australian laws

[fantomv]

hi there, just signed up today, theres some great stories and finds here well done on them all, i live in australia and just purchased the xterra 70, im using it for coin hunting and im wondering what the laws are on parks etc, am i allowed to go into any public park or oval and look for coins, also are schools considered public and are we allowed on? any info would be great thanks Nick

 

[gold rat]

Nick,
Congrats on buying a X-Terra70 you will love it.
I've only been on this forum fo 2 months and the help you get from the guys is great.
The best tip they gave me was to go to top of topic page and click on FAQFAQ, once you observe all this info you you will be driving a Terra ok.
Hint : Print of topics that interest you and hi-light the crucial sections. There was that much to take in time was a factor for me so I religously took the fact sheets and the high-lighter to the dunny every morning.(full concentration and no disturbances)
On to your question, each council throughout your state will have different regulations. Go and enquire first.!!
If you are not experienced at pinpointing your target it may pay you to practise where you can do no damage. In parks etc you have to be precise and the good coin shooters only use screw drivers or small similar tools to extract good targets with no damage to grass or ground etc. Try the beach if in proximity or an old farm house, church or sports- ground where you can't do any damage.
happy hunting
gold rat

 

[B.T]

G,day Nick. Best follow Gold Rats advice and check it out first. Recently there was a bloke in central Vic, Maryborough, who got stuck in to the local footy oval and the park that surrounds it. The council was furious as he left big dig marks everywhere. He apparently did it at night. After that I am told the council will skin anyone who they find there. The Police are on the lookout for detectorists around that area too. Unfortunatley mate, clowns like that make it hard for us who do the right thing and its US who end up paying the price for their wrongs.
Good luck out there.

 

[harrymorant]

I detect in the ACT and over the border in NSW and have no problems with the councils or rangers (at least one of the Rangers in the ACT is also a detectorist). Its definately a good idea to give the council a call and confirm if there are any restrictions. I hunt a lot for predecimals so scratching around with a screwdriver is not really an option for me. I use a Lesche digging tool which cuts neat plugs which allow me to put the turf back in almost invisibly and a pinpointer which helps me keep the holes small and neat. I also pick up any surface glass I find in the parks and take all metal rubbish out that I dig. That way you can argue that you are actually reducing their public liability to put a positive spin on your activities. I actually have council workers suggesting to me where I should dig up their parks

 

[John: VK2NIX]

G'day Nick: The advice on parks that you have been given is sound. In respect of Schools, in NSW, Schools are considered enclosed lands, that means you are trespassing if you enter without permission. Ring the local School Principal, they always give me the nod to have a poke around!.
Regards:John.

 

[pinpointa]

Hi Fantomy,
What is happening here in the west is the damage to schools is just unreal with graffiti and other damage that they are now putting high fences around the schools
and gates so you just cant get into them. The ones you can get into i do on a weekend and very early in the morning. As to damage to grassed areas if you used your pinpointing to its best, try putting some coins under cardboard with a bit of double sided tape or blue tack and practice with a probe rod at hitting the coin
you will soon get very good at recovering your coins. The biggest amount of coins is lying flat in the ground so when i hit it with the probe rod i turn it on its side and
recover it with the doctors forceps having no damage to the grassed area.

Regards Pinpointa Down Under In Oz.

 

[Doctorcoinz]

I have met a few council workers who totally hate detecting on the grass . here in uk. Most parks over here are out of bounds (officially) with bye laws. Sneeking on to a park to detect totally sucks , parks are great detecting spots though. Despite these bye laws many parks over seem pretty well worked out of a lot of the older finds so i guess othersprobably worked the parks many years ago. Traditional Grassland Coin shooting sites are thin on the ground here , most school fields are now fenced off like some of yours will go the same way probably. Coin shooting is forbidden in the uk .

 

[fantomv]

i just went down to the shire and they tell me that detecting in any public park around the maryborough shire is illegal as they have passed legislation against it, this is due to one moron digging up maryboroughs best oval with a pick, so looks like no fun for me

 

[nugget71]

due to the way the world is heading everything, no matter what it is will get harder to do. Thus this is the day and age we live in but don't disheartened by this as there are plenty of areas to detect if you use your imagination and research. Most of the time when people are asked nicely they are willing to help even at times go out of there way if approached in the right manner. Killing people with kindness is great and cant hurt anyone and if that doesn't work then there is always next time. In one instance it took me four times to Finally be able to detect a certain area with permission, so perseverance is a must.
Cheers!

 

[B.T]

That same moron, this is true, once dug up the Dunolly golf course greens area and found about 60oz of gold, holes everywhere. Then, about seven years ago actually detected on and dug holes in the Maryborough airstrip for light aircraft. Again leaving holes all over the place.
Apparently looking for gold. Shame one didnt land just as he was head down and *#@< up.

 

[fantomv]

yep i heard about the golf course, i always thought there was gold on the slope at number 2 tee off but i cant believe someone would dig it up, people like that should be in jail

 

[loki]

I also detect in the ACT and awhile back wrote an email to the ACT Government Urban Parks Department to ask them what their policy was on detecting (if they had one).

They were quite friendly and wrote that there were no laws against metal detecting in the ACT as such, and therefore you can detect parks and playgrounds no worries. All they said was to be on the lookout for syringes and to report them to the sharps hotline, and to be aware of any heritage legislation that might be in effect for a particular site. This info is easy to find by looking on the ACT Heritage Register (available online), but there are still tons of places to detect that are off the register. I know of old sites that I don't think even
the government knows about!

cheers,
loki

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

G'day Nick and welcome to the forum. Your post has got a lot of good Aussie response.
Generally speaking; as far as hunting on council controlled ground (that has unfettered public access), then you can normally hunt there no problems. The only time that this is reversed, is when idiot's like the one described, destroy our credibility!
As far as hunting anywhere else goes though, you are pretty much dealing with an enclosed lands situation. All ground is controlled by somebody; even stoke routes!(department of lands)
In regards to school's specifically, you will find that C3 and C4 of the enclosed lands act (N.S.W.) deals with this situation. Although the wording of this legislation seems to imply, that if there is a gap in a fence i.e an open gate, that the land is then not considered to be enclosed, this is not the case. After reading it, I consulted with a solicitor from legal aid, to get clarity on this, and she confirmed to me, that even if a place, i.e. a shopping centre car park, does not have a fence around it, that it is still 'enclosed lands'. Entering such lands without permission, and taking even only a 5 cent piece, can result in you being charged with "break, enter and steel". The only true defence against such a charge, is a written note of permission.
On the up side, most school Principal's are approachable. I have personally asked to hunt in 3 school's. 2 said yes and 1 said no. Due to an arrangement that cropped up 6 months back, the principal that said no, has now given me a letter of permission to hunt there any time I want provided that there are no students at the school.
Good luck with the hobby.
Mick Evans.