Overview of Unavailable Crown Land Restrictions:
Unavailable Crown Land falls under Section 6 1(b) and 1(ab) in the Mineral Resources Sustainable Development Act 1990 (MRSDA).
It can be found on GeoVic and is represented by the red color on the map when the layer is selected.
You can find it on Geovic by clicking Add layers > Land Status and Boundaries > Minerals > Industry Related Land > Unavailable Crown Land.
This is what the Mineral Resources Sustainable Development Act 1990 (MRSDA) states:
Section 6: Land not available for exploration, mining and searching
(1) The following land is exempted from being subject to a licence or other authority under this Act—
(b): land that is a national park, wilderness park or State park under the National Parks Act 1975
(ba): land that is a marine national park or a marine sanctuary under the National Parks Act 1975;
Recreational prospecting is allowed in State Forests and specific areas within the following national, state, historic, and heritage parks. Some Parks have prospecting maps available for them on Parks Victoria, whilst others do not. There will be a link included for the maps for the parks that do have one available for them below.
If an area does not have a map, it's advisable to contact Parks Victoria at info@parks.vic.gov.au to see if there are any specific areas that are off limits to prospecting.
The following state parks have no maps available on Parks Victoria:
Please note: Whilst these areas mention the parks where prospect is allowed, in many cases, the reality is there is a limitation on the actual areas that permit prospecting activity. For example, Warrandyte State Park only has 3 specific areas where prospecting is actually allowed. The rest of the state park is off limits to all prospecting and mining activity. Don't be discouraged, though, there are plenty of Unrestricted Crown Land areas that you can prospect in, and in time, I will implement a guide so you can get a comprehensive list of all of the lands available. The video will be attached to the this page when it is available so keep an eye on it.
These parks are merely areas that fall under Section 6, which normally forbids prospecting in State and National Parks, but these are the exceptions that allow it in these specific parks.
For a look at what Parks Victoria says regarding these maps you can find that here: https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/things-to-do/fossicking-prospecting
Where Can I Fossick for Gemstones?
These parks have designated areas for gemstone fossicking only, but Parks Victoria has no maps for where exactly these designated areas are on the fossicking section of their website which means it might be better to just find accessible unrestricted crown land to prospect for gems instead. Otherwise, this is what is mentioned on Resources Victoria regarding which Parks are open to prospecting for gemstones, and as you might've noticed, they're the same as what is mentioned for gold prospecting, only adding to the confusion:
- Cape Liptrap Coastal Park
- Kooyoora State Park
- Mornington Peninsula National Park (zeolite only; permitted for scientific research or collection by mineralogical clubs under permit conditions)
- Great Otway National Park
- Warby-Ovens National Park
- Steiglitz Historic Park
Make sure to check specific park regulations and obtain any required permits before fossicking or prospecting. Or, just avoid these areas and look for crown land that has no restrictions (easiest thing to do).
This picture shows what Unavailable Crown Land (Red) looks like on Geovic:
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