Companion Animals Act 1998

This Act is the Companion Animals Act 1998.

This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

The principal object of this Act is to provide for the effective and responsible care and management of companion animals.

It is declared that the protection of native birds and animals is an objective of animal welfare policy in the State.

In this Act—

approved animal welfare organisation means any of the following—

the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New South Wales,

the Animal Welfare League NSW,

the Cat Protection Society of NSW Limited,

any other organisation approved by the Departmental Chief Executive by order published in the Gazette.

approved breed assessor means a person or body approved for the time being by the Departmental Chief Executive to carry out breed identification assessments in relation to dogs for the purposes of Division 6 of Part 5.

approved form means—

the form (if any) approved by the Departmental Chief Executive for the purposes of the provision in relation to which the expression is used, or

if no such form is approved by the Departmental Chief Executive, the form approved by the local authority for the purposes of the provision in relation to which the expression is used.

approved temperament assessor means a person or body approved for the time being by the Departmental Chief Executive to carry out temperament assessments in relation to dogs for the purposes of Division 6 of Part 5.

assistance animal means an animal referred to in section 9 (Disability discrimination—guide dogs, hearing assistance dogs and trained animals) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth, but does not include a working dog.

Note.

That section refers to a guide dog, a dog trained to assist a person in activities where hearing is required and any other animal trained to assist a person to alleviate the effect of a disability.

authorised officer means—

an employee of a local authority authorised by the local authority for the purposes of this Act, or

a police officer.

cat means an animal of the species Felis catus, whether or not domesticated.

companion animal means each of the following—

a dog,

a cat,

any other animal that is prescribed by the regulations as a companion animal.

Note.

The fact that an animal is not strictly a “companion” does not prevent it being a companion animal for the purposes of this Act. All dogs are treated as companion animals, even working dogs on rural properties, guard dogs, police dogs and corrective services dogs.

corrective services dog means a dog that is being used on official duty by a correctional officer (within the meaning of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999).

Note.

This Act contains special exemptions for corrective services dogs. Because this definition requires that the dog is being used on official duty by a correctional officer, the exemptions apply only when the dog is “on duty”.

council means—

the council of an area under the Local Government Act 1993, or

the Lord Howe Island Board in relation to Lord Howe Island (the Lord Howe Island Board’s area for the purposes of this Act), or

the person appointed under section 6 (1A) in relation to land within the Western Division that is not within an area under the Local Government Act 1993 (the appointed person’s area for the purposes of this Act).

council pound means—

a place of care established by a council under the Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021, or

any other place approved by a council as a place for the holding of animals for the purposes of this Act.

dangerous, in relation to a dog—see section 33.

dangerous dog means a dog for the time being the subject of a declaration by an authorised officer of a council or a court under this Act that the dog is a dangerous dog.

Departmental Chief Executive means the Chief Executive of the Office of Local Government.

desexed means rendered permanently incapable of reproduction.

disability has the same meaning as in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth.

dog means an animal (of either sex, or desexed, and whether or not domesticated) of a species with the scientific name Canis familiaris, Canis lupus familiaris, Canis lupus dingo, Canis familiaris dingo or Canis dingo, or a synonym of any of those names, and including a hybrid of any of those species.

exercise a function includes perform a duty.

function includes a power, authority and duty.

Fund means the Companion Animals Fund established by this Act.

identification information means the information prescribed by the regulations as the identification information for a companion animal.

identified companion animal means a companion animal that is identified as referred to in section 70 (1).

local authority is defined in section 6.

menacing, in relation to a dog—see section 33A (1).

menacing breed or kind of dog—see section 33A (2).

menacing dog means a dog for the time being the subject of a declaration by an authorised officer of a council under section 34 (1A) or a court under section 45 (1A) that the dog is a menacing dog.

owner is defined in section 7.

permit means a permit issued under Part 2A.

police dog means a dog that is being used by a police officer on official duty.

Note.

This Act contains special exemptions for police dogs. Because this definition requires that the dog is being used by a police officer on official duty, the exemptions apply only when the dog is “on duty”.

pound operator, in relation to a council pound referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of that term, means the person or body that manages or has control of the pound.

property means land or premises and includes, for the purposes of Part 7A, a building or structure of any description (such as a shed) or a vehicle or vessel.

public place means—

any pathway, road, bridge, jetty, wharf, road-ferry, reserve, park, beach or garden, and

any other place,

that the public are entitled to use.

Register means the Register provided for by Part 9.

registered means registered under this Act.

registered owner of a companion animal means the person shown in the registration information entered on the Register as the registered owner of the animal (and in the case of joint registered owners means each of those joint registered owners).

registration information means the information prescribed by the regulations as the registration information for a companion animal.

rehoming organisation means—

a council or any other operator of a council pound, or

the Animal Welfare League NSW, or

the Cat Protection Society of NSW Limited, or

the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; New South Wales, or

any other organisation that is, for the time being, designated as a rehoming organisation by the Departmental Chief Executive under section 88B.

restricted dog is defined in section 55.

sell includes transfer ownership of the property in an animal by any means, including by gift.

veterinary practitioner has the same meaning as in the Veterinary Practice Act 2003.

Western Division means that part of the State that is the Western Division within the meaning of the Crown Land Management Act 2016.

working dog means a dog used primarily for the purpose of droving, tending, working or protecting stock, and includes a dog being trained as a working dog.

Note.

The Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Act.

(Repealed)

Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.

The local authority for a place is the council in the area of which the place is located.

The Minister may appoint a person to be the local authority for the purposes of this Act for land within the Western Division that is not within the area of a council under the Local Government Act 1993.

The Minister may revoke an appointment under subsection (1A) at any time or for any reason.

A person appointed under subsection (1A) (except a person who is an employee of a government sector agency within the meaning of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013) is entitled to be paid the remuneration (including travelling and subsistence allowances) that the Minister may from time to time determine in respect of the person.

The regulations may provide that the functions of the local authority for a place are to be exercised for the purposes of this Act or specified provisions of this Act by a specified person or the holder of a specified office (instead of by the council provided for by subsection (1)). That person or the holder of that office is then the local authority for that place for the purposes of this Act or the relevant provisions of this Act.

A council is required—

to promote awareness within its area of the requirements of this Act with respect to the ownership of companion animals, and

to take such steps as are appropriate to ensure that it is notified or otherwise made aware of the existence of all dangerous, menacing and restricted dogs (including dogs that might reasonably be considered to be the subject of a declaration under Division 1 or 6 of Part 5) that are ordinarily kept within its area.

Subsection (1) does not limit the other functions that may be conferred or imposed on a council by or under this Act.

Note.

Councils also have functions in relation to companion animals under other legislation. For example, the number of dogs or cats that are able to be kept on premises can be restricted by a council by giving an order to the occupier in terms of order No 18 in the Table to section 124 of the Local Government Act 1993.

If an official person has any information about—

a dog that the person reasonably believes is a threat to the public, or

an incident involving a dog attacking or biting, without provocation, a person or animal,

it is the duty of the official person to provide that information to the relevant council (or councils) as soon as it is reasonably practicable.

Note.

The relevant council would usually be the council of the area in which the dog is ordinarily kept. However, the relevant council may also be the council of the area in which the incident concerned took place.

An official person does not incur any criminal or civil liability (including liability for breaching any duty of confidentiality) for providing any such information to a council if the information is provided in good faith.

In this section, official person means—

a police officer, or

a person who, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979, is an appointed officer employed by an approved charitable organisation.

Each of the following persons is the owner of a companion animal for the purposes of this Act—

the owner of the animal (in the sense of being the owner of the animal as personal property),

the person by whom the animal is ordinarily kept,

the registered owner of the animal.

A reference in this Act to the owner of a companion animal is a reference to each and all owners of the animal.

Note.

A provision of this Act that makes the owner of a companion animal guilty of an offence makes each owner guilty of the offence.

(Repealed)

When a companion animal is ordinarily kept by an employee on behalf of his or her employer, the animal is for the purposes of this Act taken to be ordinarily kept by the employer and not the employee. This subsection does not prevent an employee being the registered owner of an animal and does not prevent the employee being an owner if the employee is the registered owner.

In any prosecution of the owner of a companion animal for an offence against this Act it is a defence if the defendant establishes that—

another owner of the animal has been convicted of an offence arising out of the same circumstances, or the commission by another owner of the animal of an offence arising out of the same circumstances has been proved but a court has made an order under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 in respect of the offence, or

another owner of the animal has paid the amount of the penalty prescribed under section 92 (Penalty notices) for an alleged offence arising out of the same circumstances.

A companion animal must be identified as required by the regulations from the time the animal is 12 weeks old.

A companion animal must not be sold unless it has been identified as required by the regulations (even if it is less than 12 weeks old when it is sold).

The owner of an animal is guilty of an offence if it is not identified in accordance with subsection (1).

Maximum penalty—

8 penalty units except in the case of a dangerous, menacing or restricted dog, or

50 penalty units in the case of a dangerous, menacing or restricted dog.

A person who sells an animal in contravention of subsection (2) is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty—

8 penalty units except in the case of a dangerous, menacing or restricted dog, or

50 penalty units in the case of a dangerous, menacing or restricted dog.

The regulations may change the age from which a companion animal is required to be identified under subsection (1) from 12 weeks to any other age (either generally for all companion animals or for a particular kind or class of companion animal).

Note.

The term “sell” extends to the transfer of ownership by any means, including by gift. This section requires an animal to be identified before it is sold no matter what the age of the animal when it is sold.

A companion animal must be registered under this Act from the time the animal is 6 months old. The owner of the animal is guilty of an offence if it is not registered.

Maximum penalty—

in the case of a dangerous, menacing or restricted dog—60 penalty units for a first offence or 70 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence, or

in any other case—50 penalty units for a first offence or 60 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.

Note.

The regulations may provide for exceptions to this section. An owner does not have to wait until an animal is 6 months old to register it. An animal of any age can be registered.

The regulations may change the age from which a companion animal is required to be registered under this section from 6 months to any other age, either generally for all companion animals or for a particular kind or class of companion animal.

A person is taken to commit a separate offence under this section on every day the companion animal remains unregistered. However, a person—

may not be convicted for the commission of more than one offence in relation to the failure to register a companion animal during any single calendar month, and

may be convicted only once in relation to any failure to register a companion animal that occurred before that failure came to the notice of the council of the area in which the animal is ordinarily kept.

Note.

This subsection does not limit the number of times a person may be prosecuted under section 10B (Notice requiring companion animal to be registered).

A greyhound that is registered for the time being under the Greyhound Racing Act 2017 is exempt from this section.