Licensing

Under the Seafood Safety Act 2003, PrimeSafe has the function and power to fix and charge fees.

PrimeSafe follows the Department of Treasury and Finance’s guideline for setting fees and charges. PrimeSafe applies the same indexation of fees to those applicable to the remainder of the Government sector each year.

All new licence applications must include an application and annual fee.

The annual fee for a seafood processor licence is calculated on a pro-rata basis.

The annual fee for a seafood processor licence is based on the estimated annual throughput of the facility and the species processed. Throughput is defined as the weight (tonnes) of material brought into a facility for processing (including storage).

A seafood processor licence is categorised according to the species processed (Category A or Category B). Once the category has been defined, all seafood processed is assumed to be from that category and the total amount processed is used to measure the throughput in establishing the fee payable.

The current fee schedules for a seafood processor licence are below. All PrimeSafe fees are GST exempt therefore a tax invoice will not be provided following receipt of payment.  

Category A Species

• Fin fish       
• Scallops          
• Shell fish
• Eels
• Shark
• Octopus
• Squid

Annual Throughput	Application Fee ($)	Annual Fee ($)
Up to 150 tonnes	462	923
151 to 300 tonnes	693	1,386
301 to 750 tonnes	1,613	3,226
751 to 1,500 tonnes	3,460	6,920
Over 1,500 tonnes	4,612	9,224

Category B Species

• Mud crabs
• Bugs
• Crabs
• Abalone
• Rock lobster
• Prawns

Annual Throughput	Application Fee ($)	Annual Fee ($)
Up to 50 tonnes	462	923
51 to 100 tonnes	693	1,386
101 to 250 tonnes	1,613	3,226
251 to 500 tonnes	3,460	6,920
Over 500 tonnes	4,612	9,224

Facilities supervised by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (formally DAWE) where DAFF accepts responsibility for all products placed on the domestic market are required to pay an annual fee in accordance with the fee schedule up to a maximum fee of $2,030. For example, the annual licence fee for a facility where the throughput is between 101 and 250 tonnes per annum is capped at $2,030.

New licence applications covered by this arrangement will also be required to pay an application fee in accordance with the fee schedule up to a maximum of $1,015.

Fee Calculator

To determine the total fee payable for a seafood processor licence, please enter the estimated annual throughput of your seafood business and the species processed.

Throughput is defined as the weight of seafood product brought into the facility for processing.