Access to rivers in the State of Victoria is a right of the people. The vast majority of our rivers are boarded by crown frontage, a strip of land owned by the government and guaranteeing access rights to all who wish to access the resource.

“The water, bed and banks of all watercourses in Victoria are deemed to be public land. In 1881, a Crown frontage of between 20 and 60 metres was permanently reserved for public purposes across all water courses in the State, except those areas which had already been alienated. Consequently, the bed and banks of most watercourses in Victoria are deemed to be public land. In many cases, the reserved Crown frontage has been used by the adjacent landowner under licence, and has been subjected to extensive changes in vegetation cover and condition“. 

In effect this means that you are able to access the rivers of the state at any bridge or defined access point and walk/fish to your heart’s content. A far cry from many other parts of the world where centuries of established private property exclude all but the wealthy or well connected from accessing the water.