Licensing

A great way to experience Victoria’s State and National Parks is with a Licensed Tour Operator (LTO). Licensed tour operators are experts in conducting organised, recreational activities and more. If you want to try something new or meet some like-minded people on your next visit to a park, contact a licensed tour operator.

If you are interested in conducting organised tours or recreational activities on Parks Victoria and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) managed estate, please read the below information to learn how to register for a licence.

COVID-19

Check our COVID-19 update for the latest information, and follow the health advice provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Who is required to hold a licence?

A tour operator and activity provider licence is required for any person or business conducting an organised tour or recreational activity, including training, for profit on public land in Victoria.

Parks Victoria issues and administers tour operator licensing on public land in Victoria on behalf of Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) including on Victorian state waters and inland waterways.

For more information on tour operators and activity provider licence requirements (including the relevant Policy, Legislation and Fact Sheets,) go to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) website.

Fees

Tour operators and activity providers are required to pay fees for:

Annual Licence Fee
Visitations (use fees)

2022-23 Fee schedule

Category	Fee for 2022-23
Annual fee - standard one year licence	$317.70
Annual fee - standard licence multi year licence (per year)	$249.20*
Use fee - adult	$2.40
Use fee - child (16 years and under) and school student	$1.60
Use fee cap	$15,576.50

*multiply this fee by the number of years you wish to apply for.

Further fee structure information is available on the Tour operator fees fact sheet.

Park Connect Tutorial Videos

How-to guides on Licensing administration in Park Connect for Licensed Tour Operators.

Applications

Anyone planning on conducting organised tours or recreational activity for profit will need to apply for a licence before commencing any commercial activities on public land.

New Operators

Step 1 – Preparation

If you are a new applicant, please email LTOlicensing@parks.vic.gov.au to schedule a 15-minute phone call with a Tourism Partnerships Officer to discuss your application. In preparation for the conversation please prepare basic detail in relation to the activities you wish to provide and locations you are seeking to visit as part of your initial email. During the call, the Officer will take you through the licensing process, requirements, timelines and answer any of your questions.

Step 2 – Registration

New operators will need to register on ParkConnect before they can proceed to the application step. Access the registration sign up page.

Tip: Watch the How to register video.

Step 3 – Application

You can submit your full application or re-licence online via ParkConnect.

To apply:

Sign in to ParkConnect.
Click on Tour Operator.
Go to My applications/agreements to commence the process. New operators will need to create an Account prior to submitting an application (see Step 2).

Note: Parks Victoria is unable to finalise an incomplete application.

Step 4 – Assessment

Your application will be assessed by the Licensing Team before being sent out the relevant Area Chief Rangers for review and comment.

Step 5 – Finalisation

Once approved a licence will be sent to you for electronic signing using DocuSign and a invoice will be sent to you for the Annual Licence fee. Please ensure you carefully review all the conditions of the licence prior to signing.

Note: you will only be permitted to operate following the completion of this step.

Existing Operators

Step 1 – Preparation

Prepare the following documentation;

Visitations - for activities conducted over the previous financial year.
Insurance – Certificate of Currency
Variations – for any new activities and/or locations you are seeking to access
Licensing refresher – Please view the ParkConnect tutorial videos

Step 2 – Application

You can re-licence online via ParkConnect.

To apply:

Sign in to ParkConnect.
Click on Tour Operator.
Click on Manage account – ensure all your account and contact details are still correct
Click on Report visitations – to report any activities conducted over the previous financial year
Go to My applications/agreements to commence the process.
- Existing operators please click on the drop-down button to commence the re-licence process. Most of the detail will be pre-populated.
- Variations – you can add locations and activities as part of the relicensing process
- Insurance – as part of this application process please upload your current Certificate of Currency

Step 3 – Finalisation

Once approved a licence will be sent to you for electronic signing using DocuSign and a invoice will be sent to you for the Annual Licence fee. Please ensure you carefully review all the conditions of the licence prior to signing.

Useful links

Incidents

Accidents can happen while operating and it is a requirement of the licensee to submit an Incident response form by email to LTOlicensing@parks.vic.gov.au as an acknowledgment of the incident.