Public Land Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licence Reform Project
The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) is leading a project to reform the licensing system for tour operators and activity providers operating on public land. The project, called the Public Land Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licence Reform Project, seeks to create a licensing system that ensures environmental protection and safety of the participants and encourages a more sustainable industry.
The Public Land Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licence Reform Project was born out of discussions between the tourism industry and the Minister for Environment. These discussions highlighted the inefficiencies and weaknesses of the current licensing system and the need to reform it.
The project aims to reform the current licensing system by building on the reforms implemented following a major review conducted in 1996, to provide a system that better protects the values of public land, delivers quality products and visitor experiences and meets the needs of the tourism and recreation sector. Specifically, it aims to create a licensing system that will:
- 1. improve environmental performance of tour operators and outdoor activity providers
2. create a more efficient operating environment for licensees and administrators, by reducing administrative burdens
3. ensure appropriate and sustainable use of public land
4. stimulate operator investment, thereby improving standards and viability.
The project is being overseen by a Project Control Board that includes representatives from DSE, Parks Victoria and Tourism Victoria. This board has a significant role in advising and assisting in the reform process.
On this page:
- Final policy statement 2008
- Next steps
- Project Updates
- Additional consultation 2007
- Directions Paper - 2006
- Tour Operator Licensing Benchmark Study 2005
- Nine Point Plan - 2004
- More information
A final Policy Statement: Licensing system for Tour Operators and Activity Providers on Public Land in Victoria was developed that takes into consideration the submissions received from the Directions Paper. It was developed with the support of Parks Victoria, Tourism Victoria and Tourism Alliance Victoria. It was endorsed by Cabinet on 4 February 2008.
The final Policy Statement was launched on 21 May 2008 by the Hon. Gavin Jennings MLC, Minister for Environment and Climate Change with Tour Operators from a range of businesses in attendance and representatives from Tourism Alliance Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Parks Victoria and Tourism Victoria.
Policy statement (PDF - 1.1 MB) Policy statement fact sheet (PDF - 203 KB)Next Steps
Policy statement actions will be implemented by July 2009 including:
- offence reporting hotline
- improvements to booking systems and schools notifying land managers
- education activities regarding who is required to have licence will decrease non-compliance
- increased licence fees
- longer licence terms
- transferability of licences.
During consultation on the Policy Statement: Licensing System for Tour Operators and Activity Providers on Public Land, a number of tour operators requested that licenses be made transferable. Although it was intended to capture this in legislation, during drafting of the new commercial tour operator license provisions, DSE was advised that such licences should not be transferable for two reasons:
- Technical legal difficulties associated with making a licence transferable: A licence does not give rise to any form of ownership (proprietary rights), but only to personal rights enforceable between parties. Traditionally only proprietary rights are transferable.
- Practical inefficiencies associated with transferability: The new commercial tour operator licences require operators to undergo accreditation prior to obtain a licence. If licences were transferable it would present difficulties for administering the system and maintaining the necessary probity standards (relate back to project objectives – to uphold standards, protect tour operator businesses)
Regulations
There is a need to develop regulations to implement some of the changes required to improve the current licensing system. Because of this the implementation of the new licence system will be delayed. This will assist tour operators to concentrate on recovering from the impacts of the bushfires, and ensure that DSE and Parks Victoria have time to properly develop the new licensing arrangements. To enable the longer licence term, five Acts and Regulations needed to be changed. Seeking these amendments was a significant amount of work for the project team. In July 2009 the Crown Land Acts Amendment Bill was passed, amending the required legislation and paving the way for DSE to develop regulations for the new licensing system.
Fee Regulation FAQ (PDF - 219 KB)Project Updates
Project Updates provide a snapshot of where the project is up to. Send an email to licence.reforms@dse.vic.gov.au, if you'd like to register with DSE to receive the next update as soon as it is released.
Click on the PDF links below to download previous project updates.
Update 9 (PDF - 900 KB) Update 8 (PDF - 900 KB) Update No. 7 - January 2009 (PDF - 895 KB) Update No. 6 - December 2007 (PDF - 208 KB) Update No. 5 - June 2007 (PDF - 209 KB) Update No. 4 - July 2006 (PDF - 119 KB) Update No. 3 - March 2006 (PDF - 132 KB) Update No. 2 - September 2005 (PDF - 131 KB) Update No. 1 - April 2005 (PDF - 131 KB)Additional consultation - 2007
During 2007 additional stakeholder consultation was undertaken with the Bus Association Victoria, the Outdoor Education Group, the Victorian Outdoor Education Association and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Tour operators and activity providers were also given updates and the opportunity to provide feedback through email and Parks Victoria Tour Operator forums.
Directions Paper - 2006
Following a thorough analysis and exploration of the options available for each of these nine reform areas, a paper was developed containing the project team’s recommended policy directions. This paper is called the ‘Directions Paper – Public Land Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licence Reform Project’. It outlines a series of broad proposed policy directions intended to improve the licensing system for tour operators and activity providers operating on public land.
The paper was developed following a long process of investigation and consultation around this issue. As the project was mostly concerned with the commercial sector, consultation was largely targeted at commercial operators and government agencies affected by the proposals being considered.
The Directions Paper – Public Land Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licence Reform Project was released in February 2006 and was open for comment until mid April 2006. It was sent to a broad cross-section of industry and recreational groups.
Directions Paper Executive Summary - February 2006 (PDF - 82 KB) Directions Paper - February 2006 (PDF - 1.3 MB)Over eighty submissions were received in response to the paper. Submissions were received from:
| Commercial tour operators | 41 |
| Non-commercial recreation or community organisations | 23 |
| Peak bodies or industry organisations | 18 |
| Private individuals | 17 |
| Educational organisations | 5 |
| Government organisations | 4 |
| Members of Parliament | 2 |
A large number of the submissions were from non-commercial recreation and community organisations, expressing concern that the definition of ‘who requires a licence’ inappropriately includes recreational and community groups. The intention of the paper, however, is not to require all organisations that conduct activities on public land to obtain a licence. Rather, it is to differentiate between those organisations that are genuinely using public land for non-commercial purposes and those organisations that are using public land for activities that are commercially motivated.
Aside from those submissions that were concerned with the definition, there was broad support for the overall intent of the Directions Paper. Generally speaking, the submissions demonstrated:
- a) strong support for increasing the licence term
b) moderate support for licence transfer
c) strong support for creating a tighter definition of ‘who requires a licence’ (so long as it excludes recreational groups)
d) strong support for not using membership fees as a defining factor in determining commerciality
e) little opposition to fee increases
f) strong support for abolishing use fee payments caps
g) strong support for the need to increase enforcement activity.
In November 2005, Market Solutions conducted a survey of all tour operators licensed by Parks Victoria. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of licensed tour operators participated in the telephone interviews. The final report is now available.
The study was an opportunity for the industry to inform DSE about what is working well with the current system, and what needs improving. This data will provide a benchmark measure of tour operator satisfaction, against which any future changes to the licensing system can be assessed.
Following completion of the Public Land Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licence Reform Project, a follow up survey will be conducted to assess tour operator and activity provider attitudes. Comparing the results of the two surveys will enable DSE to measure the success of the project.
Market Solutions Benchmarking Study - Final Report Jan 06 (PDF - 882 KB)Nine Point Plan - 2004
In January 2004 the Minister for Environment endorsed an issues paper known as the 'Nine Point Plan'. This document set out some of the early high level strategic directions for the project.
Called the Nine Point Plan, it considered the following nine key areas:
- 1. clarification of when a licence is required
2. licence conditions
3. improving the performance, professionalism and standards of tour operators
4. longer licence terms
5. competitive allocation of licences
6. licence fees
7. licensing arrangements and procedures
8. licence transfer
9. enforcement and compliance.
Nine Point Plan (PDF - 191 KB)More Information
If you'd like to register with DSE to receive project updates as they are released, send an email to licence.reforms@dse.vic.gov.au
For more information about operating a commercial recreation and tourism business in National Parks go to www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
For more information about Adventure Activity Standards go to www.orc.org.au
Please note: Document(s) on this page are presented in PDF format. If you do not have the Adobe Reader, you can download a copy free from the Adobe web site.