delwp.vic.gov.au
What is the purpose of a licence?
The tour operator licensing system provides a
consistent legislative framework for licensing
commercial tourism and commercial recreation activity
on public land and waters in Victoria.
Licensing provides land managers and government with
assurances that tour operators and activity providers
are:
• implementing risk management measures associated
with a tour or activity
• meeting relevant safety standards
• complying with environment protection conditions.
Offences and penalties
As stated in the legislation, the following offences and
penalties apply to tour operators:
• a person must not conduct an organised tour or
recreational activity for profit on relevant public lands
unless that person holds a tour operator licence
• a holder of a tour operator licence must not
contravene the conditions of the licence
• a public land manager may suspend or cancel a tour
operator licence if a condition of licence is breached,
provided the processes set out in the legislation are
followed.
The penalties for these offences are 20 penalty units for
a natural person and 100 penalty units for a body
corporate.
The Conservation, Forests and Lands (Infringement
Notice) Regulations 2013 provides public land
managers with powers to issue on-the-spot fines
(Infringement Notices) for offences relating to tour
operator licences. The penalties available for on-the-
spot fines in relation to both offences are 3 penalty units
for a natural person and 10 penalty units for a body
corporate.
The Victorian Government has a policy of automatically
indexing certain fees and fines each year for inflation,
so that the value of those fees and fines is maintained.
The value of a penalty unit for a financial year is fixed
by the Treasurer under section 5(3) of the Monetary
Units Act 2004.
The value of a penalty unit for 1 July 2021 to 30 June
2022 is $181.70.
Compliance and enforcement action must be carried
out by an authorised officer appointed by the Secretary
of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and
Planning (DELWP) under the Conservation, Forests
and Lands Act 1987.
Public land managers who do not have authorised
officers on staff should contact their local DELWP office
for advice on taking enforcement action.
Suspension of a tour operator licence
The legislation states a public land manager may
suspend a tour operator licence if they are satisfied that
there are reasonable grounds to do so.
If a licence is to be suspended, the following legislative
requirements apply:
• a notice in writing must be given to the holder of the
licence and specify the time from which suspension
takes effect. The maximum period for a suspension is
90 days
• a notice of suspension to a licence holder must
include information that a licence holder may make a
written submission asking for their suspension to be
reviewed
• submissions must be made within the period specified
in the notice
• the land manager must review the decision to
suspend the licence on receipt of any submission
• the land manager must notify the person whose
licence has been suspended of the outcome of the
review.
Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licens
ing
Compliance, offences and penalties
Fact Sheet
May 202
1
Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licensing
Compliance, offences and penalties
Cancellation of a tour operator licence
The legislation states a public land manager may
cancel a tour operator licence if they are satisfied, on
reasonable grounds, that the licence-holder has been
found guilty of an offence against the relevant Act or
has breached a condition of the licence.
The legislation also specifies:
• before cancelling a tour operator licence, the land
manager must notify the licence-holder that they
propose to cancel the licence and allow the licence-
holder an opportunity to make either an oral or written
submission
• submissions must be made within the period specified
in the notice
• in deciding whether to cancel a tour operator licence,
the land manager must have regard to any
submissions made and must notify the holder of his or
her decision.
Reporting offences
If you would like to report a suspected offence, please
call the DELWP Customer Contact Centre on 136 186.
Strict confidentiality will apply to the details of each
report.
Further assistance
Public land managers should provide industry (and the
community) with appropriate, timely advice and
assistance to help them understand and help meet their
compliance obligations. Land managers may seek
advice on compliance and enforcement from DELWP.
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2021
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International licence. You are free to re-use the work under that
licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as
author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including
the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo and the Department of
Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) logo. To view a copy of this licence,
visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
ISBN 978-1-76105-499-0 (pdf/online/MS word)
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees
do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate
for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or
other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this
publication.
Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in
an alternative format, please telephone the
DELWP Customer Service Centre on 136186,
email customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au, or
via the National Relay Service on 133 677
www.relayservice.com.au
. This document is
also available on the internet at
www.delwp.vic.gov.au
.
