This policy identifies the limited opportunities for fossicking in parks and explains how future opportunities will be assessed.
Policy
1–7. Is fossicking allowed in parks?
- Fossicking is generally not permitted in parks because it can pose unacceptable risks to natural and cultural heritage. Under the National Parks and Wildlife Regulation 2019 it is an offence to '... interfere with, dig up, cut up, collect or remove for any purpose any soil, sand, gravel, fossil, clay, rock, ochre, mineral ...', (clause 13(1)(h)) or to 'dam, divert or pollute the water in any waters or water tank in a park' (clause 13(1)(i)) without consent. This means fossicking is prohibited without consent, which can be provided in a plan of management for a park, or, in the absence of a plan of management, in writing by a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Branch Director.
- Fossicking is currently permitted in two parks through plans of management:
- Abercrombie Karst Conservation Reserve (Grove Creek part only)
- Torrington State Conservation Area (throughout the park).
- Fossicking in other areas will only be considered if there is no plan of management and it does not pose unacceptable risks to park values.
- Fossicking in other areas will be considered only if there is an appropriate level of environmental assessment and it is consistent with:
- the objects of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act)
- the relevant management principles for the park
- the relevant plan of management.
- Consent to fossick may be considered, subject to the relevant plan of management, in the following reserve categories:
- national parks
- state conservation areas
- regional parks
- land acquired but not reserved under Part 11 of the NPW Act.
- Consent to fossick will not be considered for
- nature reserves
- historic sites
- Aboriginal areas or Aboriginal places
- karst conservation reserves, (except as already permitted in the Grove Creek area of Abercrombie Karst Conservation Reserve)
- wilderness areas.
- Fossicking in areas or waters subject to a successful native title claim also requires the consent of the relevant registered native title body corporate (as required by section 12(6) of the Mining Act 1992).
- Any additional opportunities for fossicking in parks are best considered while plans of management are being prepared, when all recreational activities, park values and community consultation can be considered.
- If a plan of management is silent, fossicking is prohibited. The plan would need to be amended before fossicking is permitted.
- If there is no plan of management, NPWS may consider granting consent for fossicking until a plan is in place, if there is an appropriate level of environmental assessment (see paragraphs 12 and 13).
- To enable consideration of additional fossicking opportunities when a new park is created or a new plan of management is developed, NPWS will notify the NSW and ACT Prospectors and Fossickers Association when it acquires lands for reservation under the NPW Act, or when it starts to develop a new plan.
- NPWS will only consider granting consent to fossick if the activity does not pose unacceptable risks to visitor safety or to park values including:
- native plants and animals, particularly threatened ones and their habitat
- Aboriginal cultural heritage
- historic heritage
- attributes which contribute to the outstanding universal value of a World Heritage property (that is, World Heritage values)
- the ecological character of a Ramsar wetland
- wilderness
- catchment integrity and water quality of wild rivers, aquatic reserves and drinking water supplies.
- Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, activities with the potential to impact on reserve values require an environmental assessment. Information on how to undertake an environmental assessment can be found on the website.
- Consent to fossick will generally be identified in a plan of management. In some circumstances, particularly for one-off fossicking events, consent to fossick may be granted via notification (that is, park signage, the NPWS website or by direct response to an applicant) where this does not contravene an existing prohibition in a plan of management. An applicant may be an individual, group, organisation or company.
- Any consent to fossick will define the areas to which it applies and set conditions. These conditions may include, but are not limited to:
- restricting techniques and equipment
- restricting the number of fossickers in an area
- specifying appropriate weather or seasonal conditions
- requiring fossickers to notify NPWS prior to commencing the activity
- requiring fossickers to ensure that all their equipment is sterilised before entering or exiting a park, to prevent the spread of pathogens
- requiring fossickers to replace any non-target soil, rock or other material that is disturbed (i.e. material other than the item they have consent to look for and remove).
- Only detecting, panning and hand sluicing activities (as defined in this policy) will be considered.
- Equipment must be handheld and manually operated. (Electronic handheld metal detectors are allowed.) You must not use any equipment other than handheld implements. These techniques and equipment are not allowed:
- mechanical sluicing
- power-operated equipment used to disturb the ground surface, excavate or process material
- explosives.
- You must not damage or remove any bushrock.
- You should follow the minimal impact guidelines in the Mining Regulation 2016 and the NSW Resources Regulator's Fossicking: A guide to fossicking in NSW.
- Under the consent to fossick you may be permitted to remove soil, minerals, gemstones or rock. The consent must identify the substances that may be removed.
- However, you may not damage or remove items of Aboriginal or historic heritage significance, including fossils. Removing heritage items from parks is an offence under the NPW Act.
- Even where the consent permits you to remove a substance, you may not remove more than the prescribed amount of material from any land during any single period of 48 hours. Prescribed amounts are detailed in clause 12 of the Mining Regulation 2016.
- Consent may include terms and conditions, for example, a requirement to remove rubbish or various objects left in the park as part of a one-off collaborative event involving park staff or local historians.
Policy adopted October 2017
Policy last updated September 2020
Scope and application
This policy applies to all lands acquired or reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act) except for lands reserved under Part 4A of the Act (unless the Board of Management for those lands has adopted the policy). However, NPWS staff can use the policy as guidance in their dealings with Boards of Management.
Objectives
This policy aims to:
- guide the management of the limited fossicking opportunities in parks
- guide the assessment of any proposed new fossicking opportunities in parks in the development of plans of management.
Definitions
Bushrock means natural surface deposits of rock from rock outcrops or from areas of native vegetation. Bushrock may be loose rocks on rock surfaces or on the soil surface, or may have been removed from rock outcrops by excavation or blasting.
Fossicking means the small-scale search for and collection of minerals, gemstones or mineral-bearing material from the surface (or by digging from the surface) with hand-held implements. This activity may only be undertaken for recreational, tourist or educational purposes (See Fossicking: A guide to fossicking in NSW).
Fossicking District means an area gazetted under the Mining Act 1992 in which fossickers don't need to obtain the consent of exploration-licence holders to be able to fossick. However, fossickers are still required to obtain permission from landholders including NPWS (section 12 of the Mining Act 1992). Details of fossicking districts can be obtained from NSW Resources and Geoscience. The districts can be displayed by a web-based service, MinView.
Park means land reserved under Part 4 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act), including a national park, nature reserve, historic site, Aboriginal area, state conservation area, karst conservation reserve or regional park, or any land acquired by the Minister under Part 11 of the NPW Act, or zones 1-3 of a community conservation area established by the Brigalow and Nandewar Community Conservation Area Act 2005.
Plan of management (PoM) means a plan of management for a park prepared under Part 5 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act).
Prescribed amount has the same meaning as in the Mining Regulation 2016.
Accountabilities
This section outlines NPWS staff with significant responsibilities for ensuring implementation of the policy.
| Paragraph | Position |
|---|---|
| 1. Grant consent to fossick | Branch Director |