Yes — unless you’re on the exemption list. Victoria runs one Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), and it covers every kind of recreational fishing in the state’s marine, estuarine and inland waters. One licence does the pier, the surf beach, the river and the boat.
Every spring, when the bay’s snapper run starts, a lot of Melburnians remember their licence ran out sometime last summer.
Prices checked against the Victorian Fisheries Authority on 14 October 2026. They apply from 1 July 2026 and change every 1 July.
| Licence | Online price | Full price |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| 28 days | $24.70 | $24.70 |
| 1 year | $40.80 | $43.30 |
| 3 years | $111.20 | $117.40 |
Victorian fishing licences are GST exempt. The 1-year and 3-year licences are cheaper bought online through Service Victoria; agents charge the full price. You can pre-date a licence up to three months ahead, so you can buy it now and stop thinking about it.
Unless you’re exempt, you need an RFL to take, or attempt to take, any fish from public waters by any method — line fishing, bait or shellfish collecting, yabbying, prawning and spearfishing. You also need one if you’re using or carrying fishing gear in, on or next to Victorian waters.
So the same licence covers a pinkie off Frankston Pier, a bag of King George whiting from the boat, and the half-litre of bass yabbies you pumped for bait.
Your licence is yours alone. The VFA is clear that it can’t be loaned or transferred, and that everyone using fishing gear needs their own licence or a valid exemption. Handing your rod to a mate “for a sec” makes them a fisher.
You’re exempt if you are:
or you hold a:
These cards don’t exempt you: an ordinary Health Care Card, Parenting Payment Single and JobSeeker cards, Seniors Business Discount Cards and DVA White and Orange Cards.
If a card is your exemption, carry it when you fish.
The VFA’s own advice is to buy direct, because some third-party websites resell the same licence for more. Paying a middleman to fill in a government form is a very Melbourne way to lose the price of a brunch.
Fisheries officers accept any of:
The digital licence works out of range — handy at the end of Rye Pier. Lost it? Email the VFA’s licensing team at rec.licensing@vfa.vic.gov.au for your details. The VFA does not replace plastic cards.
A licence from another state doesn’t cover Victorian waters, and a Victorian licence doesn’t cover anyone else’s. The Murray River itself is New South Wales water, so fishing it needs a NSW licence and NSW rules (unless you’re NSW-exempt). The one exception: a reciprocal arrangement at Lake Hume means NSW licence holders don’t need a Victorian licence there.
The VFA says penalties apply for fishing without a licence. Buy one before you wet a line, not after a fisheries officer asks to see it.
Licence revenue goes into the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account. The VFA says about $8 million a year goes back into fishing, including:
A share also goes to the businesses that sell licences over the counter.
Yes, unless you’re exempt. A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) is required to take or try to take any fish from public waters by any method — line fishing, bait or shellfish collecting, yabbying, prawning and spearfishing — and whenever you use or carry fishing gear in, on or next to Victorian waters.
From 1 July 2026 a Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence costs $10 for 3 days, $24.70 for 28 days, $40.80 for 1 year bought online ($43.30 full price) and $111.20 for 3 years online ($117.40 full price). Licences are GST exempt and prices change every 1 July. Checked against the VFA on 14 October 2026.
People under 18 or aged 70 and over, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and holders of a Victorian Seniors Card or interstate equivalent, a Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Card, a Victorian Veterans Card, a DVA Gold Card coded TPI, or a Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card coded DSP, DSP Blind, AGE, AGE Blind or CAR. Health Care Cards, JobSeeker and Parenting Payment Single cards, Seniors Business Discount Cards and DVA White and Orange Cards do not exempt you.
No. A licence from another state does not cover Victorian waters, and a Victorian licence is not valid interstate. The exception is Lake Hume, where a reciprocal arrangement means NSW licence holders don’t need a Victorian licence.
Yes. Fisheries officers accept a digital RFL in the Service Victoria app, the confirmation email from an online purchase, a plastic licence card, or a handwritten licence issued by an authorised agent.
Licence fees go into the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account. The VFA says about $8 million a year is reinvested into fish stocking, extra fisheries officers, Fishcare education, recreational fishing grants, VRFish, fish habitat and facilities, and free tools such as the Recreational Fishing Guide and fish rulers.
Licence sorted? Check the size and bag limits before you keep anything, read up on the Port Phillip snapper run, then pick a window on the Victoria bite forecast and tide times.