Demerit Points

From 1 July 2009, a demerit point scheme will apply to fisheries offences.  This means that whenever a person is convicted of an offence by a court, or pays an expiation fee (on the spot fine), they will also accrue a number of points.

The number of points that applies depends on the severity of the offence.  All points are set by the Fisheries Management (Demerit Point) Regulations 2009. 

Points have a life of 5 years, and disappear after that time, similar to the demerit system for drivers’ licences. 

If a person or company accrues 200 points within 5 years, there are a range of penalties that apply.  The penalties that apply depend on the circumstances but they can include disqualification from holding a fishing authority under the Act, compulsory sale of a fishing licence and disqualification from being a registered master of a commercial fishing boat. 

Further information is provided in the Frequently Asked Questions information sheet and the Fisheries Management (Demerit Point) Regulations 2009 (external website).

 

If you are in the process of acquiring a licence under the Fisheries Management Act 2007 you are advised to make independent enquires of the licence holder as to any demerits points that are recorded on that licence. The Public Register may not be up to date at the time of your search as there are sometimes delays in the allocation process and so should not be relied upon in isolation from other enquiries. Any demerits that are incurred by the licence as at the time of the transfer will be attributed to the relevant licence in the ordinary course of business regardless of any transfers occurring in that period. If you require further clarification of the actual demerits held by any licence prior to any transfer you will need to request that from PIRSA Fisheries in writing and as part of that process you will need the written consent of the licence holder for that information to be released to you.