Division 3A Scientific licences

132C   Scientific licences

(1)  The Director-General may issue a licence (in this Act referred to as a scientific licence) authorising a person to take action, for scientific, educational or conservation purposes, that is likely to result in one or more of the following:

(a)  harm to any protected fauna, or to an animal that is of, or is part of, a threatened species, an endangered population or an endangered ecological community,

(b)  the picking of any protected native plant or of any plant that is of, or is part of, a threatened species, an endangered population or an endangered ecological community,

(c)  damage to critical habitat,

(d)  damage to a habitat of a threatened species, an endangered population or an endangered ecological community.

(2)  A scientific licence does not, except in so far as the terms of the licence otherwise expressly provide, authorise the harming of fauna, or the picking of any native plant, in a national park, historic site, state conservation area, regional park, karst conservation reserve, nature reserve, Aboriginal area, wildlife refuge, conservation area, wilderness area or area subject to a wilderness protection agreement.

(3)  A scientific licence may be issued without conditions or limitations or may be issued subject to specified conditions or limitations.

(4)  In particular:

(a)  a scientific licence may but need not specify the animal or plant that may be harmed or picked under its authority, and

(b)  a scientific licence may but need not be limited to specified areas.

(5)  A scientific licence may authorise any specified persons, or class of persons, in addition to the person to whom the licence is issued to do the things authorised by the licence. In such a case, the specified persons or class of persons are taken to be holders of the licence for the purposes of this Act.

(6)  To avoid doubt, the Director-General is not a determining authority for the purposes of Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 when issuing a scientific licence.

132D   Licence authorises certain actions

Except in so far as any conditions or restrictions attached to a scientific licence otherwise provide:

(a)  a scientific licence that authorises a person to harm any animal in a national park, historic site, state conservation area, regional park, karst conservation reserve, nature reserve or Aboriginal area also authorises that person to do, in connection with the harming of any such animal, any act referred to in section 45 (1) or 56 (1), and

(b)  a scientific licence that authorises a person to harm any fauna in a wildlife refuge, conservation area or area subject to a wilderness protection agreement also authorises that person to do, in connection with the harming of any such fauna, any act referred to in section 70 (1) or (2), and

(c)  a scientific licence that authorises a person to harm any animal or pick any plant also authorises the person to keep and have the animal or plant in the person’s possession.

132E   Definitions

In this Division:

animal has the same meaning as in the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.

Note. 

The definition of animal in the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 may include some types of fish.

plant has the same meaning as in the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.