Non State Forest fossicking in NSW.

[Gregyem]

So I am trying to get my head around cans and can'ts for NSW. Please clarify or correct me. I assumed the low hanging fruit is State Forests where permitted. And there is the large fossicking zones where owner or leaseholder can give permission. I am not sure about road reserves, beaches in national parks, creeks or rivers. On top of this I see the Busted Knuckles fella on YouTube up and down Adelong creek. Does he have owner permission or is there a dedicated section of crown land for fossicking? I certainly couldn't locate a State Forest in that area. I am not particularly keen on the Adelong area but just curious if there are other easy non S.F options. I am sure State Forest sites will provide plenty of options although I am somrwhat limited with a 2wd van. Looking to swing a VLF and do panning, nothing more.

 

[user 4485]

A good start on the NSW rules & regulations is here:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...gulations-all-australian-states.125/#post-533To answer some of your questions:
*road reserves - these would likely be under Local Council control so you would need their permission.
*beaches in national parks - very few National Parks in NSW allow any prospecting, fossicking or metal detecting at all. You can apply for a permit but from my own personal experience I'd say it's highly doubtful. Info here:
https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/...-and-protected-areas/park-policies/fossicking*creeks or rivers - where publicly accessible you are usually ok. My advice is to get permission to access & fossick from the relevant land authority adjoining the waterway or the private landholders. Despite what people will tell you there is no NSW law that allows fossickers access to waterways.
*Busted Knuckles fella on YouTube - you would need to ask him on YouTube about his access permissions or arrangements.

There is a mountain of information on the forum if you can narrow down your area. Many specific areas have Commons, Reserves, other known areas that can be accessed but information on these is localised to those areas & not standard across NSW.

Minview is a great resource for identifying possible areas for further follow up.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...nview-how-to-find-free-geological-maps.39250/
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...site-minview-information-and-questions.26874/

 

[Gregyem]

A good start on the NSW rules & regulations is here:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...gulations-all-australian-states.125/#post-533To answer some of your questions:
*road reserves - these would likely be under Local Council control so you would need their permission.
*beaches in national parks - very few National Parks in NSW allow any prospecting, fossicking or metal detecting at all. You can apply for a permit but from my own personal experience I'd say it's highly doubtful. Info here:
https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/...-and-protected-areas/park-policies/fossicking*creeks or rivers - where publicly accessible you are usually ok. My advice is to get permission to access & fossick from the relevant land authority adjoining the waterway or the private landholders. Despite what people will tell you there is no NSW law that allows fossickers access to waterways.
*Busted Knuckles fella on YouTube - you would need to ask him on YouTube about his access permissions or arrangements.

There is a mountain of information on the forum if you can narrow down your area. Many specific areas have Commons, Reserves, other known areas that can be accessed but information on these is localised to those areas & not standard across NSW.

Minview is a great resource for identifying possible areas for further follow up.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...nview-how-to-find-free-geological-maps.39250/
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...site-minview-information-and-questions.26874/

mbasko, brilliant, thanks so much. You have clarified a lot for me. I have been playing with layers and views in Minview and jumping back to Google Street view to get a sense of road conditions. That's excellent that you have put a guide together for using it, I am sure to improve my random poking around with a bit of structured guidance.
Yeah I think I have to be a bit smarter with my search terms so I can unearth all that forum knowledge.
Cheers

 

[lazypat]

So I am trying to get my head around cans and can'ts for NSW. Please clarify or correct me. I assumed the low hanging fruit is State Forests where permitted. And there is the large fossicking zones where owner or leaseholder can give permission. I am not sure about road reserves, beaches in national parks, creeks or rivers. On top of this I see the Busted Knuckles fella on YouTube up and down Adelong creek. Does he have owner permission or is there a dedicated section of crown land for fossicking? I certainly couldn't locate a State Forest in that area. I am not particularly keen on the Adelong area but just curious if there are other easy non S.F options. I am sure State Forest sites will provide plenty of options although I am somrwhat limited with a 2wd van. Looking to swing a VLF and do panning, nothing more.

I rang crown lands wagga and said snowey river council run it and you only have to ask their permission, snowey river council rang me and said its crown land wagga, wagga said nothing to do with themm just stay in the middle of the creek, snowey council only run the reserve apparently, and wagga was not aware of any inspectors out there unless they are from the mining dept, so there you go no one seems to know anything

 

[user 4485]

I rang crown lands wagga and said snowey river council run it and you only have to ask their permission, snowey river council rang me and said its crown land wagga, wagga said nothing to do with themm just stay in the middle of the creek, snowey council only run the reserve apparently, and wagga was not aware of any inspectors out there unless they are from the mining dept, so there you go no one seems to know anything

Sounds like you've done what you can to make sure your compliant.
I'd ask for something in writing on an email etc. though.

 

[LONEWOLF]

Im lead to believe if its a Gazetted waterway, meaning a named creek or waterway , then you cant fossick without permission.... And an un-named creek or waterway is open to enter..... Thats the consensus I have read on many Fossicking sites and pages relating to north NSW ..... Lots are having issues with un-welcome visitors on their properties in North NSW atm... Some Fossickers have been confronted by angry Armed land owners, and some Landowners have been threatened with Violence over this issue... This needs to be clarified by Government Authorities as something bad is going to happen very soon up there.....
But as many have found out , in NSW, the right hand has no clue what the left hand is doing..... Yes you can No you can't... Wonder how many have been done over this confusion in NSW... And Police, NPWS and State Forests cant be bothered to accept your complaint. Been there and tried many times with no action at all taken.... So Its the 'Wild West' in nth NSW atm...
There is no wonder this crap is happening and Fossicking Will be soon banned as its just too hard for Government to act AND they will just take the easy out and ban the Activity...
Me , I just couldn't be bothered anymore with NSW... We have better plans in the Pipe-line that still relates to Gemstones and in Central QLD now because of in-action from Authorities in NSW ...

If anyone thinks about fossicking away from your camp or Car in Nth NSW , make sure someone is close by, as lots have come back to not much left...

LW.....

 

[Gregyem]

Im lead to believe if its a Gazetted waterway, meaning a named creek or waterway , then you cant fossick without permission.... And an un-named creek or waterway is open to enter..... Thats the consensus I have read on many Fossicking sites and pages relating to north NSW ..... Lots are having issues with un-welcome visitors on their properties in North NSW atm... Some Fossickers have been confronted by angry Armed land owners, and some Landowners have been threatened with Violence over this issue... This needs to be clarified by Government Authorities as something bad is going to happen very soon up there.....
But as many have found out , in NSW, the right hand has no clue what the left hand is doing..... Yes you can No you can't... Wonder how many have been done over this confusion in NSW... And Police, NPWS and State Forests cant be bothered to accept your complaint. Been there and tried many times with no action at all taken.... So Its the 'Wild West' in nth NSW atm...
There is no wonder this crap is happening and Fossicking Will be soon banned as its just too hard for Government to act AND they will just take the easy out and ban the Activity...
Me , I just couldn't be bothered anymore with NSW... We have better plans in the Pipe-line that still relates to Gemstones and in Central QLD now because of in-action from Authorities in NSW ...

If anyone thinks about fossicking away from your camp or Car in Nth NSW , make sure someone is close by, as lots have come back to not much left...

LW.....

LW, that sounds dire. I had not heard about the gazetted vs non gazetted, so thanks. Though I haven't done it to date, I figured jumping in at a road crossing was legal and I understood that freehold did not continue into the creek. Yeah this is a recipe for disaster. I guess I will just fossic in what little SF is available to us two wheel drivers. I'm yet to get a decision on on and by crown land applications I put in 12 months ago! What a frustrating state of affairs.

 

[user 4485]

Im lead to believe if its a Gazetted waterway, meaning a named creek or waterway , then you cant fossick without permission.... And an un-named creek or waterway is open to enter..... Thats the consensus I have read on many Fossicking sites and pages relating to north NSW ..... Lots are having issues with un-welcome visitors on their properties in North NSW atm... Some Fossickers have been confronted by angry Armed land owners, and some Landowners have been threatened with Violence over this issue... This needs to be clarified by Government Authorities as something bad is going to happen very soon up there.....
But as many have found out , in NSW, the right hand has no clue what the left hand is doing..... Yes you can No you can't... Wonder how many have been done over this confusion in NSW... And Police, NPWS and State Forests cant be bothered to accept your complaint. Been there and tried many times with no action at all taken.... So Its the 'Wild West' in nth NSW atm...
There is no wonder this crap is happening and Fossicking Will be soon banned as its just too hard for Government to act AND they will just take the easy out and ban the Activity...
Me , I just couldn't be bothered anymore with NSW... We have better plans in the Pipe-line that still relates to Gemstones and in Central QLD now because of in-action from Authorities in NSW ...

If anyone thinks about fossicking away from your camp or Car in Nth NSW , make sure someone is close by, as lots have come back to not much left...

LW.....

I would like to see where this is legislated (gazetted/ungazetted)?

The only legislation for NSW that I've ever found in regards to accessing waterways pertains to fishing.
It does not give fossickers any right of access & a lot of people have some misconception that it does.

"The NSW Fisheries Management Act 1994 No 38
Part 2, Division 5, Section 38
Right to fish in certain inland waters

(1)A person may take fish from waters in a river or creek that are not subject to tidal influence despite the fact that the bed of those waters is not Crown land if, for the purpose of taking those fish, the person is in a boat on those waters or is on the bed of the river or creek.

(2)The right conferred by this section is subject to the other provisions of this Act.

(3)In this section, bed of a river or creek includes any part of the bed of the river or creek which is alternatively covered and left bare with an increase or decrease in the supply of water (other than during floods)."

There are also some waterways in NSW that are still owned under old rules whereby the landowners do indeed own to the centre of the waterway. These aren't common but do exist!

All recreational activities on Crown Land are covered by the NSW Crown Lands Act & Regulations. It is the onus of any person wishing to partake in any recreational activity on any Crown Land (including waterways) or any land to know the status of that land & comply with access rules/requirements.
Even where recreational use of a Crown Land waterway is allowed access via private land is not unless permission is given.

Regardless of land status it's always best to approach the landowners adjacent to the waterway you want to access. Upsetting people in small regional communities won't open any gates up for you but will shut many for everyone.

 

[LONEWOLF]

Yes people are quoting the Fisheries act, The Waterway act and everything else they can find to justify their actions..... Im with You, always ask permission before entering...
Im just highlighting the Issue that there is great confusion surrounding waterways... Im a mineral/Crystal person so waterways don't concern Me in my Hunt...

LW...