You can keep some native birds without a biodiversity conservation licence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
It is illegal to trap and take native birds from the wild. You can be fined up to $220,000 and/or receive a 2-year prison sentence.
Native birds you can keep without a licence
You can keep the following birds without a licence:
- Adelaide rosella
- bar-shouldered dove
- blue-faced parrot finch
- Bourke’s parrot
- brown quail
- budgerigar
- cockatiel
- common bronzewing
- crested pigeon
- diamond dove
- eastern rosella
- elegant parrot
- emerald dove
- galah
- Gouldian finch
- hooded parrot
- king quail
- little button-quail
- little corella
- long-billed corella
- musk lorikeet
- painted button-quail
- painted finch
- pale-headed rosella
- peaceful dove
- Port Lincoln parrot
- princess parrot
- rainbow lorikeet
- red-capped parrot
- red-collared lorikeet
- red-rumped parrot
- scaly-breasted lorikeet
- scarlet-chested parrot
- star finch
- stubble quail
- sulphur-crested cockatoo
- twenty-eight parrot
- western corella
- western rosella
- yellow rosella
- zebra finch.
For images of the birds you can keep without a licence, see our publication Birds you don't need a licence to keep.
Choose your bird
- Research different birds.
- Talk to bird experts.
- Contact bird groups (called avicultural societies). See a list of groups you can join.
Buy your bird
Go to a licensed pet shop.