How your application will be assessed

Application assessment

Your ATCW application will be assessed by a DELWP officer who may inspect your property to confirm the damage being caused by wildlife.

The officer will look at the following points in detail:

• Are you eligible to apply for an ATCW?
• Is the wildlife issue significant (for example in terms of cost or risk to human health)? 
• Have you tried all possible non-lethal control methods, and given them time to work? See below for more information.
• Are you proposing adequate control methods?

All practical non-lethal control methods must be considered before you apply for an ATCW for lethal control. DELWP will assess what is practical on a case-by-case basis, considering what is achievable for individual landholders. These include, but are not limited to:

• The nature of the operations conducted on the applicant's property.
• The likelihood of the non-lethal control resolving the alleged damage e.g. fence improvements are unlikely to prevent kangaroo impacts, unless the fence is designed for complete exclusion.
• The impact of the proposed control on non-target species and neighbours, including noise disruptions and disruptions of wildlife corridors.
• The time it would take to install/implement a control method i.e. some non-lethal control may be implemented over a longer period of time (longer than 6 months, e.g. for installation of orchard fruit netting or deterrent lines over fish farms) and while installation or integration of the non-lethal methods occur, lethal control may be considered to assist the applicant with damage mitigation.
• The extent the method will be modifying the behaviour of the wildlife. For example, is there anything else on the property that is attracting the wildlife which can be altered or removed in any way? Fencing off water, moving roosting sites, scaring away from roosting sites can also alter wildlife behaviour.  Can the scaring activities be conducted when the wildlife is most active?

Can my application be refused?

Not all applications result in an ATCW being issued. In some cases, applications may be refused, for example if:

• non-lethal control methods have not been considered prior to making the application
• your application is not needed anymore because wildlife is no longer having an impact
• your application does not meet one of the four reasons for an application
• your application is not recommended – this may be due the conservation status of a species or the impact on the broader population, animal welfare, or human safety.

If you are not satisfied with the decision made by the Conservation Regulator, you can apply to the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for a review within 28 days. You may also apply if you believe that a decision has not been made within a ‘reasonable time’, or if your ATCW is suspended or cancelled.

For more information, see vcat.vic.gov.au