Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Fisheries Act 1995 - SECT 38

Access licences

38. Access licences



(1) The regulations may create classes of access licences and may specify that
the holder of an access licence of a particular class may do one or more of
the following-

   (a)  take specified fish for sale;

   (b)  take specified fishing bait for sale;

   (ba) possess, process or sell fish of a specified priority species;





   (c)  use specified commercial fishing or commercial abalone equipment or to
        use commercial fishing or commercial abalone equipment generally;

   (d)  possess specified commercial fishing or commercial abalone equipment
        or to possess commercial fishing or commercial abalone equipment
        generally;

   (e)  do anything else relating to the taking of fish or fishing bait
        specified by the regulations;

   (f)  use a boat to do anything authorised under paragraph (a), (b), (c),
        (d) or (e);

   (g)  engage one or more people to do one or more of the things listed in
        this subsection.

(1A) An access licence does not authorise the carrying out of any activity
specified in subsection (1) in any national park, wilderness park or State
park (within the meaning of the National Parks Act 1975) or any reference area
(within the meaning of the Reference Areas Act 1978).

(1B) Subsection (1A) does not apply to any access licence in force immediately
before 7 March 2005, to the extent of any entitlements under that licence that
were in force at that time.

(2) The Secretary may issue an access licence of a particular class to a
person.

(3) An access licence continues in force for the period specified in the
licence by the Secretary unless it is sooner cancelled or suspended
under this Act.

(4) The Secretary, for the purposes of subsection (3), may specify-

   (a)  a period of up to 5 years for an access licence of a specified class
        of access licence if-

   (i)  there is an Order in Council declaring that access licences of that
        specified class may be issued for a period of up to 5 years; or

   (ii) a management plan specifies that access licences of that specified
        class may be issued for a period of up to 5 years; or

   (b)  in any other case, a period of up to one year.

(4A) For the purposes of subsection (4), the Governor in Council may, by Order
in Council, declare that licences of a class of access licence may be issued
for a period of up to 5 years.

(5) An access licence may not be cancelled by the Secretary except in
accordance with section 58, 61(1)(c) or 148(9).

(6) An access licence is renewable in accordance with section 57.

(7) The following provisions apply to an access licence that is transferable
if the holder dies-

   (a)  despite anything to the contrary in this Act, the benefit of the
        licence is deemed to be an asset of the estate of the deceased;

   (b)  the personal representative of the deceased is deemed to be the holder
        of the licence until it is transferred from the personal
        representative to an eligible person in accordance with this Act;

   (c)  subject to paragraph (d), the licence must be transferred to an
        eligible person in accordance with section 56 within 1 year of the
        grant of probate or letters of administration or within 2 years of the
        date of the death of the deceased, whichever is the earlier;

   (d)  the Secretary, on the recommendation of the Commercial Fisheries
        Licensing Panel, may grant an application by the personal
        representative for an extension of the period under paragraph (c) for
        a further period not exceeding 1 year.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (7) personal representative has the same
meaning as it has in section 5 of the Administration and Probate Act 1958.