About the Conservation Regulator

Our mission

Our mission is to be an effective, trusted, best practice regulator

Our responsibilities

We are responsible for the regulation of fire prevention, use of public land, wildlife and biodiversity.

We oversee these regulatory functions by:

monitoring compliance with relevant laws, investigating alleged breaches of these laws and taking enforcement action where appropriate.
issuing licences, permits and authorisations to manage and protect Victoria’s forests and wildlife.
encouraging voluntary compliance through educating the community about the laws governing biodiversity, public land and wildlife in Victoria.

What we aim to achieve

We use regulation to achieve 3 central outcomes. We want to make sure that:

Everyone has equitable and safe access to public land and use of natural resources.
We protect the natural and heritage elements of our land for future generations to enjoy.
Victoria is a place of socially, economically and environmentally sustainable communities.

Regulatory priorities

The annual regulatory priorities support the Conservation Regulator to focus its regulatory efforts on the greatest risks and what is most important to the Victorian environment and community. The Conservation Regulator enforces compliance across all our regulatory responsibilities, however we prioritise effort to our statewide priorities. Our regulatory priorities for 2024 – 2025 are:

Illegal campfires
Illegal take of firewood
Cruelty to wildlife
Protection of threatened species
Illegal vehicle use.

Read Regulatory Priorities 2024–2025(opens in a new window)

Who we work with

Two of the most important elements of our approach to regulation are collaboration and engagement.

We develop and maintain relationships with communities, Traditional Owners, co-regulators, regulated parties and peak bodies.

These relationships and strong networks help us to conduct risk-based and intelligence-led regulation. The better the information we can gather, the more easily we can identify emerging risks to the environment we protect.

Careers at the Conservation Regulator

Interested in working with us? Explore a rewarding career helping to protect Victoria’s environment.

Visit Careers at Conservation Regulator(opens in a new window)

Governance

The Conservation Regulator’s Independent Regulation Advisory Panel (IRAP) provides the Chief Conservation Regulator with independent expert advice on best practice approaches to regulating. The Panel Members include Jane Brockington, Dariel De Sousa and Adam Beaumont.

IRAP advises on the Conservation Regulator’s settings for regulatory policy and governance, as well as operational oversight. The Chief Conservation Regulator also refers matters to IRAP for their expert opinion.
The Conservation Regulator’s Stakeholder Reference Group provides advice and support the Chief Conservation Regulator in being an effective, trusted, best practice regulator for the Victorian community and environment.
The Stakeholder Reference Group includes members who represent a range of perspectives:
- Australian Trail Horse Riders Association
- Australian Veterinary Association
- Environmental Justice Australia
- Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations
- My Environment
- Great Forest National Park
- Jacobs
- Local Government representative
- Victorian Association of Forest Industries Inc
- Victorian Farmers Federation
- Victorian National Parks Association
- Wildlife of the Central Highlands
- Wildlife Victoria.
The Stakeholder Reference Group provides advice to the Chief Conservation Regulator on:
- Supporting a robust understanding of the drivers (reasons) that lead to breaches of regulations and how the regulator can address them
- Supporting the design and delivery of an effective mix of regulatory activities in accordance with current legislation
- Providing feedback on our communication and engagement approach
- Prioritising effort across a diverse range of regulatory obligations
- Providing feedback on the effectiveness of the regulator and opportunities for improvement.
Statement of Expectations (SoE) outlines the Minister for Environment, Energy, and Climate Change’s expectations for the delivery of regulatory functions relating to timber harvesting, use of public land, fire prevention, wildlife and biodiversity

Conservation Regulations Statement of Expectations 2022
PDF 254.82 KB

(opens in a new window)

Statement of Expectations (SOE) Framework for Regulators
The Statement of Expectations (SOE) Framework and its related reporting requirements is designed to facilitate a dialogue between Ministers, departments and regulators to identify the government’s priorities and emerging risks and to establish a process for addressing these priorities through regulators’ business planning processes.
See Statement of Expectations Framework for Regulators(opens in a new window)

Updated 11 September 2024