To spearfish in Victorian waters, you must have a valid recreational fishing license or hold an exemption.
A Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) covers all forms of recreational fishing in all of Victoria's marine, estuarine and inland waters.
Unless you are exempt, an RFL is required when.
Taking, or attempting to take from public waters, any species of fish by any method, including line fishing, bait, or shellfish collection, yabbie fishing, prawning and spearfishing and/or
Unless you are exempt, it is your responsibility to hold a current RFL when fishing in Victoria - penalties apply for fishing without a licence. Your RFL may not be loaned or transferred to another person.
Exempt Persons
You will not need a licence to fish if you are:
under 18 years of age
70 years of age or over
or a holder of a:
Victorian Seniors Card or interstate equivalent (see single card image to the right)
Veterans' Affairs Pensioner Card
Veterans' Affairs Repatriation Health Card coded (TPI)
Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card coded either (DSP), (DSP Blind), (AGE), (AGE Blind) or (CAR)
or:
A person that identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
Ordinary HealthCare Card, PPS (Parenting Payment Single) and Newstart benefit cards, as well as Seniors Business Discount Cards issued by the Victorian government are not exempt from purchasing a Fishing Licence.
Where to purchase
You can purchase a fishing license online by visiting https://vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/fishing-licence or from a local fishing/tackle store.
Fishing licences can be purchased for 3 days, 28 days, 1 year or 3 years.
