Australia fishing regulations — size, bag limits & license

State fisheries authorities (NSW DPIRD, QLD DPI, VFA, DPIRD WA, PIRSA, NRE Tas, NT Fisheries); AFMA in Commonwealth waters

Australia

Species	Bag limit	Min size	Open season
BarramundiOfficial source	5/day	58–120 cm slot	Feb 1 – Oct 31; Feb 1 – Oct 6
Queensland: slot 58–120 cm, 5 per person or 10 per boat with 2 or more people aboard. CLOSED SEASONS — all Queensland waters except the Gulf of Carpentaria: 1 November to 31 January each year; Gulf of Carpentaria: 7 October to 31 January each year. The freshwater closure is a ban on TARGETING barramundi, and it does not apply in a named list of impoundments (Awoonga, Monduran, Tinaroo, Peter Faust and others) or the waterways above them, where catch-and-release continues. The Northern Territory and Western Australia run their own barramundi rules, including per-river bag limits, and were not verified in this round — check NT Fisheries or WA DPIRD before fishing there.
Black MarlinOfficial source	1/day	—	—
CORRECTED 2026-08-06. NSW allows one black marlin per angler per day (the limit is one of EACH of striped, black and blue marlin) with no minimum length; for marlin the NSW possession limit equals the bag limit. Queensland publishes no marlin-specific size or possession limit in its tidal limits table. Tag-and-release is the overwhelming norm in Australian game fishing and most tournaments require it, but it is a convention, not the law in NSW. Other states were not verified in this round.
Yellowtail KingfishOfficial source	2/day	min 65 cm	—
STATE FIGURES DIFFER AND FishRadar SHOWS THE STRICTEST WE HAVE VERIFIED. NSW: minimum 65 cm, 5 per day. Queensland: minimum 60 cm, 2 per person. Other states were not verified in this round. Kingfish is highly migratory and Commonwealth arrangements can apply beyond state waters.

Licensing:

saltwater-recreational — residents Licensing is state-level, not federal. NSW: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee covers salt and fresh water. VIC: Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence. QLD: no general recreational licence for most saltwater fishing. WA, SA, TAS, NT: state-specific licences and permits. Bag, size and possession limits always come from the state you are fishing in., non-residents The same state rules apply to visitors, and a short-term licence can normally be bought online from the state authority before you fish.
freshwater-recreational — residents Inland fishing usually needs a state recreational licence (NSW, VIC) or an angler permit (NT, parts of QLD). Freshwater closed seasons are separate from tidal ones — Queensland, for example, closes barramundi in fresh water and in tidal water on the same dates but publishes them on different pages., non-residents Visiting anglers must hold the relevant state licence or permit.

Some rules may have changed since our last verification — always confirm with the authority before you fish.

FishRadar regulations are summaries for informational purposes only. Australian fishing rules are set by each state and vary by zone, and this national pack shows the strictest figure we have verified rather than your state's own. Always verify with the relevant state authority (NSW DPIRD, QLD DPI, VFA, WA DPIRD, SA PIRSA, NRE Tasmania, NT Fisheries) before fishing.

Fishing spots in Australia