Your fees at work 2025-26

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 three projects.

$48,188 to the Association of Geelong and District Angling Clubs Inc to build a BBQ shelter and BBQ at Wurdiboluc Reservoir Visitor area
$44,132 to the Australian Trout Foundation for additional habitat work at Bridging Waters, just below the confluence of the Buckland River and Ovens River
$27,500 to Mending Casts Inc to part-fund a series of 5 retreats supports people with cancer by providing flyfishing activities
$25,000 to the Australian Trout Foundation to stage the 2026 Talk Trout Conference
$20,000 to the Hopetoun Angling Club to facilitate the undertaking of surveys to evaluate the success of recent freshwater catfish stocking efforts by the VFA.
$19,207 to the Heathcote Dementia Alliance to construct an accessible fishing pathway at Lake Eppalock

Large Grants Program

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

$217,360 to the Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club for shellfish restoration using seeded reef structures at Kayakers Reef, Hobsons Bay
$200,000 to the Goulburn Valley Association of Angling Clubs to increase fish habitat in the Waranga Basin
$105,000 to the Red Tag Fly Fishers for schematic design and planning for a proposed Australian Fly Fishing Centre
$25,866 to the West Wimmera Shire Council to upgrade handrails on the jetty at Lake Wallace, Edenhope.

Commissioning Grants Program

The following two projects will be funded through the 2025-26 round of the Recreational Fishing Grants Program - Commissioning Grants Program.

Marine Recreational Fisheries Monitoring Program 2025/26

The Victorian Fisheries Authority will undertake creel surveys across Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, Corner Inlet and the Gippsland Lakes coastal fisheries interviewing and recording catch details from over 3,000 fishers. The information collected is vital in providing measures of stock abundance, population structure, mortality and the effectiveness of bag and size limits.

In addition, the Victorian Fisheries Authority will continue the Angler Diary Program and collect more than 400 fishing‑trip statistics from recreational anglers across key bay and inlet fisheries. Priority regions include western Victoria (Hopkins, Merri, Curdies and Glenelg river systems), central Victoria including Corner Inlet, and eastern Victoria including Gippsland Lakes, Lake Tyers, Bemm River and Mallacoota Inlet.

The Victorian Fisheries Authority will also undertake pre-recruit surveys for snapper, sand flathead and King George whiting at eight sites in Port Phillip Bay and black bream surveys at 50 sites in the Gippsland Lakes.

The cost of implementing this project is $168,329 (GST not applicable).

2025-26 Fisheries Communication & Compliance Products

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

The cost of implementing this project is $273,608 (GST not applicable), whereby the Victorian Fisheries Authority would produce and distribute up to:

115,000 copies of the 2026 Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide (including 10,000 copies in Chinese and 5,000 copies in Vietnamese)
100,000 fish length ruler stickers
41,000 abalone, rock lobster and spiny crayfish measures, and
20,000 Murray cod length/weight rulers.

Other RFL Trust Account Expenditure

During 2025-26, RFL revenue will also fund:

Increased fish stocking across Victoria, including iconic native species such as Murray cod, golden perch and Australian bass, and the highly sought brown trout, rainbow trout, and Chinook salmon
The deployment of Fisheries Officers to deliver enforcement and education and protect our valuable fisheries
Programs to get more Victorians fishing, which has included even more fish stocking as well as the staging of the Hooked on Festivals and other community fishing events at various locations across the state.
VRFish, which advocates recreational fishers’ views to the Government to inform fisheries management
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
The costs incurred in the administration of the Recreational Fishing Licence, Grants Program and the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Advisory Committee.