Your fees at work 2023-24

Every year the Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) Trust Account allocates the fees you pay for a fishing licence to projects that directly improve recreational fishing in Victoria.

Intermediate Grants Program

The Recreational Fishing Grants Program – Intermediate Grants Program will fund the following 5 projects.

$50,000 to Torquay Angling Club for the planning and construction of a fish cleaning table at Fisherman's Beach, Torquay.
$40,000 to the Williamstown Newport Anglers Club for the provision of fish cleaning facilities and lighting for jetty facilities at Williamstown Foreshore.
$22,808 to the Horsham Angling Club to implement a project in collaboration with the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority and the Victorian Fisheries Authority with the aim of using external contractors to survey, target (and harvest) carp at the regulated inflow channel at Lake Toolondo.
$20,000 to the Australian Trout Foundation to purchase a catering trailer to accommodate the numerous habitat restoration planting days that it conducts with volunteers.
$13,425 to VRFish for a feasibility study and facility design for an all-abilities fishing platform on the Eildon Pondage.

Large Grants Program

The Recreational Fishing Grants Program - Large Grants Program will fund the following fourteen projects.

$110,000 for a Gippsland Lakes habitat restoration project. The East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority will install woody habitat in the Gippsland Lakes (Jones Bay & Nicholson River) which will benefit key species such as black bream, estuary perch, and Australian bass.
$80,000 to Lake Marma Committee of Management for the installation of a fishing platform at Lake Marma. This project will open a whole new area on Lake Marma for publicly accessible recreation fishing, in particular encouraging visitors at the caravan park to engage in fishing while staying in the park.
$74,287 to the Warrnambool City Council for the installation of a new fish weighing gantry at the Warrnambool boat ramp. The new and safe weighing facility for recreational anglers will assist in improving recreational fishing by showcasing the quality of fishing catches available in the Warrnambool area.
$74,000 to the Red Tag Fly Fishers for a fly-casting precinct planning project at Yarra Bend Park in Fairfield. With the goal of establishing a quality fly fishing precinct, this will cater for competitive fly casting, including hosting state and national-level casting competitions.
$74,000 to Deakin University for the assessment of stocking success, growth, and condition of stocked estuary perch in Victorian seven lakes and three rivers in south-west and central Victoria. The information collected will inform recreational anglers of how the stocked estuary perch are growing in these stocked systems and can be used by the VFA to guide decisions regarding future stocking of this species.
$66,499 for the continuation of the 'Report cards for key native recreational fisheries' monitoring program. The Victorian Fisheries Authority will monitor the population abundance and recruitment for six key native angling species (Murray cod, golden perch, Australian bass, silver perch, trout cod and Macquarie perch) at a minimum of five key reference rivers for a further 12 months.
$60,000 to the Hindmarsh Shire Council for the installation of an all-abilities fishing platform at Rainbow Lake.
$55,000 to the Melton City Council for the installation of landings at Navan Park Lake in Melton. These landings will improve access for recreational fishers, in conjunction with DDA compliant pathways and other park improvements.
$46,408 to Parks Victoria for the upgrade of a series of fishing platforms on the Maribyrnong River. Parks Victoria will resurface seven public fishing platforms along the Maribyrnong River to provide long term, safe and usable public fishing platforms for recreational fishers targeting bream, mulloway, and estuary perch.
$44,000 to trial a Hooked-on Access: Empowering Every Angler project, Reclink Australia will deliver 40 FishAbility Clinics across Victoria in partnership with the successful Fishcare Victoria FishAbility program.
$24,200 to the Goulburn Valley Region Water Authority to construct three fishing platforms at the Dunyak Moira fishing lake at Merrigum. These will improve fishing for native species such as Murray cod and golden perch.
$20,000 to Ozfish Unlimited to trial a fishing litter prevention program in the Sunraysia district. Ozfish will undertake clean-up activities at popular fishing locations in the Sunraysia district including Kings Billabong, Merbein Common, Cullulleraine, and Lindsay, Mulcra and Walpolla Islands.

An additional $300,000 will also be allocated by the VFA to support a range of First Nations fishing opportunities.

Commissioning Grants Program

The following two projects will be funded through the 2023-24 round of the Recreational Fishing Grants Program - Commissioning Grants Program.

Informing sustainable management of Victoria's wild catch fisheries

The aim of this project is to collect catch and effort data from recreational fishers at key locations in Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, the Gippsland Lakes, Corner Inlet and the coastal Lakes Entrance fishery. The information is vital in providing measures of stock abundance, population structure, mortality and the effectiveness of bag and size limits.

The cost of the project is $169,300. This will enable 216 catch and effort survey days to be undertaken across Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, Corner Inlet and the Gippsland Lakes and Lake Entrance coastal fisheries which will involve interviewing and recording catch details from about 4,000 fishers.

Communication and compliance products

The aim of this project is to continue the range of products that assist recreational fishers to understand and comply with fishing rules, without having to refer to legislative documents that are often difficult to comprehend.

The cost of this project is $201,201. The Victorian Fisheries Authority will produce and distribute the following products to anglers. Up to:

135,000 copies of the 2025 recreational fishing guide (including 10,000 in Chinese and 5,000 in Vietnamese)
100,000 fish length rulers (50,000 saltwater and 50,000 freshwater)
20,000 Murray cod length/weight rulers
15,000 Murray spiny and general freshwater crayfish measures
13,000 rock lobster measures, and
13,000 abalone measures

Other RFL Trust Account Expenditure

During 2023-24, RFL revenue will also fund:

Increased fish stocking into lakes and rivers
The deployment of thirteen Fisheries Officers to boost enforcement and education
Initiatives and programs under the phase 3 of the Victorian Government's plan to get more people fishing, more often
VRFish, to provide advice to the Victorian Government about the broad range of recreational fishers’ views on the management of the State’s fisheries resources
The Victorian Fishcare program, which delivers responsible fishing education and events to the community
Projects approved through previous rounds of the Recreational Fishing Grants Program for access and facilities, education, information and training, recreational fisheries research and fish habitat improvement
Recreational Fishing Licence commissions paid to sellers
The costs incurred in the administration of the Recreational Fishing Licence, Grants Program and the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Advisory Committee.

2023-24 Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account Report

A report is tabled in Parliament each year concerning all RFL Trust Account revenue and expenditure. The 2023-24 Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account Report is available for revenue spent in that and previous years.

(Click here to view the report)