dredging in australia

Can somebody please help me out, I am wanting to know if dredging is still allowed with a permit.
I have asked a few people and they have said it is illegal, but I have another mate who says you just need
a permit. Can someone help me?

Frankly, I'd look in the constitution to see what it says about the matter. Hundreds of laws are passed every week which are unconstitutiuonal, and therefore illegal. Things have become so ridiculous that many activities taken for granted 25 years ago are now branded illegal or require a permit/licence. This short video does an excellent good of describing The Story of Your Enslavement.

what state are you in? -- go to the appropriate government site and find out --- i think some states will allow it on a claim site but i hear its very hard to get a permit to do so!! so i would say its illegal for the Joe Blow to dredge and in Vic using a sucker pump (as in a type of yabbie pump) is also illegal -- some would argue that point but as it says in the legislation " the lands manager on the day has the final say"

Murachu wrote:what state are you in? -- go to the appropriate government site and find out --- i think some states will allow it on a claim site but i hear its very hard to get a permit to do so!! so i would say its illegal for the Joe Blow to dredge and in Vic using a sucker pump (as in a type of yabbie pump) is also illegal -- some would argue that point but as it says in the legislation " the lands manager on the day has the final say"

That's incorrect. Legislation allows for the use of non-powered tools to extract gold (ie by hand). This includes suction pumps like a crevice sucker and a yabbie pump. Using a powered sluice with a petrol driven motor still requires the soil to be moved by hand... the sluice is simply used as a classifier. Same applies to metal detectors. You still have to dig by hand and the humble metal detector is only used to locate the metal, not to dig or extract it. But if you bring out a mechanical backhoe to do the digging, you're in trouble because that's defined as "Mining". I think perhaps you are confusing the use of a motorized suction device (dredge) which moves or removes soil... with a hand-operated suction pump which is not considered mechanical extraction via machinery.

From a letter I have here:

"The regulations specify that a person must not, in the course of fossicking, use any explosives or power operated equipment, If a fossicker uses a hand feed sluice box, capable of being lifted by a single person, which is not located in a stream and only water and not gravel is pumped to it then my Department would consider such activity as complying with the spirit and intention of the regulations". Forwarded by Minister For Mineral Resources (The Hon Bob Martin). "This language was based upon advice received from the Department's Mines Inspection Branch"(NSW).

Now you can pick this apart with interpretations but the Mining Act (NSW) 1992 allows for various methods of fossicking. Even State Forests understand the need to dig a hole in the ground with a pick. But using a hand-pump is not considered to be powered-extraction or mining by definition, nor would it be considered so 'in the spirit of the law'.

All States current situation is strictly illegal!

Fines in the vicinity of $250,000 plus confiscation of transport, dredge & support gear, proceeds of crime ( gold ).
plus costs to fill in holes etc.

Most would be surprised at the level of policing carried out for illegal dredge operators!

Those that use to dredge legally are aware the activity providing banks are not undercut causes no harm.
Convincing the green lobby, public & the authorities of such not likely!

You are better off detecting or panning.

nero_design wrote:

Murachu wrote:what state are you in? -- go to the appropriate government site and find out --- i think some states will allow it on a claim site but i hear its very hard to get a permit to do so!! so i would say its illegal for the Joe Blow to dredge and in Vic using a sucker pump (as in a type of yabbie pump) is also illegal -- some would argue that point but as it says in the legislation " the lands manager on the day has the final say"

That's incorrect. Legislation allows for the use of non-powered tools to extract gold (ie by hand). This includes suction pumps like a crevice sucker and a yabbie pump. Using a powered sluice with a petrol driven motor still requires the soil to be moved by hand... the sluice is simply used as a classifier. Same applies to metal detectors. You still have to dig by hand and the humble metal detector is only used to locate the metal, not to dig or extract it. But if you bring out a mechanical backhoe to do the digging, you're in trouble because that's defined as "Mining". I think perhaps you are confusing the use of a motorized suction device (dredge) which moves or removes soil... with a hand-operated suction pump which is not considered mechanical extraction via machinery.

From a letter I have here:

"The regulations specify that a person must not, in the course of fossicking, use any explosives or power operated equipment, If a fossicker uses a hand feed sluice box, capable of being lifted by a single person, which is not located in a stream and only water and not gravel is pumped to it then my Department would consider such activity as complying with the spirit and intention of the regulations". Forwarded by Minister For Mineral Resources (The Hon Bob Martin). "This language was based upon advice received from the Department's Mines Inspection Branch"(NSW).

Now you can pick this apart with interpretations but the Mining Act (NSW) 1992 allows for various methods of fossicking. Even State Forests understand the need to dig a hole in the ground with a pick. But using a hand-pump is not considered to be powered-extraction or mining by definition, nor would it be considered so 'in the spirit of the law'.

In Victoria it says "any device that lifts sand/gravel with water is illegal" and there is a move afoot to challenge this interpretation but as it stands now in Vic its illegal thats why i said "go to your relevant Gov. site and check"


this is part of the problem --which is not located in a stream and only water and not gravel is pumped to it

Theres a well known guy at Sofala thats been done 3 times now for dredging, ,was having a beer wth the gent at camp about 2 years ago, memory is a touch dim but pretty sure his last fine was around $1400 and he didnt loose his gear,I was surprised it was so lenient,I thought it was a major crime, phill

The reason the penalty is so high is to deter illegal operators, it is also classified as illegal mining!
That means no difference in penalty to say 2" dredge for an hours work to an eight inch for a month!

So to clarify a hand dredge can be used in NSW cos i just bloody made one and would be a bit ticked off if now cannot use it

Im fine with the no dredging policy. I still like to get out with the pan and get the odd few specks. I realise that new stuff is always being redeposited but I cant help thinking how many more specs i could be picking up if my favorite creek hadn't been raped by dredges in the 80's. The creek ended up pretty stuffed in some sections.

Hi showtime...Goomeri eh...good old QLD...dredging is illegal in QLD..at least it was last time I checked.
There was a post about this on the forum previously ... https://golddetecting.forumotion.net/t6253-dredging-laws-in-qld

I did hear of a guy that was dredging near the road at Oallen Crossing. The inspectors turned up, he was most probably dobbed in. He had been there for a few weeks. He was told to p**** off and go to another part of the river, where the public could not see him. So, go to a rich, remote area of the river and you will have little problem. If you are dredging in the middle of Sofala , expect a heap of trouble.....

The avatar is a photo of me dredging in the Shoalhaven River, down from the crossing. It was a few years ago but all the time I was dredging, I never had any body ask what I was doing.

Don't know about other state but Victoria Dpi regulation say No mechanical aid to get pay dirt. I have ask about hand sucker & reply is that it is machanical no it can't be used. My opinion is that these hand pumps are not machanical but I have got the money to waste in solicitors to find out.
If I'm correct Victorian Law doesn't say anything about power tools, it say's machinical device. So maybe we should have a better look at definition of machanical.