Better Boating Victoria is a division within the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA). We were established in March 2019 to oversee the Victorian Government’s unprecedented investment into boating infrastructure and facilities.
With vessel registrations growing steadily every year, Better Boating Victoria will implement the government’s program of boating upgrades making it cheaper and easier for Victorians to enjoy a day on the water. In addition, we will ensure all money collected from boat licence and registration fees will go to improving your recreational boating experience.
It’s an ambitious plan that will involve significant and ongoing stakeholder input from Victoria’s boating communities. We know that by working together, we can make it happen.
Recreational boating creates almost 18,000 jobs and is worth $4.5 billion a year to the Victorian economy.
With recreational boating registrations growing at 2.5% per annum over the past eight years to 2019, it has proven an increasingly popular activity as more Victorians get out on the water and enjoy the state’s beautiful coastlines, rivers, lakes and estuaries.
In the 2018/2019 financial year 195,682 vessels were registered. There are approximately 415,000 marine licence holders in Victoria that are made up of 150,000 general marine licences and 265,000 general licences with Personal Water Craft (PWC) endorsements. Personal water craft alone have become particularly popular with Victorians – they now make up over 11% of all registered vessels, up from only 6.5% only eight years ago.
Recreational fishing has also proved big business given that hundreds of Victorian waterways are stocked full of fish driving 838,0000 Victorians to wet a line or dive for seafood per year. The Victorian government aims to increase the participation to 1,000,000 anglers with key projects and events as part of the VFA’s Target One Million initiative.