Kangaroo harvesting

The Kangaroo Harvesting Program (KHP) began in Victoria on 1 October 2019 to enable the harvesting of Eastern and Western Grey kangaroos (grey kangaroos) in Victoria. The program provides an alternative to the existing Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) system for landholders wishing to control kangaroos on their property.

The KHP helps landholders reduce issues caused by kangaroos on-farm, makes use of the carcasses and provides an income for the trained harvesters. Problems faced by landholders include crop destruction, competition with livestock and damage to property such as fences.

The sustainability of kangaroo populations is protected by limiting the harvest using annual quotas. The harvesting quota is set, taking into account population estimates and the predicted ATCW numbers for the coming year.

Authorised harvesters take kangaroos in a sustainable manner at no cost to landholders. Suitable kangaroo carcasses are delivered to a processing centre where they are processed for food and other products, minimising wastage. Harvesters are accredited in firearm proficiency and game harvester skill sets. They must act in accordance with national standards.

Landholders engage authorised harvesters directly and can request details of authorised harvesters in their area. Landholders wishing to use authorised harvesters do not need to apply for an ATCW.

The KHP operates in accordance with the 2024-2028 Victorian Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan (KHMP):

Authorised Harvesters are subject to the Conditions of Authorisation:

Authorised harvesters must act in accordance with the National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes.

In 2023, the new Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan 2024-2028 was released.

Updates to the plan included:

a life span of 5 years. The Plan will operate from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2028
additional management actions to ensure impacts during and after emergencies, such as bushfires and floods
improvements to reporting and communication processes

Where harvesting can take place from 2025-2028

From 1 January 2025, there will be five Harvest Zones rather than seven zones used in previous years. A further 10 local government areas are now part of the Exclusion Zone where harvesting cannot occur.

Download the 2025-2028 Harvest Zones map (DOCX 161.33 KB) for the location of the Harvest Zones

Harvesting in 2025-2028 may only occur in the LGAs listed in Table 1.

Harvesting is not permitted in LGAs listed in the Exclusion Zone Table 1.

Table 1 Local Government Areas contained in each Harvest Zone and Exclusion Zone for 2025

Barwon South West	Grampians	Loddon Mallee	Hume	Gippsland
Colac Otway Corangamite Glenelg Greater Geelong Moyne Southern Grampians Surf Coast Warrnambool	Ararat Ballarat Golden Plains Hepburn Hindmarsh Horsham Moorabool Northern Grampians Pyrenees West Wimmera Yarriambiack	Buloke Campaspe Central Goldfields Gannawarra Greater Bendigo Loddon Macedon Ranges Mildura Mount Alexander Swan Hill	Alpine Benalla Greater Shepparton Indigo Mansfield Mitchell Moira Murrindindi Strathbogie Towong Wangaratta Wodonga	Bass Coast Baw Baw East Gippsland Latrobe South Gippsland Wellington Yarra Ranges
Exclusion Zone (No harvesting, ATCWs only)
Banyule Bayside Boroondara Brimbank Cardinia Casey Greater Dandenong	Darebin Frankston French Island Glen Eira Hobsons Bay Hume Kingston	Knox Manningham Maribyrnong Maroondah Melbourne Melton Monash	Moonee Valley Mornington Peninsula Merri-bek Nillumbik Port Phillip	Queenscliff Stonnington Whitehorse Whittlesea Wyndham Yarra

Barwon South West

Grampians

Loddon Mallee

Hume

Gippsland

Colac Otway

Corangamite

Glenelg

Greater Geelong

Moyne

Southern Grampians

Surf Coast

Warrnambool

Ararat

Ballarat

Golden Plains

Hepburn

Hindmarsh

Horsham

Moorabool

Northern Grampians

Pyrenees

West Wimmera

Yarriambiack

Buloke

Campaspe

Central Goldfields

Gannawarra

Greater Bendigo

Loddon

Macedon Ranges

Mildura

Mount Alexander

Swan Hill

Alpine

Benalla

Greater Shepparton

Indigo

Mansfield

Mitchell

Moira

Murrindindi

Strathbogie

Towong

Wangaratta

Wodonga

Bass Coast

Baw Baw

East Gippsland

Latrobe

South Gippsland

Wellington

Yarra Ranges

Exclusion Zone (No harvesting, ATCWs only)

Banyule

Bayside

Boroondara

Brimbank

Cardinia

Casey

Greater Dandenong

Darebin

Frankston

French Island

Glen Eira

Hobsons Bay

Hume

Kingston

Knox

Manningham

Maribyrnong

Maroondah

Melbourne

Melton

Monash

Moonee Valley

Mornington Peninsula

Merri-bek

Nillumbik

Port Phillip

Queenscliff

Stonnington

Whitehorse

Whittlesea

Wyndham

Yarra

A quota for the harvesting program is set each year, and allocations are released in stages throughout the year.

From this quota, harvesters in different parts of Victoria can apply for an allocation that specifies how many grey kangaroos they can harvest in any given Harvest Zone.

These allocations are strictly enforced, and non-compliance may result in the revocation of authorisation to operate. Non-compliance is subject to penalties under the Wildlife Act 1975.

To ensure the sustainability of kangaroo populations, a total recommended take (across the KHP and ATCWs) is determined. The total recommended take is set at no more than 10% of the population.

The KHP quota is based on grey kangaroo population estimates in each Harvest Zone. Harvest Zones with a higher proportion of Victoria's kangaroo population will generally have a higher quota. The predicted ATCW numbers within a Harvest Zone also affect the KHP quota.

ATCWs are considered on a case-by-case basis and not capped. Therefore, the level of take across the two programs is monitored closely. The quota allocations may be revised at the next planned release if the level of control approaches or trends above the 10% recommended maximum.

Also beginning in 2025, the commercial quota is developed for each species in the Harvest Zones where the species overlap. Species overlap occurs in the Loddon Mallee, Grampians and Barwon South West Harvest Zones. This change will be used as a measure to further ensure species sustainability.

The 2025 quota covers 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

Harvest Zone	Eastern Grey quota	Western Grey quota	Combined Quota
Barwon South-West	8,750	600	9,350
Gippsland	11,900	0	11,900
Grampians	12,500	10,200	22,700
Hume	38,100	0	38,100
Loddon Mallee	24,700	0	24,700
TOTAL	95,950	10,800	106,750

Harvesters can apply for a quota allocation in any zone. The allocation will specify how many kangaroos they can harvest and in which zones. Tags (with quota ID) are then posted to harvesters for attaching to kangaroos at the time of harvesting.

Harvesters must only harvest the number of kangaroos they have been allocated tags for, and only in the zones the tags specify.

The planned quota releases for Eastern Grey Kangaroos (EGK) and Western Grey Kangaroos (WGK) 2025 are provided below. The quota will be released quarterly. Any quarterly unallocated quota may be rolled into the next quarter's release.

2025 quota release

Download the 2025 Quota Release document 2025 Quota Release (DOCX 71.53 KB) for information on the quarterly quota releases.

Active/non-active

The status of a harvester is assessed per Harvest Zone. Harvesters must demonstrate activity in the zone they are applying for quota.

Harvesters' initial status per zone for 2025 will be based on their activity in that zone throughout October- December (the last three months of 2024).

2025 active/non-active criteria

Non-active harvester:

a new harvester
a harvester who has not received an allocation of tags for the zone in the last three months.
a harvester who has received an allocation in the last three months for the zone but has not consumed 50% of the total tags issued to them in these three months.

Active harvester:

a harvester who has received an allocation of tags in the three months prior to applying for tags and has consumed at least 50% of the total tags issued to them for the zone within these three months.

2025 tag allocation rules

The tag allocation rules outlined below will apply to all harvesters for 2025

Tag allocation rules prevent harvesters from stockpiling unused tags.

Demonstrated harvest status	Maximum tag allowance
Non-active Harvesters	Maximum 50 tags, per zone
Active Harvesters	Maximum 200 tags, per zone

Wherever possible, harvesters will receive the quota they have applied for, if eligible. Demand and supply constraints in some zones may mean that the quota received is less than what was applied for.

Vehicles used in harvesting, processing, storing or transporting kangaroos for pet or human food or other commercial products must be licensed with PrimeSafe.

For further information on these requirements, visit the PrimeSafe website.

To get involved in the program as a harvester, you will need to register through Service Victoria.

Please ensure you are using Chrome as your browser when registering or logging into their system.

You will need to provide evidence of appropriate training, including:

Firearm Proficiency training

Harvesters will need to provide documented evidence of a valid Firearm Proficiency accreditation ,which includes an accuracy test undertaken every five years.

Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA) Victoria offers the Commercial Kangaroo Firearms Proficiency Accreditation Course.

Firearm Safety Council (FSC) offers the Use Firearms To Safely and Humanely Harvest Wild Game course

Game Harvester Skill Set

Harvesters must provide documented evidence of completing a recognised Game Harvester competency program.

PrimeSafe accreditation

Harvesters will need to provide evidence of a harvester vehicle licensed with PrimeSafe. Interstate licences from relevant meat industry regulators are accepted.

Assistance

For help registering or using the Service Victoria App, access our Guide for Harvesters Guide for Harvesters (DOCX 165.52 KB)

Frequently asked questions

For processor and harvester information, see the following documents:

To get involved in the KHP as a landowner, you must register through Service Victoria.

Once registered, you can request a list of authorised harvesters interested in operating in your zone.

It will be up to you to contact harvesters directly to organise a time and date for harvest.

Landowners must provide written consent to an authorised harvester to harvest grey kangaroos on their property.

Landowners should also request evidence from the harvester that they have appropriate public liability or indemnity insurance.

Download the Consent form for landowners Consent form for landowners (DOC 715.5 KB)

Frequently asked questions

For more information, refer to the following document:

Landholders who are unable to participate in the KHP may be able to control kangaroos on their property through the Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) system.

2024

Quarter 1 Summary Report

Quarter 2 Summary Report

Quarter 3 Summary Report

2023

Kangaroo Harvesting Program 2023 Annual Summary Report

Quarter 1 Summary Report

Quarter 2 Summary Report

Quarter 3 Summary Report

Contact information

For all queries, complaints and concerns relating to the Kangaroo Harvesting Program, please contact :

Phone: 136 186 (between 8 am and 6 pm Monday to Friday)
Email: customer.contact@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Page last updated: 24 April 2025

Kangaroo harvesting

Program background

Where kangaroos can be harvested

Where harvesting can take place from 2025-2028