What Farmers Need to Know About Kangaroo Control Permit Changes

Key takeaways: Getting a permit to control kangaroos on your property has changed. Applications no longer go through your local National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) office. Instead, they go through the Department of Environment and Heritage. Wait times have blown out from a couple of weeks to up to two months, and you now need to provide a lot more proof before getting approved. If you need a permit, plan ahead and apply as early as possible.

What Has Changed

In the past, applying for a kangaroo permit was fairly straightforward. You dealt directly with your local NPWS office, where staff understood farming and knew the real damage kangaroos cause to pastures, feed, and crops. Permits were usually sorted out in a matter of days or, at worst, a couple of weeks.

That system is gone. All applications are now handled centrally through the Department of Environment and Heritage. This means local decision-making is out the window. Instead of dealing with someone who knows your district, your application goes through a central head-office process. As a result, permit approvals are now taking up to two months instead of two weeks.

Why It Has Changed

This shift comes down to government policy changes and pressure from city-based animal rights groups. The state government changed the rules to make getting a permit much harder, treating lethal kangaroo control as an absolute last resort rather than a normal farm management tool.

By moving the process over to the Department of Environment and Heritage, the government added extra hoops for landowners to jump through. The extra paperwork and bureaucracy are designed to slow down approvals and force farmers to prove they have tried every other option first.

What Evidence Is Now Required

The biggest headache with the new system is how much proof you have to supply. Simply telling the department that kangaroo numbers are out of control on your property is no longer enough. You now have to upload clear photos showing extensive damage to your pastures, crops, or boundary fences. This means you can no longer protect your property until it is too late and the damage is done.

You also have to show that non-lethal methods—like scare tactics or exclusion fencing—haven't worked. If building miles of expensive fencing isn't practical or affordable for your property scale, you have to write out a detailed explanation showing why.

How a Landowner Can Now Apply

You now have to apply online through the Department of Environment and Heritage portal (apply here). Because approvals now take up to two months, you can no longer wait until feed gets dangerously low or crops start getting ruined. You have to plan ahead and get your application in long before you actually need to start shooting.

We work with a large number of farmers across NSW managing their kangaroo populations. If kangaroos are destroying your property and you're struggling with the new permit process, please get in touch, we are very much here to help.

Got a kangaroo problem? Take a look at our kangaroo control service here