SSAA Victoria

01/06/2026

Public land is one of the last truly affordable ways for Victorian families to enjoy the outdoors.

Whether it's hunting, fishing, camping, bushwalking or simply spending time together in the bush, access to public land delivers enormous social, economic and health benefits.

That's why SSAA Victoria has fought so hard on public land access issues over many years.

In this clip from our latest podcast with Victorian Fisheries Authority CEO Travis Dowling, we discuss the importance of keeping public land accessible and why we're encouraged by the proposal to enshrine a Land Access Panel within Outdoor Recreation Victoria.

Public land belongs to all Victorians, and it needs a strong voice at the table.

🎥 Watch the clip below and catch the full podcast on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
https://youtu.be/VLURPu9JiC0

28/05/2026

How often do governments outside of Victoria talk about hunting and fishing as economic drivers?

Not nearly enough.

In this clip from the SSAA Victoria Podcast, Victorian Fisheries Authority CEO Travis Dowling discusses the enormous contribution that hunting and fishing make to regional communities, jobs, tourism and conservation.

While some interstate and federal policymakers continue to overlook the value of active outdoor recreation, Victoria has a genuine opportunity to continue to lead the way.

Done properly, hunting and fishing can deliver even more true triple-bottom-line benefits:
✅ Economic growth
✅ Environmental outcomes
✅ Social and community benefits

It's a conversation about potential, opportunity and why Outdoor Recreation Victoria matters.

🎥 Watch the clip below.

🎧 Watch the full podcast on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. https://youtu.be/VLURPu9JiC0

28/05/2026

Hunting and fishing are officially “shacking up” in Victoria.

From July 1, the Victorian Fisheries Authority and Game Management Authority merge into the new Outdoor Recreation Victoria - and in the latest SSAA Victoria Podcast, we sit down with VFA CEO Travis Dowling to talk about what that really means.

This is a fascinating conversation about the future of hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation in Victoria:
🎣 Why hunters and fishers are natural allies
🦌 Shared fights around public land access and social licence
📊 The importance of science-based management
🌏 Sustainability, conservation and regional communities
🏛️ Why Outdoor Recreation Victoria needs to get this right from day one

If you care about the future of hunting, fishing and access to the outdoors in Victoria, this one is worth your time.

🎥 Watch now on YouTube https://tinyurl.com/mbuxv6y
🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all major podcast platforms

27/05/2026

Over the past six months, Victoria’s shooting community has lived through significant uncertainty around the future of firearm laws.

Through it all, one thing became clear: when the sector works together and arguments are grounded in evidence, common sense can prevail.

SSAA Victoria is proud of the major role we played during this process. Backed by almost 50,000 members, we invested heavily in expert policy advice, stakeholder engagement, communications and advocacy to ensure the voice of responsible, licensed shooters was heard clearly and professionally.

Importantly, this was not achieved by one organisation alone. Many individuals and groups across the broader sector worked cohesively and constructively throughout this process.

In the end, the truth won out. Victoria already has a strong, mature and highly regulated fi****ms framework - and that reality was recognised.

To every member who supported us, engaged respectfully and stood firm during a difficult period: thank you.

Look out for the latest Podcast dropping today sometime.

25/05/2026

The Victorian Government has today effectively confirmed what licensed shooters have been saying for years: recreational shooting in Victoria is already heavily and comprehensively regulated.

There is a persistent myth that Victoria’s fi****ms laws were simply “set in 1996” and left untouched. That is nonsense. The laws evolve constantly and are amended regularly as technology, community expectations and operational realities change.

We will work through the detail of today’s announcement and say more in coming days. We are proud of the significant amount of work SSAA Victoria has undertaken throughout this process representing our members and advocating for balanced, evidence-based outcomes. We did not get everything we wanted, but that is the reality of living in an open democracy where competing views are considered.

Importantly, we understand that the Government has agreed to consider a number of recommendations and to continue engaging through National Cabinet processes. The reality, however, is that today’s announcement provides both closure and a defined path forward following the Bondi response process. SSAA Victoria is confident that we, together with the broader sector, can continue to work productively with the Victorian Government as those discussions progress.

The real credit here does not belong to us, or others across the sector who worked diligently and professionally behind the scenes. It belongs to the Premier and Cabinet for standing behind common sense, rejecting fear campaigns and recognising that Victoria’s licensed shooting community is overwhelmingly safe, responsible and law abiding.

There is still work ahead, but today’s outcome avoids the kind of extreme and unnecessary changes that would have delivered little public safety benefit while punishing ordinary Victorians who do the right thing every day.

READ MORE AT https://ssaavic.com.au/alert/

24/05/2026

Illegal behaviour hurts everyone. Just as we rightly condemn illegal and dangerous behaviour from anti-hunting activists, we also absolutely condemn illegal behaviour from within the broader hunting and shooting community.

The people involved in this sort of conduct aren’t “helping the cause” or “sticking it to the system”...they’re putting holes in the bottom of our collective boat and giving ammunition to those who want to undermine lawful hunting and shooting.

Victoria already provides enormous opportunities for licensed shooters and hunters who do the right thing. The expectations are not onerous: be licensed, follow the rules, hunt safely, act responsibly and respect the privilege that comes with access to fi****ms and public land.

The rewards for doing the right thing far outweigh any perceived inconvenience of compliance.

If we want to protect and grow hunting and shooting into the future, the community itself must continue to back strong standards, lawful behaviour and accountability.

A man from South Gippsland has plead guilty in the Sale Magistrates’ Court to hunting without a licence and having loaded fi****ms in his vehicle in the Crookayan area in the Alpine National Park.

The man was fined $1200 and had his fi****ms, ammunition, spotlights, two thermal imaging device and hunting equipment forfeited.

GMA Authorised Officers targeted the area after community members and hunters reported illegal hunting activity occurring in the region.

GMA Officers intercepted the man in his 4WD vehicle during a patrol of the area. Upon inspection of the vehicle, officers found and seized two loaded rifles, along with loose ammunition, two spotlights, two thermal imaging device and other hunting equipment.

Illegal spotlighting and irresponsible behaviour is dangerous and can put communities, properties, wildlife and livestock at risk.

Community members, including hunters, campers and local residents, are urged to report illegal hunting activity and spotlighting to the GMA through its website at gma.vic.gov.au or by calling 136 186.

21/05/2026

Same activists. Same claims. Same script.

Another week, another Deer Wars episode.

Stock & Land is back with another reheated anti-deer story and once again some very important context somehow got left out.

The "ordinary landholder" at the centre of the story? An executive member of an Invasive Species Council-aligned activist group.

The agricultural crisis? A small lifestyle property.

The expert commentary? The same activist who recently blamed deer for making the Yarra River brown and publicly misidentified wildlife impacts in videos.

This is becoming a formula:

👉 Find activist
👉 Remove context
👉 Manufacture outrage
👉 Repeat

Victoria's deer management challenges are real and landholders facing genuine impacts deserve practical support.

But activism disguised as independent reporting helps nobody.

We will continue calling this stuff out whenever it appears.

Read the full breakdown: https://ssaavic.com.au/deer-wars-same-activists-same-claims-same-tired-script/

20/05/2026

Great to see these offenders being held to account - people are free to disagree with us, they are not free to break the law in the exercise of their intolerance.

A woman from Forestville NSW was recently found guilty in Kerang Magistrates’ Court for public safety offences at Lake Boort on the closing weekend of the 2024 duck hunting season.

The offences included interfering with a person hunting, taking game and obstructing and resisting an Authorised Officer.

She was ordered to pay $750 to the court fund, was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.

People who oppose duck hunting have the right to protest, however, they must do so safely and lawfully.

Public safety laws are in place to protect all members of the community including hunters, Authorised Officers and protestors themselves.

See media release - https://shorturl.at/xrgGC

19/05/2026

This is what truly sharing the harvest looks like.

The NZ Game Animal Council (NZGAC) (a statutory body established by law) has launched Hunt and Share, a coordinated platform linking hunters, game recovery programs and charities.

It works alongside the Wild Game Recovery Trust, with major organisations like The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory helping get wild game meat to people who need it.

And here's the key point: venison is not a waste product.

It is premium, lean, iron-rich protein. At a time when charities are under pressure and food insecurity is rising, high-quality food should not be wasted because of outdated systems and regulatory barriers.

Earlier this year, SSAA Victoria staff spent time with leaders from the NZ Game Animal Council and saw some of that body's great work happening firsthand.

Victoria already has the hunters.
Victoria already has the wildlife management challenges.
Victoria already has the charities.

What we need is the political push to make Hunters for the Hungry a reality.

New Zealand is already doing it.

Read more: https://ssaavic.com.au/this-is-what-truly-sharing-the-harvest-looks-like/

17/05/2026

The deer wars are alive and well… and some people are still making things up as they go.

Our latest article takes a closer look at the Invasive Species Council’s latest claims on wild deer, hog deer and hunting in Victoria - separating rhetoric from reality and asking a simple question:

Where does evidence end and ideology begin?

Victoria has around 47,000 licensed deer hunters, recreational deer hunting contributes $201 million annually and supports 1,700+ regional jobs. These debates matter.

Because wildlife management should be driven by facts, not fundraising campaigns and culture wars.

Read more: https://ssaavic.com.au/the-deer-wars-and-the-invasive-species-councils-tangled-web-of-claims/