Permits

Photography permits in Victoria.

This page covers one authority: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. The first line of the card says when you need a permit.

Check a different place

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

Melbourne Gardens and Cranbourne Gardens.

A permit is needed for professional photography here, every time.

Permit name: Wedding photography permit, or a commercial photography permit for everything else
Cost: Commercial photography runs by the hour: $165 low impact, $235 medium, $276 high. Add a non-refundable $108 application fee, and $54 an hour for a site representative with a two-hour minimum. Every figure includes GST. Wedding photography is a separate permit and they do not publish its fee. Email venues@rbg.vic.gov.au for Melbourne Gardens.
Lead time: Three business days for a low-impact shoot, seven for medium, 15 for high impact.
Public liability: Not stated on their page.

If it is just you Low impact is the cheapest commercial tier at $165 an hour, still on top of the $108 application fee.

What to have ready

The right form for your shoot: weddings and commercial work go to different addresses
The site representative cost in your quote if your shoot is supervised

If you are shooting

Wedding or engagement. Cranbourne Gardens handles wedding photography through its own form, emailed to bwurrung@gmail.com rather than to the Gardens' venues address.

Apply on their site

Figures checked on 12 September 2026 against their website. Authorities change fees without notice, so check before you apply.

Use this as a starting point, not as advice. We took each figure from the authority's website on the date shown. Fees and rules change without notice, and your shoot may have details this page doesn't cover. Confirm with the authority before you book the job.

Council land

Most photographers forget about council land.

The fee is often nothing. Councils usually charge by crew size, and a portrait session with one photographer normally falls in the smallest tier, which is often free. You still need the approval, even when it costs nothing.

Approval is needed once you are being paid, even for a two-person shoot.
Fees scale by crew size, and the smallest tier is often free.
Public liability cover of $10 million is the common ask, and some councils want to be named on the certificate.
Five business days is a common minimum, and many councils decline late applications.
Private property is up to the owner, not the council.

Know a Victoria authority we’ve missed, or seen a fee change? Tell us and we’ll check their page and update the card.

Permit sorted? Tellisto handles the rest.

Tellisto handles everything after it: the booking, the GST invoice, the gallery under your own name. Free plan, zero commission.

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