The collection or damaging of earth materials from any national park, reserve or crown land outside declared fossicking areas requires an authority / permit. This includes materials like:
minerals
rock
sediment
soil
fossils
speleothems
Refer to the
Mineral Resources Tasmania website for declared Tasmanian fossicking areas.
The type of permit available, issuing authority and statutory penalty for collecting without a permit vary according to:
An Authority / Permit to collect earth materials from Crown or reserved land for scientific or educational purposes is issued by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. Use the following form to submit an application:
Application form Earth Materials
(161Kb)
Upon successful application, permits are normally issued subject to conditions regarding:
liaison with land manager regarding access authority, biosecurity, safety and other relevant matters
use of hand tools only in the World Heritage Area, national parks, state reserves and nature reserves unless otherwise specified
minimisation of impact of collection and amount of material to be collected
reporting and publication
lodgement and curation of type specimens or significant samples
distribution of multiple samples by authority only
other conditions may also be applied according to the nature of the proposed work.
If samples are to be collected from reserved land then the consent of the Parks and Wildlife Service regional manager is also required (allow up to three weeks following NRE approval).
Collection from Macquarie Island Nature Reserve requires approval of the Macquarie Island Research Assessment Group (MIRAG).
Aboriginal and Historic heritage must be considered before any ground disturbing works. Failure to demonstrate due diligence or to gain appropriate approvals may result in substantial penalties in the event that Aboriginal or historic heritage is impacted. See the
Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania website or the
Heritage Tasmania website for more information about your obligations.
Sampling of subfossil bones or remains of species listed under the
Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 requires a permit from the Threatened Species Section. Contact the Section by email
ThreatenedSpecies.Enquiries@nre.tas.gov.au
Most public land types including some reserves are subject to the
Mineral Resources Development Act 1995. For information on permit applications for prospecting, mineral exploration or similar purposes, refer to the
Mineral Resources website.
On private land to a depth of at least 15m all earth materials belong to the landowner, subject to exceptions under the
Mineral Resources Development Act 1995.
Geotechnical sampling using a hand auger
copyright: Jason Bradbury