New South Wales Fishing Licence

NSW Recreational Fishing Fee. Read from DPIRD NSW on 2026-09-23.

All fishing in NSW waters, fresh and salt: line fishing, spearfishing, hand gathering, trapping, bait collecting and prawn netting, and possessing fishing gear in, on or next to the water.

What it costs

Licence	Fee
3 days	A$7.00
1 month	A$14.00
1 year	A$35.00
3 years	A$85.00

Prices in AUD, the same for residents and visitors. The receipt, digital or plastic, must be carried while fishing.

Do you need a fishing licence in New South Wales?

Exemptions. The department publishes a list of exemptions on its own page (recreational fishing fee exemptions); anyone exempt does not pay the fee but must carry the card or proof that makes them exempt.

All fee revenue goes to the Recreational Fishing Trusts, one for saltwater and one for freshwater, overseen by committees of recreational fishers.

How to buy it

Online through Service NSW, by phone on 1300 369 365, at accredited fishing fee agents (tackle shops and others) and at most Service NSW centres. One-year and three-year receipts come as a plastic card by post; three-day and one-month receipts are digital only. A replacement plastic card costs A$8.00.

Buy from the agency or its official portal, linked in the sources below. A site that adds a processing fee on top of the agency price is a reseller.

How the NSW fee works

New South Wales does not call it a licence: it is the Recreational Fishing Fee, and the receipt you get for paying it is what a fisheries officer asks to see. It covers every kind of recreational fishing in the state’s waters, fresh and salt, and it covers the act of carrying fishing gear near the water as well, so the fee is due before you rig up on the rocks, not once you hook something. There is one fee for everyone: a visitor from Victoria or from overseas pays exactly what a Sydney resident pays, which is unusual next to the resident and non-resident pricing that most American states use.

Choosing a duration

Four durations are sold: three days at A$7, one month at A$14, one year at A$35 and three years at A$85. The three-year receipt works out cheapest per year for anyone who fishes more than a couple of weekends a season, and the three-day receipt is the right buy for a single holiday weekend on the South Coast or the Central Coast. The one-year and three-year options arrive as a plastic card in the post; the shorter ones are digital only, linked to your phone through the My Service NSW app, which is also the quickest way to have a copy of any receipt on the water.

Where the money goes and who is exempt

Every dollar of the fee is paid into the Recreational Fishing Trusts, one freshwater and one saltwater, and spent on things like artificial reefs, fish stocking, access and research, with committees of recreational anglers deciding the projects. The department keeps a separate page of exemptions; if one applies to you, you do not pay, but you must carry the card or document that makes you exempt, and the same page explains how to claim a refund if you paid when you did not need to. We link the exemptions page rather than list it here, because those categories change and the department’s page is the only version that counts.

Fresh and salt on one receipt

The same receipt covers the Murray cod water on the Victorian border, the trout streams of the Snowy Mountains and the surf beaches, so there is nothing extra to buy when you move between them; what changes is the rule book, with separate freshwater and saltwater guides published by the department each season.

Common questions

How much is a NSW fishing licence?

The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is A$7 for three days, A$14 for one month, A$35 for one year and A$85 for three years, read from the DPIRD fee page. The price is the same for residents and visitors.

Do I need a fishing licence to fish from the beach in NSW?

Yes. The fee applies to all fishing in NSW waters, fresh and salt, including line fishing from the shore, spearfishing, hand gathering and bait collecting, unless you hold one of the exemptions the department lists.

Where do I buy a NSW fishing licence?

Online at Service NSW, by phone on 1300 369 365, from accredited fee agents such as tackle shops, or at a Service NSW centre kiosk.

Do I have to carry the licence with me?

Yes. Your receipt, on the My Service NSW app or the plastic card, must be carried while fishing and shown to a fisheries officer on request.

Where to use it: the New South Wales waters we cover

Every New South Wales water on this site carries a daily report and links back to this page. The New South Wales hub has today's verdicts side by side; all Australia waters are filterable by type and species.

Sydney Lake Eucumbene Merimbula Port Stephens Eden Bermagui Forster Newcastle Port Macquarie Batemans Bay Ballina Lake Macquarie Narooma Botany Bay Coffs Harbour Moruya Jervis Bay Hawkesbury River Wollongong Swansea Central Coast Tweed Heads Lake Hume Nelson Bay Pittwater Tweed River Lake Illawarra The Entrance Ulladulla Lake Jindabyne Burrinjuck Dam St Georges Basin Kiama Tuross Head Shoalhaven River Lake St Clair Lake Mulwala Shellharbour Burrill Lake Nowra Googong Reservoir Copeton Dam Byron Bay Richmond River Umina Beach Belmont Lake Conjola Clyde River Murrumbidgee River Pambula Clarence River Wyangala Dam Terrigal Snowy River Darling River Manning River Blowering Dam Lake Burrendong Carcoar Dam Chaffey Dam Lake Glenbawn Lake Keepit Lostock Dam Oberon Dam Pindari Dam Split Rock Dam Windamere Dam Talbingo Reservoir Tantangara Reservoir Jounama Pondage Lake Cargelligo Lake Menindee Brogo Dam Wingecarribee Reservoir Fitzroy Falls Reservoir Tallowa Dam Murray River at Albury Murray River at Corowa Murray River at Tocumwal Murray River at Wentworth Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga Murrumbidgee River at Narrandera Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai Murrumbidgee River at Hay Lachlan River at Forbes Lachlan River at Cowra Macquarie River at Dubbo Macquarie River at Wellington Namoi River at Narrabri Namoi River at Gunnedah Gwydir River at Bundarra Severn River at Ashford Hunter River at Singleton Hunter River at Greta Hawkesbury River at Windsor Nepean River at Penrith Macleay River at Kempsey Bellinger River at Thora Tumut River at Tumut Bega River at Bega Tuross River at Eurobodalla Deua River at Wamban Abercrombie River Yamba Iluka Evans Head Brunswick Heads Kingscliff Nambucca Heads South West Rocks Crescent Head Laurieton Harrington Hawks Nest Seal Rocks Norah Head Palm Beach Manly Cronulla Gerringong Huskisson Sussex Inlet Tathra Wallaga Lake Bawley Point Lake Cathie Crowdy Head Barwon River at Walgett Barwon River at Mungindi Lachlan River at Condobolin Lachlan River at Hillston Murray River at Barham Macquarie River at Warren Mehi River at Moree Snowy River at Dalgety Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper Bombala River at Bombala Murray River at Jingellic Paterson River at Gostwyck Williams River at Glen Martin Richmond River at Casino Manning River at Wingham Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge Edward River at Deniliquin Edward River at Moulamein Lachlan River at Booligal Darling River at Louth Darling River at Tilpa Darling River at Menindee Darling River at Pooncarie Barwon River at Brewarrina Barwon River at Collarenebri Namoi River at Boggabri Gwydir River at Pallamallawa Castlereagh River at Coonamble Bogan River at Nyngan Macintyre River at Inverell Macintyre River at Yetman Clarence River at Tabulam Nymboida River at Nymboida Orara River at Glenreagh Hastings River at Mount Seaview Camden Haven River at Kendall Nambucca River above Bowraville Gloucester River at Gloucester Barrington River at Bobs Crossing Karuah River at Booral Allyn River at Halton Colo River at Upper Colo Towamba River at Towamba Brunswick River at Durrumbul Wilsons River at Eltham Bemboka River at Morans Crossing Dumaresq River at Bonshaw Lachlan River at Nanami Gwydir River at Gravesend Bogan River at Gongolgon Namoi River at Mollee Namoi River below Keepit Dam Darling River at Burtundy Styx River at Jeogla Castlereagh River at Gungalman

Licences in the other states and territories

Victoriafrom A$10.00 Queenslandno licence South Australiano licence Western Australiafrom A$40.00 Tasmaniafrom A$29.00 Northern Territoryno licence Australian Capital Territoryno licence

Where this page's numbers come from

NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD): https://www.dpird.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/recreational-fishing-fee
Read on 2026-09-23; the agency prints no effective date, so the read date is the date of record. Every figure on this page is quoted from that page.
Pablo Ruiz Quintero: Founder and editor
Written and checked against the source above. The text is by the site's author and has not yet been reviewed by an Australian angler or editor.