.
If your R licence application has been recently lodged with Game Council, however not yet processed, you may instruct Game Council to either return the form to you or to proceed with your application.