Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
As at 06 Sep 2014
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Western Australia
Short title
Commencement
Severability
Terms used, and declarations by Minister
Administration
Cost of administration
Relationship to Crown, government departments
and local governments and other persons
exercising rights or duties
Protection of fauna
Minister may issue licences
Ducks, geese and quail protected from recreational
taking
Taking of protected fauna an offence
Unlawful possession of protected fauna
Certain dealings in fauna prohibited unless by
authority of licence
Licences to process fauna and carry on processing
establishments
Royalty on skins
Authority of wildlife officers
Powers of disposal and proceeds of sale
Property in fauna
Aboriginal persons may take flora and fauna for
customary purposes
Property in protected flora on Crown land
Protected flora on Crown land not to be taken
without licence
Licences to take protected flora on Crown land
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1
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8
9
11
11
12
13
14
15
17
20
21
21
23
24
24
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Contents
23D.
23DA.
23E.
23F.
25.
26.
26A.
27.
27A.
27B.
27C.
27D.
28.
26
28
28
29
31
32
32
32
33
34
34
35
35
Notes
Compilation table
38
Defined terms
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Western Australia
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 1.
[Section 1 amended by No. 45 of 1967 s. 1(3); No. 67 of 1975
s. 3.]
2.
Commencement
This Act shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation 1.
[3.
4.
Severability
This Act shall be construed so as not to exceed the legislative
power of the State the intention being that, if any provision of
this Act would, but for this section, be construed as being in
excess of that power, it shall, to the extent to which it is not in
excess of that power, be a valid enactment.
[5.
6.
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s. 6
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s. 6
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s. 6
Where any fauna or flora is taken in any part of the State where
the fauna or flora is protected, that fauna or flora shall continue
to be protected notwithstanding that it may have been removed
from that part of the State to another part where the same
species, class or description of fauna or flora is not protected.
(2)
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s. 6
(3a)
(4)
(5)
(6)
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s. 7
(b)
(c)
Administration
Subject to the direction and control of the Minister, this Act
shall be administered by the CEO.
[Section 7 inserted by No. 112 of 1984 s. 5; amended by No. 28
of 2006 s. 221.]
8.
Cost of administration
The cost of the administration of this Act shall be paid out of
moneys to be appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.
9.
(2)
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s. 9
(4)
In this section
government department includes any instrumentality of the
Crown in the right of the State, whether a corporation, agency or
other authority.
[Section 9 inserted by No. 86 of 1976 s. 5 (as amended by
No. 28 of 1979 s. 4); amended by No. 14 of 1996 s. 4.]
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s. 14
Protection of fauna
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
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s. 15
15.
(2A)
(2B)
(2C)
(2CA)
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s. 15
(b)
(2D)
(3A)
(3B)
(3C)
(4)
(5)
(6)
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s. 15A
(1)
The Minister shall not make any declaration under section 14(2)
that would allow the taking of any species of duck, goose or
quail for the purposes of sport or recreation.
(2)
(3)
16.
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s. 16A
(1a)
(2)
(3)
16A.
(1)
(2)
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s. 17
(3)
17.
(2)
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s. 17A
(h)
(3)
A person who
(a) uses any means or device prescribed by the regulations
as an illegal means or device in the taking of fauna; or
(b) permits or suffers any such illegal means or device to be
used in the taking of fauna on land of which he is the
occupier; or
(c) permits or suffers any such illegal means or device to be
on land of which he is the occupier,
commits an offence against this Act.
[Section 17 amended by No. 38 of 1954 s. 8; No. 45 of 1967
s. 17; No. 99 of 1969 s. 9; No. 34 of 1977 s. 6; No. 53 of 1994
s. 264; No. 57 of 1997 s. 132(5) and (23).]
17A.
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s. 18
(e)
[17C-17F.
18.
Royalty on skins
(1A)
(1AA)
(1B)
The Minister may from time to time and for such period as he
thinks fit, by notice published in the Gazette, exempt from the
payment of royalty skins or carcasses taken from a specified
part of the State by a specified class or classes of persons.
(1C)
The Minister may from time to time cancel the notice or vary it
by way of addition, substitution or otherwise.
(2)
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s. 18
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
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s. 20
(8)
[19.
20.
(2)
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s. 20
(b)
(2a)
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s. 20
(2b)
(3A)
(3B)
(3C)
(4)
This Act does not prevent The Criminal Code section 417
operating in respect of fauna or flora reasonably suspected of
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s. 20A
(6)
20A.
(1)
(2)
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s. 22
[21.
22.
Property in fauna
(1)
(2)
23.
In this section
Aboriginal customary purpose means
(a) preparing or consuming food customarily eaten by
Aboriginal persons; or
(b) preparing or using medicine customarily used by
Aboriginal persons; or
(c) engaging in artistic, ceremonial or other cultural
activities customarily engaged in by Aboriginal persons;
or
(d) engaging in activities incidental to a purpose stated in
paragraph (a), (b) or (c);
Aboriginal person means a person wholly or partly descended
from the original inhabitants of Australia;
CALM Act means the Conservation and Land Management
Act 1984;
CALM Act land means
(a) land, or land and waters, listed in the CALM Act
section 5; and
(b) land that, under the CALM Act section 8C, is under the
management of the CEO; and
(c) land to which the CALM Act section 131 applies;
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s. 23
This section does not affect the operation of the CALM Act.
(3)
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s. 23A
(i)
(ii)
(4)
(5)
(6)
23A.
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s. 23B
(1)
(2)
23B.
(1)
(2)
23C.
(1)
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s. 23C
(2)
(2a)
(3)
(4)
(4a)
(5)
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s. 23D
(1)
(1a)
(2)
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s. 23D
and
the flora is marked, tagged or otherwise identified in
accordance with the terms and conditions of his licence.
A person
(a) who is an owner or occupier of private land; or
(b) who is authorised to take any protected flora on private
land by an owner or occupier of the private land,
may on payment of the prescribed fee apply to the Minister for
the issue to him of a commercial producers licence or a
nurserymans licence.
(4)
(5)
(5a)
(5b)
(6)
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s. 23DA
(b)
(7)
(8)
Subsection (7) does not apply if the taking of the protected flora
to which the licence would relate is authorised by a clearing
permit granted and in force under Part V Division 2 of the
Environmental Protection Act 1986.
[Section 23D inserted by No. 86 of 1976 s. 15 (as amended by
No. 28 of 1979 s. 6); amended by No. 53 of 1980 s. 3; No. 57
of 1997 s. 132(14), (15) and (23); No. 54 of 2003 s. 120(3)
and (4).]
23DA. Transitional
A licence issued under section 23C or section 23D prior to the
commencement of the Wildlife Conservation Amendment
Act 1980 1 shall expire in accordance with its terms and if no
period of validity or date of expiry is stated in the licence shall
expire 12 months after the date of commencement of the
Wildlife Conservation Amendment Act 1980 1.
[Section 23DA inserted by No. 53 of 1980 s. 4; amended by
No. 57 of 1997 s. 132(23).]
23E.
(1)
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s. 23F
(b)
(2)
23F.
(1)
In this section rare flora means flora for the time being declared
to be rare flora for the purposes of this section.
(2)
(3)
(4)
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s. 23F
deleted]
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
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s. 25
25.
No person shall
(a) wilfully mislead, hinder, assault, resist or obstruct, incite
or encourage any other person to mislead, hinder,
assault, resist or obstruct, any person in any particular
likely to affect the discharge of that persons duty
pursuant to the provisions of this Act;
(b) without lawful excuse have in his possession a licence
issued under this Act, or any thing resembling such a
licence and calculated to deceive;
(c) refuse to produce any licence issued to him pursuant to
the provisions of this Act when required to do so by a
wildlife officer;
(d) refuse to state his name or address when lawfully
required to do so by a wildlife officer;
(e) state a false name or address to a wildlife officer when
lawfully required by a wildlife officer to give his name
and address;
(f) use abusive language to a wildlife officer;
(g) fail to observe the conditions of any licence issued to
him pursuant to the provisions of this Act;
(h) refuse, or without lawful excuse, neglect to furnish any
return required under the regulations to be furnished by
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s. 26
Offences
(1)
[(2)
deleted]
(3)
26A.
27.
Forfeiture
(1)
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s. 27A
(3)
(4)
In subsection (1)
fauna means any animal and includes in relation to any animal
the carcass, skin, plumage or fur.
[Section 27 amended by No. 99 of 1969 s. 16; No. 67 of 1975
s. 29; No. 86 of 1976 s. 18; No. 57 of 1997 s. 132(17) and (22);
No. 59 of 2004 s. 141; No. 84 of 2004 s. 78 and 80; No. 19 of
2010 s. 51.]
27A.
(1)
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s. 27B
27B.
27C.
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s. 27D
27D.
Presumption as to identity
If, in a prosecution notice for an offence against this Act, the
name of the accused is that given by the alleged offender at the
time of, or immediately following, the occurrence giving rise to
the charge, there is a presumption, rebuttable by evidence to the
contrary, that the accused is the alleged offender.
[Section 27D inserted by No. 84 of 2004 s. 80.]
28.
Regulations
(1)
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s. 28
(iv)
(v)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
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and
limiting the number of persons that may be allowed to
take fauna in any one locality at any one time and
regulating the activities of those persons with respect to
the taking of fauna; and
controlling and regulating the sale or disposal of
protected flora or of live or dead fauna for gain or
reward; and
prescribing the conditions under which fauna may be
kept in captivity; and
prescribing the particulars to be recorded and kept
available for inspection in accordance with the
requirements of this Act and the manner in which the
particulars are to be recorded, and prescribing the
matters to be recorded in returns and the times and
manner of furnishing returns to the Minister; and
prescribing matters relating to research which the
Minister causes to be carried out, into the conservation
of fauna or flora, and, without limiting the generality of
the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, prohibiting
all such acts, matters and things as do or are likely to
hinder or obstruct or otherwise adversely affect the
carrying out of that research; and
subject to section 15A, prescribing the licences required
under and for the purposes of the provisions of this Act,
and the minimum and maximum fees payable for any
licence, enabling the differentiation of fees payable in
respect of any particular kind of licence; and
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s. 28
(h)
(i)
(j)
(2)
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Notes
1
This is a compilation of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 and includes the
amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table.
The table also contains information about any reprint.
Compilation table
Short title
Commencement
Fauna Protection
Act 1950 2
77 of 1950
(14 and 15
Geo. VI
No. 77)
5 Jan 1951
38 of 1954
(3 Eliz. II
No. 38)
3 Dec 1954
3 Dec 1954
35 of 1935
(26 Geo. V
No. 35) (as
amended by
No. 73 of
1954 s. 8)
14 Jan 1955
Reprint of the Fauna Protection Act 1950 approved 19 Apr 1956 in Vol. 9 of
Reprinted Acts (includes amendments listed above)
Decimal Currency
Act 1965
113 of 1965
45 of 1967
Reprint of the Fauna Conservation Act 1950 approved 5 Jul 1968 in Vol. 22 of
Reprinted Acts (includes amendments listed above)
Fauna Conservation Act
Amendment Act 1969
99 of 1969
53 of 1970
5 Nov 1970
5 Nov 1970
Reprint of the Fauna Conservation Act 1950 approved 10 Apr 1973 (includes
amendments listed above)
Fauna Conservation Act
Amendment Act 1975
page 38
67 of 1975
7 Nov 1975
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Short title
Commencement
86 of 1976
(as amended
by No. 28 of
1979 s. 4-7)
4 Nov 1976
34 of 1977
7 Nov 1977
28 of 1979
Reprint of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 approved 30 Jun 1980 (includes
amendments listed above)
Wildlife Conservation
Amendment Act 1980
53 of 1980
Acts Amendment
(Conservation and Land
Management) Act 1984
Pt. II
112 of 1984
Wildlife Conservation
Amendment Act 1985
58 of 1985
28 Oct 1985
25 Nov 1985
20 of 1991
25 Jun 1991
18 of 1992
16 Jun 1992
Fish Resources
Management Act 1994
s. 264
53 of 1994
2 Nov 1994
73 of 1994
9 Dec 1994
Local Government
(Consequential
Amendments) Act 1996 s. 4
14 of 1996
28 Jun 1996
Financial Legislation
Amendment Act 1996 s. 64
49 of 1996
25 Oct 1996
31 of 1997
3 Oct 1997
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Short title
57 of 1997
10 of 1998
Commencement
Reprint of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 as at 20 Nov 1998 (includes amendments
listed above)
Criminal Investigation
(Identifying People)
Act 2002 Sch. 2 cl. 7
6 of 2002
4 Jun 2002
33 of 2002
Environmental Protection
54 of 2003
Amendment Act 2003 s. 120
20 Oct 2003
74 of 2003
Reprint 6: The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 as at 3 Sep 2004 (includes amendments
listed above)
Courts Legislation
Amendment and Repeal
Act 2004 s. 141
59 of 2004
70 of 2004
8 Dec 2004
Machinery of Government
28 of 2006
(Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act 2006 Pt. 7
Div. 5
26 Jun 2006
Reprint 7: The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 as at 6 Oct 2006 (includes amendments
listed above)
Financial Legislation
Amendment and Repeal
Act 2006 Sch. 1 cl. 187
page 40
77 of 2006
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Short title
Commencement
12 Oct 2007
Standardisation of
Formatting Act 2010 s. 51
28 Jun 2010
19 of 2010
Reprint 8: The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 as at 19 Nov 2010 (includes amendments
listed above except those in the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management (Repeal and
Consequential Provisions) Act 2007)
Conservation Legislation
Amendment Act 2011 Pt. 3
36 of 2011
Personal Property
Securities (Consequential
Repeals and Amendments)
Act 2011 Pt. 6 Div. 3
42 of 2011
4 Oct 2011
Criminal Code
Amendment (Unlawful
Possession) Act 2014 Pt. 3
Div. 2
11 of 2014
24 Jun 2014
17 of 2014
2 Jul 2014
Now known as the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950; short title changed (see note
under s. 1).
Section 48A and the Second Schedule were inserted by the Limitation Act
Amendment Act 1954 s. 8.
The amendments in the Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 1997
s. 132(23) to s. 15(1a) and (1b) and 23C(2a) are not included because the
provisions to be amended were repealed by s. 132(3) and (13) of that Act.
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Defined Terms
Defined terms
[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined.
The list is not part of the law.]
Defined term
Provision(s)
Aboriginal customary purpose ........................................................................ 23(1)
Aboriginal person ........................................................................................... 23(1)
animal ................................................................................................................ 6(1)
CALM Act ...................................................................................................... 23(1)
CALM Act land .............................................................................................. 23(1)
carcass ............................................................................................................... 6(1)
CEO .................................................................................................................. 6(1)
class ................................................................................................................... 6(1)
close season ....................................................................................................... 6(1)
Crown land ........................................................................................................ 6(1)
exclusive native title ....................................................................................... 23(1)
exclusive native title holder ............................................................................ 23(1)
fauna ............................................................................................ 6(1), 20(6), 27(4)
flora ................................................................................................................... 6(1)
government department .................................................................................... 9(4)
honorary wildlife officer ................................................................................... 6(1)
illegal device ..................................................................................................... 6(1)
illegal means ..................................................................................................... 6(1)
keep ................................................................................................................... 6(1)
licence ............................................................................................................... 6(1)
NT Act ............................................................................................................ 23(1)
open season ....................................................................................................... 6(1)
other animal ................................................................................................. 27A(1)
private land ....................................................................................................... 6(1)
processing establishment .................................................................................. 6(1)
protected ............................................................................................................ 6(1)
protected flora ................................................................................................... 6(1)
protection .......................................................................................................... 6(1)
purposes of sport or recreation ..................................................................... 15A(3)
rare flora ....................................................................................................... 23F(1)
skin .................................................................................................................... 6(1)
to process .......................................................................................................... 6(1)
to sell ................................................................................................................. 6(1)
to take ....................................................................................................... 6(1), 6(1)
wildlife officer .................................................................................................. 6(1)
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