The National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is looking to move to an online system for all hunting licences it issues.
This licence customer portal, that the service is in the process of setting up, is set to start with deer licences.
The NPWS told stakeholders in the hunting community this month that the online portal has been in the planning stage for a number of years, and will eventually become a “one-stop shop” for all licenses issued by the service.
As a first step, hunters applying for deer hunting licences for the 2024/2025 season will do so online through the new customer portal.
The NPWS informed stakeholders that it is currently carrying out initial testing of the new system.
This is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Following that, the NPWS said it will run online demonstrations for hunter representative groups on how to use the new system, before the system goes live.
After the system goes live, the application process for deer hunting licences will be online only.
Applicants to the online portal will be required to:
- Include a photograph with their application;
- Sign a declaration verifying that they will only hunt on land where they have permission, as set out in section 28 of the Wildlife Act;
- Upload a firearm certificate and/or proof of firearm purchase;
- Sign a declaration that they are compliant with the minimum requirements when hunting deer.
Deer hunting licences will issue via email or through the portal only. They will no longer be posted.
According to the NPWS, the new system will be faster and more efficient than the postal system.
The new system will also see the removal of the requirement of written landowners’ permission, as well as the removal of the requirement to confirm landowners’ permission for a minimum 100ac to hunt on.
Each applicant will have their own login and password, and will be able to track the status of their applications through the portal, the NPWS said.