Companion Animal Act Amendment

The changes to the Companion Animal Amendment Act commenced on 1 January 2007 with the following main changes:

 The amendments are intended to provide councils with additional tools to effectively enforce the Companion Animals Act 1998 and Companion Animals Regulation 1999.
The purpose of the amendments is to:

• enable a dog that displays unreasonable aggression or a dog that is kept or used for the purposes of hunting to be declared a dangerous dog under the Act (dogs used or kept for the purpose of locating, flushing, pointing or retrieving birds or vermin are excluded).

• enable authorised officers of councils to make declarations under the Act in relation to dangerous dogs and restricted dogs instead of the council itself having to make such a declaration

• increase penalties for some offences under the Act (particularly in relation to dangerous and restricted dogs)

• prohibit the sale (which includes giving away) and the acquisition of dangerous dogs in the same way as restricted dogs cannot be sold or acquired

• enable a dangerous or restricted dog to be seized and immediately destroyed if the dog attacks or bites without provocation or if the enclosure or muzzling requirements have not been complied with on two separate occasions over a 12 month period
• require the owner of a dangerous or restricted dog to obtain a certificate of compliance in relation to the enclosure in which the dog is required to be kept (an owner of an existing dangerous or restricted dog will have 28 days from the date of commencement to obtain the certificate)
• Note: sections 53 and 56(4) of the Act provide that the requirement to keep a dog in a prescribed enclosure will prevail over any prohibition against building the enclosure, or requirement for the council’s prior consent to build the enclosure, that may be contained in an environmental planning instrument.
• require a dog owner generally to take reasonable precautions to prevent the dog from escaping from the property on which it is kept
• remove the exemption for working dogs from the identification and registration requirements under the Act (working dogs that are ordinarily kept in the unincorporated area of NSW or on rateable land that is categorised as “farmland” under the Local Government Act 1993 will be exempted by Regulation).
  The Amending Act amends the Companion Animals Regulation to:
  
  • provide an exemption from the requirement to pay registration fees in the case of working dogs that are not exempt from the identification requirements
• prohibit the misuse of the special collar that must be worn by dangerous and restricted dogs
• prescribe a maximum fee of $100 for a council issuing a certificate of compliance in relation to a dangerous or restricted dog’s enclosure
• The Amending Act also amends the Local Government (General) Regulation 1999.
  
  • to require councils to include in their annual reports a detailed statement of their activities in relation to enforcing and ensuring compliance with the Companion Animals Act and the Companion Animals Regulation.
• The Department of Local Government is currently updating the Guideline on the Exercise of Functions under the Act to support these and other recent Act amendments.
• These Guidelines and other supporting documentation, including information regarding reporting requirements and a model form certificate of compliance for enclosures, will be circulated shortly.
• The Department is also planning and developing regional information and training sessions for 2007 to deliver relevant information and further Guidelines to assist councils.
• Councils should take immediate steps to notify all owners of existing dangerous and restricted dogs in their areas that the certificate of compliance requirements (proposed new section 58H) will be in force from the date of commencement of the Act. These owners will have 28 days from that date to obtain the certificate.
  
  
  

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