You can now apply for a NSW licence on-line

[Ramsayi]

Unbelievable.The import/export side if things has done nothing except save someone at the department having to do paperwork(you are in effect doing it for them).
I guess this means if successful they can sack someone else provided there is anyone left there.What is the point of having a system where you "do it yourself" but still having to wait for the paperwork to be posted out weeks later?Another example of how totally useless DECC are when it comes to pet reptiles.To the rocket scientist who came up with this take a bow buddy!

 

[Waterrat]

I just applied for a new licence as I am moving from QLD to NSW. T

You will regret your move.

Seriously, look at the bigger picture; Qld and SA don't have any silly import/export permits and the systems in those states are working like a clock. This "improvement" obviously cost a lot of money; there is no guarantee that it will work and no benefit to you guys.
Push for radical changes, not pissy improvements.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

You are right Michael. This is window dressing. They must eventually get around to acknowledging that the licensing of captive bred common species is a totally pointless exercise, and devoid of any 'conservation' merit. The notion of tracking every captive bred reptile, from birth to death, across all state borders and all owners, is an absolute nonsense. What purpose does the collection and maintenance of all that information serve?

It interests me that DECCW watches the discussions here, and uses the forums when they feel they have an announcement which makes them look good. But, invite them to debate serious issues such as the Code of Practice and we are met with silence. And there are never names attached to the departmental offerings.

Moving the department into the electronic age should streamline the entire licensing system, but this is a joke. The whole thing could be done just as we do car licensing online, it could be immediate...

J

 

[zulu]

I just applied for a new licence as I am moving from QLD to NSW. I found the process to be very easy and painless. Great work guys.

T

Wait until you have to do some imports or exports and the other guy in Queensland,victoria or South Australia gets there numbers almost straight away for free or a couple of dollars and you have to sit like a shag on a rock waiting.

What they are doing in NSW is stuffing everyone up with their inefficiency,nothing funny about it,they are damd annoying like cockroaches

Cant wait to get rid of this joke of a govenment,should be allot of sackings in the running of some of the departments after the policy makers are bye bye.

 

[onthillside]

WOW thanks for the heads up guys! Looks like i'm for a big shock then when I move. QLD system is great and I hoped NSW would be just as good......looks like I was dreaming ha?

T

 

[Bryce]

Yahoooo! great start it can only get better from here people.

 

[Waterrat]

Yahoooo! great start it can only get better from here people.

I wouldn't hold my breath Bryce, it took them 12 years to get this bit done -too little, too late, not good enough! Heads will roll when the new Minister steps in.

 

[Sock Puppet]

I normally fax mine Fay , so no stamp

Jees,they got you, have they taught you to roll over,fetch the stick,play dead :lol:

I've always saved a copy as pdf & emailed it to them with a request to return an email notification it was received (which they do).
I've only once done an import, but same deal, email a pdf then follow up phone calls got me the permit number in less than a week.
All my paperwork has been relatively quick (so far), & record books have been sent back early to avoid the glut of books for those who bother returning them annually.
Still, this should make things easier, even if it's not going to be cheaper or quicker.

 

[spongebob]

Am I mistaken or have they reduced the time to send in the return. Used to be 7 days but from dickyknees info it looks to be reduced to 48 hours?

 

[LiasisKing]

its works awesomely... saved me about half an hour (printing, filling out, scanning etc.) and it gives you a reciept and a confirmation that they have recieved it (as opposed to assuming via email)

The major improvement would be to be able to instantly print it off like QLD ... for the money they charge you could expect a lot more !

 

[bkevo]

I was told today for an extra $30, my permit can be completed within 24 hours. They are a joke. $60 for a few numbers and a piece of paper to be looked at.

 

[Mr.James]

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Hey zulu, you're on the money! Crumbs for the grateful peasants - you descibe it beautifully. The only fault in your comment is that it's not the politicians, it's the bureaucrats, and guess who'll still be there after the election? These guys have been entrenched for decades in some cases. You can change a government, but the public service grinds on... If you really want oppression, move to WA...

J

 

[hugsta]

SO, the ONLY advantage is that you don't have to buy a stamp.........geebus progress is really moving along now....

Either that or pay for a fax...lol

 

[Waterrat]

Jamie, ministers are politicians and they CAN remove / transfer undesirable individuals to some darker corners of departments. Just have keep pressing the right buttons.

 

[hugsta]

I was told today for an extra $30, my permit can be completed within 24 hours. They are a joke. $60 for a few numbers and a piece of paper to be looked at.

They can't even justify the $30 they are charging now, excpet for spending it on trying to destroy the hobby with rediculous cage sizes.

 

[dickyknee]

Yes they have done absoloutely squatt,wait 14 days is just an insult for what they charge!



Jees,they got you, have they taught you to roll over,fetch the stick,play dead :lol:

I am no bodies lap dog , I made a simple comment that $3.00 off the price was nothing to complain about....

 

[Laghairt]

I don't have a problem paying a license fee for keeping reptiles, I think there are genuinely good reasons for licensing.

On the other hand, the fees they charge for import/export permits are not only unjustified, they are unlawful. I have asked a few environmental lawyers and they have assured me that if the gees were ever legally challenged they would be abolished. The only reason they exist is that they haven't met proper resistance.

The fees are clearly a cash grab by the DECCW and the problem is that once the department has a profitable fee they will cling to it for dear life. For things to change more of us have to get political. Do not underestimate how much influence letters/phoncalls to your local member and the minister can have. If we annoy them enough they will want to make it go away and they are the ones who can pressure the DECCW.

I wouldn't bother writing to the DECCW itself as they will ignore it. There is no way they will want the minister to know how many complaints they are getting. It would be good to cc them in on any complaints to your local members though, that will force them to do something.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

I don't have a problem paying a license fee for keeping reptiles, I think there are genuinely good reasons for licensing.

This is the kind of general statement that stops people from thinking beyond what 'seems' to be the obvious. Are there, in fact, genuinely good reasons for licensing captive-bred Carpet Pythons, Central Bearded Dragons, Green Tree Frogs or any other of the commonly kept herp species? Can you tell me what purpose it serves in conservation, which is the ONLY reason for the existence of NPWS (DECCW). What do they do with the info gained? How does it help the species in its degraded habitat?

All it does is allow the building of an empire, built on a fallacy that it is necessary for conservation.

The entire landscape on which this 'need' was built dates from the 1970s, when reptiles weren't bred in captivity, and it was fashioned to place some controls over the potential for damage to wild populations from a wild catch. For most popular species, this simply doesn't apply anymore. We have to deal with legislation that is now 20 years behind the times, but it is a mammoth task to get bureaucracies to change legislation, when the designers of that legislation still influence the decision making. None of them wanted to allow reptiles to be kept by private individuals in the first place, so they're not going to streamline anything for anyone but themselves.

A so-called 'electronic' system that still relies on paper documents via post is ridiculous in 2011.

 

[Waterrat]

We have to deal with legislation that is now 20 years behind the times, but it is a mammoth task to get bureaucracies to change legislation, when the designers of that legislation still influence the decision making. None of them wanted to allow reptiles to be kept by private individuals in the first place, so they're not going to streamline anything for anyone but themselves.

And these "designers" are still in the Department in active roles. This is what we need to focus on once the Ministry changes hands. The dead wood must go - uncompromisingly, otherwise nothing will ever change. Don't loose the focus people, the opportunity (elections) comes only once in many years.