NSW · REGULATIONS · SEPTEMBER 2025

Dusky Flathead NSW bag limits.

Dusky Flathead (also known as Flathead) in New South Wales. Minimum size, bag and possession limits, and slot rules — verified against the NSW DPIRD guide.

The numbers

Minimum size
36cm
Daily bag
5, of which 1 can be 60–70 cm
Possession
10

Slot rule

All dusky flathead over 70 cm must be released. The slot rule was tightened in 2021 to protect large breeding females.

Closed season

No closed season

Why these rules exist

Verify your fish — sand flathead and other species have different rules. See our Sydney Flathead Guide for ID help.

Source & verification

These limits are pulled from the NSW DPIRD Recreational Saltwater Fishing Guide. Last verified September 2025.

Always check the official guide before keeping any fish. Regulations change. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development updates its guide annually and occasionally mid-year. Fines for over-bag or undersized fish are significant.

You also need a current NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt to fish in NSW waters unless exempt. Buy online from Service NSW.

See related

Written by
Olli-Mikael Vaittinen, founder of Fishare, holding a yellowfin tuna boatside
Olli-Mikael Vaittinen

Olli-Mikael Vaittinen has fished his whole life. Fifteen years of fly fishing, guiding seasons on Norway's Lakselva — his favourite Atlantic salmon river — and a blue marlin landed in Vava'u, Tonga. Founder of Fishare — the app that puts the data behind the decisions every angler makes on the water.

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