Need to know:

Hunters must hold a NSW General or Restricted game hunting licence to hunt and harvest deer in NSW.

From Friday 16 November 2018, some of the normal rules for hunting wild deer are suspended across NSW for a three year period.

NSW Game Hunting Licence holders - add your details to the Deer Assistance Hunter Register so landholders may contact you for help managing the impacts of wild deer.

In NSW, wild deer are classified as a ‘game animal’ under the Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 (the Act). This means that individuals seeking to hunt deer in NSW are required to hold a NSW Game Hunting Licence, either General (private land) or Restricted (public and private). They must also abide by special conditions and adhere to a mandatory code of practice.

Some individuals are exempt from the requirement to hold a licence and obey special conditions for wild deer.

The rules governing hunting of wild deer in NSW are set out in the Act and its Regulation 2012. Read the Rules & regulations page for more information.

From Friday 16 November 2018, some of the normal rules for hunting wild deer are suspended across NSW.

Read the suspension order published in the NSW Government Gazette. The order is in effect for three years.

State-wide suspension of certain regulations for hunting wild deer

To minimise the impacts of abundant wild deer herds across the State, some of the deer hunting regulations have been suspended. The current suspension applies across all of NSW for a period of three years.

Wild deer were identified as a priority species in the 11 Local Land Services Regional Strategic Pest Animal Management Plans. Suspending the normal rules for deer hunting allows more options to control and minimise their impacts on landholders, the environment and communities.

Licensed, reputable hunters are invited to add their details to the Deer Assistance Hunter Register so landholders may contact them for help managing the impacts of wild deer.

Being placed on a hunter register is not a guarantee of being called by a landholder or of gaining access to a property to hunt deer.

Wild deer hunting rules