Permits - NSW

Hi all has anybody heard of a permit that lets you detect in NSW state forests and if so how do you
go about getting one thanks Shane

Not necessary mate for NSW as far as I'm aware

Howdy Shane,

A permit is needed for State Forests in NSW, here is a link
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/lightning-ridge/fossicking

Down the bottom of the page you find the info. Ring a state forests office to arrange or go to one.
Permits are around $25 for a year.

Cheers, Ferris.

Thanks very much for the info ferris and kingfish

Thanks Ferris wasn't aware of this

Also now it's a good idea to ring a state forest office before you go to find out if there will be any registered shooters shooting in the area you are going to. They can get permits to shoot in there now.

Dicko..

Thanks for that Dicko all i need is to cop a stray one in the
back of the head Shane

I tend to wear cammo in the State Forests because I'm sick of people following me if I detect there. My machines are similarly disguised. I was out recently and came across a couple of shooters in full cammo watching me from afar. If it wasn't for their bright baseball caps I wouldn't have seen them at all. (similar incident occurred South of Bathurst a month or two ago). I keep a bright fluorescent vest in my pack in case of being lost or injured but I might need to start wearing brighter colors. Private property is usually less of a problem as long as the owner lets you know when shooters arrive.

There's a lot of shooting going on in the State Forests right now. I believe it's the season for it.

I might have a use for my old Aloha shirts yet!

As for permits in NSW, you will get very different responses from each of the various offices that you contact. Most have NO idea of what they are doing and many will try to restrict you to one single district per permit, per person. Some offer two different licenses for wooded areas and others offer a seperate license for the pine forests. Most departments only allow you to list no more than 5 forests per year. I have a different permit for prospecting the forests due to research requirements but each number you phone will get you varied responses for your limitations and what you can and can't do. But they are helpful and generally are happy to assist. The fee is now $22 annually and if you are caught prospecting without one you can face prosecution if they feel vindictive on the day - though they once told me they don't lose sleep on it yet the license system was in place for almost 40 years. The purpose for the license is to allow more legal room to pursue offenders breaking the rules - and the purpose of the fee is to assist in maintaining fire trails etc.... although up until last year the fee was just $11. One license used to cover an entire family but not any more. I usually keep a copy of my permit on the dashboard of my vehicle so any passing Rangers can read it.

Just to add a bit more info on this. Recently talking to a bloke about detecting in NSW state forrests and this is what he told me.

He is regularly in contact with the forrest officers and they have a list of all groups and individuals that use and are likely to use forrests for various activites.

As he explained to me the more groups or people that ask to use the forrests and get the permit to do so the better that group is placed in the future to be taken into account in forrest planning.

So what he was getting at is, if we just go in and detect and say nothing and dont ask for a permit then later on when we complain that we are not allowed to detect in forrests, they just say "well you don't use them anyway"

G'day Lads,
Wearing Cammo sounds good. but I reckon it would do more harm than good.
I was born and raised in the scrub, First .22 at 7yrs, 12 gauge at 12 and we would get a bloody good clip in the ear if we even looked like we where misusing said gear in the wrong way. I eventually sold all of my guns when the buy back came in.
Since then I have spoken with a few "city" shooters about their weekends away, and I gotta tell ya, I'm not impressed at all.
They were bragging about shooting Maggies and Peewee's, little wrens, basically whatever moved in the scrub.
So if you are wearing Cammo, are you going to get one in the earhole from one these City idiots, or even get shot at, being mistaken for something behind the scrub. Lot of loonies out there, so wear something BRIGHT to be noticed.
Play safe fellas and bring home the gold.
My 10 cents worth.
Cheers and HH
Brad..

NSW took away the fossicking License because they didn't want us to have any rights. Now they still don't want us to have any rights, but they would still like the money. So we should now pay to go in state forests? It's BS that we have been paying to go in state forests for years.

Stuff them!
Friggen parasites!

I recently got a permit for the entire South East region. I say "only" $22 - and had both me and the missus named on it. Lasts 12 months. While there a few exclusions eg flora reserves and forest preserves, there would seem a lot of territory to play in. I'm happy for NSW Forests to know that I can be in their forests at any time. Now though, I'm a bit concerned about shooters - I'm sure most are responsible and members of proper organisations. Must change my blues and greens for brighter colours and perhaps not use my earphones so the sound is loud!

when did they bring the permits back in ?

M

Just looking into this myself. that link no longer works either in the first post.

I will be prospecting in NSW on private property that is inside a state forest. to cover my bases of wondering off the property on to state forest where do i download a form or can i contact some state forestry dept to obtain a permit?

russ

Try this page. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/forests/permits

It looks like it is a special purpose form - I looked at fees to see how they classified it http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/forests/permits/special-purpose-permit-fee-structure---2010

I also note the fee is $20.

You'll have to contact the relevant office of the Forests people http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/about/office as they only give a permit from the area you are looking at. If you are going to more than one broad area you may need more than one permit.

seems like they came out with this in Oct 2010
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/363544/A-Guide-to-Fossicking-in-New-South-Wales.PDF

according to that article you can only take 50 grams of gold (or 5 nuggets of 10 grams or greater) in a 48 hr period of time.

soooooo you find an ounce and it's illegal? sounds crazy to me.

russ

ive been prospecting in the bush a far bit, mostly northern nsw, i didnt know that you needed a permit in the forest until i read these coments, i dont like paying any government dep any thing, but when it comes to the bush i think im all foreit.
the forestry has been doing all the tracks up here at the moment, where last year you couldnt get down half of them due to over growth, we have in my area over 200 old mines, ive been able to get to a few or below them latelly.(4wheel drive tracks)
if they keep doing up keep in the bush yes lets pay the small fee.
this is my own appinion

Razgo, what the new legislation actually is saying is if you are a panner or sluicer or you find a run of small nuggets with a detector you are limited to 50 grams per 48 hour period.

However if you find five nuggets weighing 20oz, 40oz, 80oz, 100oz and 300oz in a 48 hour period thats OK too.

Problem is if you find a patch with many nuggets over 10 grams in size you can only keep 5 during each 48 hour period. So if it happens you will need to pile up your nuggets and pick out the biggest 5 and put the rest in the ground for 48 hours.

Tributer.

lol, yea i can just see me doing that . do they really expect people to follow those rules like that? i suppose its just in case they ever do police it. And i hope one day i have that delima of do i take all the nuggets in one day

russ

aushunter wrote:G'day Lads,
Wearing Cammo sounds good. but I reckon it would do more harm than good.
I was born and raised in the scrub, First .22 at 7yrs, 12 gauge at 12 and we would get a bloody good clip in the ear if we even looked like we where misusing said gear in the wrong way. I eventually sold all of my guns when the buy back came in.
Since then I have spoken with a few "city" shooters about their weekends away, and I gotta tell ya, I'm not impressed at all.
They were bragging about shooting Maggies and Peewee's, little wrens, basically whatever moved in the scrub.
So if you are wearing Cammo, are you going to get one in the earhole from one these City idiots, or even get shot at, being mistaken for something behind the scrub. Lot of loonies out there, so wear something BRIGHT to be noticed.
Play safe fellas and bring home the gold.
My 10 cents worth.
Cheers and HH
Brad..

Not all city dewllers are loonies, I shoot, but by the sounds of it all those blokes you were talking about need a good kick in the butt and then some. yes evil. Don't shoot something you are not going to eat. Good advice to wear a bright something. Atleast then you are more likely to be spotted. Play hard and play to come home safe.

And yes I'll be getting my fossicking permit.

I wouldnt be wearing cammo in the forests either. To many trigger happy people out shooting nowadays. Also, if out with another person it would be to easy to lose one another. Both my kids have bright yellow safety vests and whistles on them when we go out bush.