(De) Structure of Fisheries Officers

VFA Final (De)Structure Announced

There have been different figures (depending on the spin) put out there but here's the final (de)structure;

The Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) announced their final structure to staff on 20 May 2025.  Here’s what that (de)structure looks like for fisheries enforcement in Victoria:

• Mornington, Cowes and Queenscliff fisheries stations will be cut to 4 Fisheries Officers each; reducing overall staffing of these locations from 19 Fisheries officers to 12.
• Altona North and Braeside fisheries stations will be closed; a loss of 11 Fisheries Officers.
• All current Fisheries Officer vacancies in the state will be abolished; a loss of 16 Fisheries Officers.
• Swan Hill, Bendigo, Wodonga, and Tatura fisheries stations will be reduced to 1 Fisheries Officer each.
• Portland, Mallacoota, and Lakes Entrance fisheries stations will be reduced to 2 Fisheries Officers each.
• Regional Managers will be abolished; a loss of 4 critical enforcement management personnel. 4 Supervising Fisheries Officers across the state will be expected to take on the workload of these cut positions on top of their current duties.
• The Fisheries Officer title will remain, but the following key responsibilities will be removed from the position:

o Fulfilling the role of Case Officer for Operations

o Preparing affidavits and executing search warrants

o Conducting mention court prosecutions and providing evidence in court

o Conducting surveillance, land and vessel-based inspections, investigations, operations and legal proceedings

o Participating in state-wide emergency response activities and response to aquatic emergencies

o NC1 Coxswain certificate (the ability to operate vessels)

• Key selection criteria for the Fisheries Officer role will no longer include ‘Operational Leadership & Effectiveness’ or ‘Decisiveness’.
• Advantageous qualifications for the Fisheries Officer role now also include: ‘marketing, media, communications, public relations, arts, and humanities’.
• The Statewide Investigations Group will be renamed the ‘Major Crime Unit’ and will be reduced from 6 Fisheries Investigators to 4; a loss of 2 Fisheries Investigators.

What does this mean for fisheries enforcement in Victoria going forward?

• Fisheries Officers covering Port Phillip Bay and Western Port will be reduced from 30 to 12; a reduction of 60%.
• The total number of Fisheries Officers in Victoria will be reduced from 69 to 39; a reduction of 44% statewide.
• Fisheries Officers in 1-person and 2-person stations will be expected to work on their own, with the following criteria applying to that 1-up work:

o Must have at least 2 years of operational experience

o Must stay within mobile phone service for the entirety of the patrol

o Cannot conduct covert inspections

o Cannot work at night

o Must have access to back-up support within a reasonable timeframe

o Cannot work in remote locations away from population centres

o Cannot conduct enforcement activity in response to high-level offending

• There will be only 16 Fisheries Stations in the state; 4 of these will be 1-person stations, and 6 will be 2-person stations. Therefore, only 6 stations will have more than 2 staff.
• The Fisheries Officer role has been redefined in responsibilities to shift from enforcement to education. Fisheries Officers will no longer have the responsibilities outlined that support enforcement activity and will no longer have the capability to conduct effective fisheries enforcement.
• The Fisheries Officer role will no longer include the requirement to operate vessels, eliminating a core capability that allows enforcement to occur on the water and leaving Marine Parks completely unprotected.
• The entire northern section of Port Phillip Bay will be completely unprotected. There will not be a Fisheries Station within at least a 1.5hours drive of the busiest and most non-compliant fishing areas in the state.
• The new Major Crimes Unit will not have the capacity to investigate organised fisheries crime with a 33% reduction in the size of the unit.
• Fisheries Investigators do not conduct general enforcement activities; therefore, most offending, will go undetected and will not have any consequences.
  

The bottom line:  Fisheries Officers, as we know them, will no longer exist in the state of Victoria. Our fisheries will be left completely unprotected, unlawful poaching activity will skyrocket, and all our Fisheries Officers will be able to do is try to ‘educate’ offenders.

The VFA has been understaffed for some time, with vacancies being held over multiple years, particularly fisheries officer vacancies.

CPSU has sought to raise concerns around long-term vacancies with the Minister for Environment for the last 12 months yet had not had any traction in this area.

The information around the re-structure being put forward to the public by the VFA does not accurately portray the real number of job losses, only disclosing the number of ‘filled positions’ being lost, not accounting for the vacant (unfilled) positions that are also being abolished.

The below table outlines the true and correct figures for total position losses across the VFA as a result of this restructure.

Fisheries Officers to be ABOLISHED in Victoria

The CEO of the Victorian Fisheries Authority has proposed devastating changes that could lead to the destruction of Victoria's fragile aquatic environment and leave the State's fishing resource without protection.

Proposed Changes:

• No more Fisheries Officers in the State of Victoria
• All 73 Fisheries Officer positions in Victoria are to be removed and replaced by 36 'Engagement' Officers, focussed predominantly on community education
• All 5 Fisheries Stations around greater Melbourne will close.
• Just 9 "Engagement" staff will cover the entire greater Melbourne Area from Venus Bay to Anglesea.

What can you do to help?

• Sign the online petition
• Find out more information