Commercial Tour Operators

Commercial Tour Operators

Any com­pa­ny, organ­i­sa­tion or indi­vid­ual propos­ing to car­ry out com­mer­cial activ­i­ties with­in the parks sys­tem requires a licence.

Com­mer­cial activ­i­ties may include guid­ed tours, instruc­tion­al or edu­ca­tion­al cours­es and leisure activ­i­ties that are con­duct­ed for fee or reward. Com­mer­cial activ­i­ties that take place in our nation­al parks include:

  • bush­walk­ing
  • camp­ing
  • four-wheel dri­ving
  • observ­ing wildlife
  • fish­ing
  • rock­climb­ing and abseiling
  • coach and bus tours
  • boat­ing activities
  • bird­watch­ing

Com­mer­cial Tour Oper­a­tor fees update

In recog­ni­tion of the severe impacts expe­ri­enced by tour oper­a­tors because of COVID-19, the Depart­ment for Envi­ron­ment and Water is hold­ing off on the usu­al licence and vis­i­tor use fee increas­es that occur on 1 April each year.

This year’s fee increas­es have been deferred to 1 July 2021. This means that if you renew your licence before the end of June you will qual­i­fy to pay the 2020 licence fee. 

Sim­i­lar­ly, for tours tak­en between 1 April and 30 June 2021, the 2020 vis­i­tor use fees for park entry and camp­ing will apply.

Note that vis­i­tor use fees from 1 April 2020 to 31 Decem­ber 2020 and CTO licence fees from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 were waived.

For a com­plete list­ing of licence and vis­i­tor use fees click here.

Com­mer­cial Tour Oper­a­tor Licens­ing and Per­mit­ting Policy

The Com­mer­cial Tour Oper­a­tor Licens­ing and Per­mit­ting Pol­i­cy enhances oppor­tu­ni­ties for tourism busi­ness­es in South Aus­trali­a’s parks and reserves. The pol­i­cy was finalised in March 2011 after input from many tour operators.

Why are licences required?

Pur­suant to reg­u­la­tion 36(b) of the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife (Nation­al Parks) Reg­u­la­tions 2016 (the Reg­u­la­tions) any­one con­duct­ing tours in South Aus­trali­a’s nation­al parks for fee or reward require a com­mer­cial tour oper­a­tor licence.

Licens­ing is an impor­tant man­age­ment tool which:

  • allows DEW to mon­i­tor access and use of lands to ensure the nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al val­ues of pro­tect­ed areas are maintained
  • ensures that vis­i­tors have a safe and reward­ing experience.

Under the Reg­u­la­tions, penal­ties of up to $5,000 exist for oper­a­tors that con­duct tours in a park with­out a licence or breach licence conditions.

How long does a licence last?

Com­mer­cial Tour Oper­a­tor (CTO) Licences are avail­able for peri­ods from two months to five years. The fees are based on admin­is­tra­tive costs and with the excep­tion of the two month option (which begins from the date of issue) will expire on 31 March of the rel­e­vant year, regard­less of when the licence is issued. E.g a one year licence issued in Decem­ber will expire 31 March the fol­low­ing year.

Terms and conditions

See the terms and con­di­tions that apply to a licence grant­ed by the Min­is­ter for Envi­ron­ment and Water.

Relat­ed links