Scrap Cruel ATCW Permits

Native wildlife is supposed to be protected under Victoria's Wildlife Act 1975 – it's illegal to kill, trap or disturb native animals without authorisation. But the Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) permit system hands that authorisation out whenever wildlife is deemed to damage property, threaten health and safety, or affect biodiversity. In practice, it has become one of the biggest loopholes in Victoria's wildlife protection laws – a way to legally kill native animals at enormous scale, with very little transparency about what actually happens once a permit is granted.

Between 2021 and 2023, ATCW permits authorised the lethal “control” of almost 300,000 native animals in Victoria – and that figure doesn't even include the Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroos killed separately under the Kangaroo Harvesting Program.

How the Permit System Works

Landholders, occupiers or government agencies can apply for an ATCW when wildlife is causing damage or risk. Before a permit is meant to be approved, the applicant is supposed to show that non-lethal options – like exclusion fencing or deterrents – aren't a realistic fix. Once granted, permits authorise methods including shooting, trapping and nest removal, and come with conditions intended to ensure the killing is done "humanely." But there is no independent, animal-by-animal check that those conditions are followed once a permit-holder is out in the field. Instead, this broken system relies on self-reporting.

Why the System Needs to Change

✗	Lethal control dominates. Official Victorian Government data for 2022 shows 1,423 lethal permits were issued for Eastern Grey Kangaroos alone – compared with just 3 non-lethal permits for the same species that year.
✗	Even threatened species aren't off-limits. The Victorian National Parks Association has found ATCW permits granted for species including the Brolga, Grey-headed Flying Fox, Broad-shelled Turtle and Murray River Turtle.
✗	Almost 100 native species have been targeted. Over the past decade, permits have been issued against roughly 100 different species – from black swans and wombats to threatened wildlife.
✗	No one is accountable. Responsibility for the system is split across multiple departments, agencies and Ministers. That means no single body is answerable for how it's used or what it costs Victoria's wildlife.

Sign the Petition to Review ATCW Permits

Add your name to call on the Premier of Victoria and the Minister for Environment to launch a critical, detailed review of the Authority to Control Wildlife program.

ATCW permits were meant to be a last resort. Instead, they've become the default – a quiet, paperwork-only pathway to killing native animals at scale, with almost no visibility for the public that's supposed to be protected by the Wildlife Act in the first place. Victoria needs a system that genuinely prioritises non-lethal solutions and reports honestly on the outcomes – not one that simply regulates the killing.

Source data: Conservation Regulator authorised control figures for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.