Western Australian recreational fishing licences. Read from DPIRD WA on 2026-09-23.
Licences are sold by activity, not as one general licence. You need one for the activities in the table; line fishing from the shore is not on that list.
| Licence | Fee |
|---|---|
| Recreational fishing from a boat (statewide) | A$40.00 |
| Net fishing (haul, set and throw) | A$50.00 |
| South-west freshwater angling | A$50.00 |
| Rock lobster | A$50.00 |
| Abalone | A$50.00 |
| Marron | A$50.00 |
Prices in AUD, the same for residents and visitors. The boat licence covers everyone fishing from a powered boat: one licence per boat, held by someone on board.
Concessions. Half the fee if you are under 16, hold a Seniors Card issued by the Department of Communities, or receive an age, disability support or widows pension or allowance under the Social Security Act 1991, or a pension under the Coal Industry Superannuation scheme (the page lists the full set of qualifying pensions).
The south-west freshwater angling licence is the one trout and redfin anglers in the south-west need.
Online, by phone or by post through DPIRD; the department’s page lists the channels and the application form.
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.
Western Australia does not sell a general fishing licence. It licenses activities: fishing from a powered boat anywhere in the state, net fishing, freshwater angling in the south-west, and the three big-ticket species fisheries of rock lobster, abalone and marron. Read the list and the gap in it is the point: casting a line from a beach, a jetty or the rocks for the everyday species is not licensed, which is why a Perth family can fish the metro beaches for herring and tailor without buying anything, and why the same family needs a A$40 boat licence the moment they launch a tinnie.
The boat licence is A$40 and covers everyone aboard that boat; the net, freshwater, rock lobster, abalone and marron licences are A$50 each. Concessions halve every fee for anyone under 16, for holders of the state Seniors Card and for people on the pensions and allowances the department lists, so a pensioner’s boat licence is A$20 and a junior’s marron licence A$25. The prices on this page were read from the DPIRD licence page on 23 September 2026; the department does not print an effective date next to them, so treat the read date as the date of truth.
The one licence that surprises visitors is the South-west freshwater angling licence. Trout and redfin water in the south-west corner, the dams and rivers between Perth and Albany, needs it, and it applies to shore fishing as well, so the shore exception that holds on the coast does not hold on the Harvey Dam bank. Marron have their own licence and a short, strictly managed season; rock lobster and abalone likewise, with the abalone fishery run as timed sessions on set days. Check the DPIRD rules site for the season dates before you buy, because a licence for a closed season is a receipt and nothing more.
The DPIRD page also notes a ten percent discount when two or more licences are bought in one transaction, which matters for the boat-and-lobster or boat-and-marron combinations most coastal families end up holding.
Shore-based line fishing is not among the licensed activities on the DPIRD page: the licences are for fishing from a boat, net fishing, south-west freshwater angling, rock lobster, abalone and marron.
The Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence is A$40, statewide, and covers everyone fishing from that boat. It is A$20 with a concession.
People under 16, holders of a Seniors Card from the WA Department of Communities, and people receiving an age, disability support or widows pension or allowance under the Social Security Act, among the pensions the department lists.
Yes, for the south-west: the South-west freshwater angling licence is A$50 and is needed to fish for trout and other freshwater species in that region.
Every Western Australia water on this site carries a daily report and links back to this page. The Western Australia hub has today's verdicts side by side; all Australia waters are filterable by type and species.