A scientific permit is usually required for any research involving the collection or disturbance of protected wildlife, and the collection of protected wildlife products in Tasmania.
Protected wildlife includes:
all rare and threatened species
most native vertebrates and their products
some introduced vertebrates
some native invertebrates
all animals and their products on reserved land
Wildlife products include:
the dead bodies, and parts of the dead bodies, of that form of wildlife
any material or thing obtained from the bodies or dead bodies of that form of wildlife
any eggs of that form of wildlife
any nests of that form of wildlife
Permit application requirements
Before completing an application, please read the guidelines for issuing scientific permits.
Scientific Permit (Wildlife) Guidelines
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Permit applications must be made using the required Scientific Permit Application Form and with all associated information requested attached.
Scientific Permit Application Fauna
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A Permit Summary Form must be completed in conjunction with the Scientific Permit Application Form.
Scientific Permit Application - Project Summary
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A scientific permit report is normally required as a condition of a scientific permit.
Scientific Permit Report (33Kb)
Data on the species collected under a scientific permit is normally required as a condition of the permit. A Natural Values Atlas (NVA) spreadsheet for submitting this data can be downloaded from the
Natural Values Atlas or contacting the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas).
Impacts to Aboriginal and Historic heritage
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 Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania or Heritage Tasmania for more information about your obligations.
Animal Ethics Committee approval
If you are intending to take or disturb living vertebrate or higher invertebrate wildlife then you must have
Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) approval from an institution licensed under the Tasmanian Animal Welfare Act 1993. This AEC approval process is managed separately from the scientific permit approval process and is applied for separately.
A copy of the AEC approval (with any associated conditions) and the AEC application must accompany the permit application. A permit application may be rejected if the research does not meet the guidelines for scientific research in Tasmania.
Licensed institutions
Animal research in Tasmania can only be conducted by institutions licensed by the Minister for Primary Industries and Water. Researchers, particularly Australian mainland researchers, must ensure their institution is licensed. If you don’t have access to an Animal Ethics Committee that is licensed under the Animal Welfare Act 1993, you can apply to the NRE Tas Animal Ethics Committee.
For further details and contacts see the Biosecurity Tasmania web page on
Animal Research.
Fish
If you are collecting freshwater fish or marine fish (including marine invertebrates) you will need a separate permit.
Contact the
Inland Fisheries Service for all permits to take freshwater fish.
To collect any fish from marine State waters, including invertebrates and plant species, contact Fisheries Permits. If these species are threatened you will still need a scientific permit in addition. The fishery permit application form and further information is available on the fishing
Permit Activities page.
Export
To remove protected wildlife or wildlife products from Tasmania requires an export permit.
Export Application Form
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Consultation
Please note that as part of the process for issuing scientific permits, the community is invited to view and comment upon all new permit applications. Project summaries are listed on the NRE Tas website for a public comment period of two weeks.
Listing of Scientific Permits (Fauna) for Public Comment