The (new) Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 - the Transition is Complete!

LG Leader June 2018

As of 1 July 2018 the Dog and Cat Management (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2016 will be fully commenced and the following amendments to the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 (“the Act”) become operational:

• Parts 4A and 4B of the Act, which respectively address microchipping and desexing requirements for dogs and cats commence operation;
• the repeal of section 58 and 59C, which confer right of appeals to District Court against Destruction and Control Orders and Prohibition Orders respectively; and
• the substitution of Part 7 of the Act (i.e. which currently deals with management of cats) with a new Part 7 addressing breeding and sale of dogs and cats and a new part 7A which allows for the review of certain decisions by SACAT.

Councils must ensure that instruments of delegation under the Act are updated to reflect the above (If this has not already occurred).

In addition, regulations 10, 12 and 18 of the Dog and Cat Management Regulations 2017 (the Regulations”) will also commence operation. This includes provisions relating to the requirements for desexing and microchipping dogs and cats.

With respect to the microchipping requirements, all dogs and cats must be microchipped unless an exception applies under the Act (refer section 42A(3) of the Act and regulation 10(2) of the Regulations). Further, Regulation 10(7) requires the owner of a dog or cat that is microchipped to, in the manner and form determined by the Dog and Cat Management Board, provide the microchip number of the dog or cat to the Registrar for the area in which the dog or cat is usually kept. Failure to do so is an offence to which a maximum penalty of $2,500 and expiation fee of $170 applies.

The Board has determined that inputting the microchip number into the DACO electronic portal is the manner in which microchipping details must be provided to the Registrar. For those animals that are required to be registered under the Act, this will occur as part of the registration process via DACO.

However, it is important to note that the requirement to input a microchip number into DACO also captures owners of cats and dogs that are not required to be registered under the Act. This means that the message to be communicated to residents is that DACO is relevant for all the owners of microchipped dogs and cats and not just those that are required to be registered.

For more information please contact Cimon Burke on (08) 8113 7105 or at cburke@kelledyjones.com.au.