1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Dog Act 1976.
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Explanatory material and speeches for the bills of later Acts that amended this Act, newest first. They explain the amendment, not necessarily the provision you are reading.
This Act may be cited as the Dog Act 1976.
Except as provided in subsection (2), this Act, or this Act less such provisions as are specified in any such proclamation, shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by proclamation.
The Governor may, by proclamation made pursuant to subsection (1) or by any subsequent proclamation, fix a date for the coming into operation of any provision of this Act on a date other than the date fixed in relation to the provisions of the Act generally.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
approval to breed has the meaning given in section 26I(1);
attack, in relation to the behaviour of a dog, does not include behaviour which was an immediate response to, and was induced by, provocation, but includes —
aggressively rushing at or harassing any person or animal; or
biting, or otherwise causing physical injury to, a person or an animal; or
tearing clothing on, or otherwise causing damage to the property of, the person attacked; or
attempting to attack, or behaving in such a manner toward a person as would cause a reasonable person to fear physical injury,
unless the owner establishes that the behaviour was justified by a reasonable cause;
authorised person means —
a person appointed under the Local Government Act 1995 section 9.10(2) to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act; or
a person designated as an authorised officer under the Public Health Act 2016 section 24(1) for the purposes of this Act;
centralised registration system has the meaning given in section 13A(1);
CEO means the chief executive officer of the Department;
commercial security dog means a dog that is kept primarily for the purpose of guarding or protecting premises that are not dwellings and that are not the premises of the dog’s owner, whether or not accompanied by a dog handler;
convicted person means a person who has, within the previous 5 years, been convicted of —
an offence against —
this Act; or
the Cat Act 2011; or
the Animal Welfare Act 2002;
or
an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory that is substantially the same as an offence referred to in paragraph (a);
dangerous dog means a dog that is —
a dangerous dog (declared); or
a dangerous dog (restricted breed); or
a commercial security dog;
dangerous dog (declared) means an individual dog that under section 33E(1) is declared to be a dangerous dog (declared);
dangerous dog (restricted breed) means a dog that —
is of a breed prescribed by the regulations to be a restricted breed; or
is a mix of 2 or more breeds, one being a breed prescribed by the regulations to be a restricted breed;
Department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting the Minister in the administration of this Act;
designated person has the meaning given in section 9B(1);
district means an area of the State that has been declared to be a district under the Local Government Act 1995, and includes for certain purposes provided for in this Act other areas which although not being within the boundaries of a district are regarded for those purposes as being part of the district;
dog management facility means —
a facility operated by a local government that is, or may be, used for keeping dogs; or
a facility for keeping dogs that is operated by a person or body prescribed; or
a facility for keeping dogs that is operated by a person or body approved in writing by a local government;
dog owner number has the meaning given in section 13B(1);
dog supply approval has the meaning given in section 38O(1);
dwelling means a place or a part of a place that is ordinarily used for human habitation and it does not matter that it is from time to time uninhabited;
effectively confined —
in relation to keeping a dog in premises comprising a mobile home, means the mobile home is designed and constructed in a way that enables an occupant to prevent the dog from escaping the mobile home; and
in relation to keeping a dog in or at other premises, or in any outdoor area of those premises, means the premises or area is bounded by a fence or barrier of a standard sufficient to prevent the dog from escaping;
health certificate has the meaning given in section 38N(2)(a);
metropolitan region has the meaning given to that term in the Planning and Development Act 2005 section 4;
microchip means an identification device of a prescribed type that —
is capable of being implanted in a dog; and
is designed to record information in a way that can be electronically retrieved;
microchip database means a database —
of records containing information about a dog (which may include information about its breeder or its owner); and
kept by a microchip database company;
microchip database company means —
a person or body —
that keeps a microchip database; and
that is prescribed as a microchip database company for the purposes of this definition;
and
in relation to a particular dog, means the microchip database company that keeps, or has agreed to keep, records containing information about that dog;
microchip implanter means —
a prescribed person; or
a person holding the prescribed qualifications for a microchip implanter;
microchipped means implanted with a microchip in a prescribed manner;
mobile home means a caravan or campervan —
that is ordinarily used for human habitation; and
that is permanently or semi‑permanently stationary in a single location;
non‑profit organisation means a body corporate, society, club or association formed otherwise than for the purpose of profit or gain to its individual members;
offer, in relation to transfer of ownership, sale or supply, includes advertise, expose or display for transfer of ownership, sale or supply;
owner in relation to a dog means —
the person by whom the dog is ordinarily kept; or
a person who is deemed by subsection (2) to be the owner of the dog;
owner’s delegate, in relation to a registered owner, means a person appointed under section 16AA as the dog owner’s delegate;
person liable for the control of the dog means each of the following —
the registered owner of the dog; or
the owner of the dog; or
the occupier of any premises where the dog is ordinarily kept or ordinarily permitted to live; or
a person who has the dog in his possession or under his control,
but does not include —
a veterinarian, or a person acting on a veterinarian’s behalf, in the course of the veterinarian’s professional practice; or
a police officer or other person acting under a statutory duty or in the administration of this Act;
pet shop, in relation to a relevant pet shop business, means the shop at, in or from which the relevant pet shop business is conducted;
pet shop approval has the meaning given in section 38C(1)(a);
pet shop certificate means a certificate given under section 54D to a person who holds a pet shop approval;
pet shop number has the meaning given in section 54D(1)(b);
police officer means a person appointed —
under the Police Act 1892 Part I to be a member of the Police Force of Western Australia; or
under the Police Act 1892 section 35 to be a special constable; or
under the Police Act 1892 section 38B(1) to be an Aboriginal police liaison officer;
premises shall, for the purpose of determining who is the occupier, be taken to refer to any land or building, or part of any land or building, that is or is intended to be occupied as a separate residence from any adjacent tenement, and includes a mobile home;
prescribed means prescribed under regulations made under this Act;
provocation, in relation to the behaviour of a dog, includes —
on the part of a person, other than a person liable for the control of the dog —
any teasing, tormenting, or abuse of the dog; or
any assault on, or act of cruelty towards, the dog; or
entry without lawful excuse on any land or premises of which the owner of the dog is an occupier or where the dog is ordinarily kept; or
any intrusion into or upon any vehicle in or on which the dog is present; or
any threat to, or attack upon, another person or animal towards whom the dog could reasonably be expected to be protective;
or
on the part of another animal —
an attack on the dog made by any other animal; or
the entry of that other animal on any land or premises of which the owner of the dog is an occupier or where the dog is ordinarily kept; or
any threat to, or attack upon, another person or animal towards whom the dog could reasonably be expected to be protective,
but does not include an intentional provocation of the dog by a person liable for the control of the dog;
public place means any place to which the public may lawfully have access;
refuge operations means operations conducted by a non‑profit organisation for the purposes of providing temporary shelter or care to, and finding suitable homes for, stray, abandoned, seized or surrendered dogs;
registered owner means the person in whose name the dog is registered under this Act;
registration officer means a person authorised by the local government to effect the registration of dogs pursuant to this Act;
relevant pet shop business —
means a business, or a part of a business, that is conducted at, in or from a shop and involves supplying, or offering to supply, dogs; but
does not include —
refuge operations; or
operations conducted at, in or from a dog management facility by the operator of the dog management facility; or
a business, or a part of a business, of a prescribed class;
scan means to scan in a manner that enables a microchip to be detected and the information recorded to be electronically retrieved;
shop means a shop that is open to the public generally at specified times or otherwise on a regular basis;
sterilised has the meaning given in subsection (1A);
supply includes —
sell, trade, give away, take consideration for; and
agree to supply, or cause or permit a supply;
townsite means —
land constituted, defined, or reserved as the site of a town or village under the Land Administration Act 1997; and
land subdivided or laid out as the site for a townsite, township, or village, in accordance with the subdivisional plan, lodged with the Western Australian Land Information Authority established by the Land Information Authority Act 2006 section 5 or with the department principally assisting in the administration of the Land Administration Act 1997; and
[(c) deleted]
land within a town or city under the Local Government Act 1995 that is outside the metropolitan region;
transfer, in relation to ownership of a dog, includes —
sell, trade, give away, take consideration for and transfer ownership of; and
to reclaim from a dog management facility;
vehicle means —
any thing capable of transporting people or things by air, road, rail or water, irrespective of whether the thing is permanently or semi‑permanently stationary, other than a mobile home; or
a caravan or campervan that is reasonably suspected not to be permanently or semi‑permanently stationary in a single location,
and it does not matter how the thing, caravan or campervan is moved or propelled;
veterinarian has the meaning given in the Veterinary Practice Act 2021 section 3;
working, in relation to a commercial security dog, means guarding or protecting premises that are not dwellings and that are not the premises of the dog’s owner.
For the purposes of this Act, a dog is sterilised if the dog has been made permanently infertile.
A person who is shown in the register maintained by a local government under this Act as being the last person recorded by the local government as the registered owner of a dog is deemed to be the owner of that dog, whether or not the registration in his name continues in force, unless he proves that he is not the owner of the dog.
In the case of a dog that is not registered, but is microchipped, a person whose name is recorded as the owner of the dog in a microchip database is to be taken, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be a person by whom the dog is ordinarily kept.
[Section 3 amended: No. 23 of 1987 s. 4; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 24 of 1996 s. 4; No. 81 of 1996 s. 153(1); No. 31 of 1997 s. 141; No. 10 of 1998 s. 29(1); No. 38 of 2005 s. 15; No. 60 of 2006 s. 132; No. 18 of 2013 s. 4; No. 19 of 2016 s. 130; No. 16 of 2019 s. 106; No. 19 of 2021 s. 230(2)‑(4); No. 29 of 2021 s. 8(1)-(7).]
[4. Deleted: No. 23 of 1987 s. 5.]
[5. Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(f) and (g).]
Subject to subsection (4), the provisions of this Act apply generally to all dogs, whether sterilised or unsterilised, and of whatever age.
Subject to subsection (3), this Act applies subject to the Highways (Liability for Straying Animals) Act 1983, so that, where a provision of that Act is inconsistent with a provision of this Act, the provision of that Act prevails and the provision of this Act is inoperative to the extent of the inconsistency.
Subsection (2) does not prevent or in any way affect the liability of —
the owner; or
a person deemed under section 46(5) to be the owner,
of a dog in respect of —
injury to any person or animal inflicted by the dog; or
damage to the clothing or other property of a person caused by the dog,
in the course of an attack by that dog on a highway.
The provisions of this Act do not apply to or in relation to a dog that is kept for the purposes of the Crown.
Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other written law, a person who is a public officer is not guilty of an offence by reason only that the person takes a dog into a place in the performance of the person’s functions as a public officer.
In subsection (5) —
public officer means —
a police officer; or
a prison officer as defined in the Prisons Act 1981 section 3(1); or
a contract worker as defined in the Prisons Act 1981 section 15A; or
a member of —
the armed forces of the Commonwealth; or
the Australian Federal Police; or
the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service; or
the Australian Customs Service;
or
a person of a prescribed class.
[Section 6 amended: No. 64 of 1983 s. 3; No. 23 of 1987 s. 6; No. 24 of 1996 s. 5; No. 10 of 1998 s. 29(2); No. 18 of 2013 s. 5.]
Subject to subsections (1a) and (3), if a dog is not registered under this Act or the law of another State or a Territory each of the following persons commits an offence —
the owner of the dog;
if the dog is ordinarily kept or permitted to live in or at premises in Western Australia, the occupier of the premises.
Penalty for this subsection:
for an offence relating to a dangerous dog, a fine of $10 000;
for an offence relating to a dog other than a dangerous dog, a fine of $5 000.
It is a defence for an occupier referred to in subsection (1) against whom proceedings are brought for a contravention of that subsection to prove that a person over the age of 18 (whom he shall identify) was the owner of the dog at the time of the contravention.
Where a person is convicted of an offence against subsection (1) the court shall, in addition to any penalty it may impose, order payment by that person of the registration fee which should have been paid and the amount of that fee shall be recoverable in the like manner as that in which the penalty for the offence may be recovered.
The provisions of this section do not apply to —
a dog under the age of 3 months; or
a dog kept during any period allowed for the making of an application under section 17 or until an application under that section is determined, discontinued, or dismissed for want of prosecution, or during any period when an order is suspended under section 17(3a); or
a dog held in the custody of —
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Western Australia6; or
the Dogs Refuge Home (W.A.) Inc.; or
any other prescribed body,
in a place maintained for the purpose of finding dogs suitable homes; or
a dog held in the custody of —
a veterinarian, or a person acting on a veterinarian’s behalf, in the course of the veterinarian’s professional practice; or
a police officer in the performance of the officer’s functions; or
any other person in the performance of a function under this Act or any other written law;
or
a greyhound that is registered under the Racing and Wagering Western Australia Act 2003 section 41 while the registration is in effect.
[Section 7 amended: No. 57 of 1977 s. 2; No. 23 of 1987 s. 7; No. 24 of 1996 s. 16; No. 55 of 2004 s. 252 and 268; No. 18 of 2013 s. 6; No. 19 of 2021 s. 230(5); No. 29 of 2021 s. 9(1).]
In this section —
assistance dog means a dog —
that is trained or is being trained by a representative of an organisation that is prescribed for the purposes of this definition; or
that is trained or is being trained by an individual having the qualifications and experience prescribed for the purposes of this definition; or
that is assessed by a person mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) as being competent to be an assistance dog; or
that is being assessed by a person mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) to decide whether the dog is competent to be an assistance dog; or
that has been approved, for the purposes of a law of another State or a Territory, as a dog whose use can alleviate or manage an effect of a person’s disability or medical condition; or
that is approved by the CEO for the purposes of this definition.
A person mentioned in subsection (3) —
is entitled to be accompanied by an assistance dog, in any building or place open to or used by the public, for any purpose, or in any public transport; and
is not guilty of an offence by reason only that he or she takes that dog into or permits that dog to enter any building or place open to or used by the public or on any public transport.
The persons to whom subsection (2) applies are as follows —
a person who has a disability or medical condition an effect of which can be alleviated or managed by the use of an assistance dog;
a person who is training or assessing an assistance dog and who is a representative of an organisation mentioned in the definition of assistance dog paragraph (a);
a person who is training or assessing an assistance dog and who is an individual mentioned in the definition of assistance dog paragraph (b);
an individual person who is approved by the CEO as a person to whom subsection (2) applies.
The CEO may, on application, approve —
an individual person to be a person to whom subsection (2) applies; or
a particular dog to be an assistance dog for the purposes of the definition in subsection (1).
An application under subsection (4) must be made in a manner and form approved by the CEO and accompanied by —
the prescribed fee, if any, for the application; and
each other thing that the CEO requires to accompany the application that will enable the CEO to make a decision.
The regulations may provide for the review by the State Administrative Tribunal of a decision of the CEO on an application under subsection (4).
This section applies despite any other provision of this Act or other written law.
[Section 8 inserted: No. 18 of 2013 s. 7.]
It shall be the duty of a local government within its district to administer and enforce the provisions of this Act, and where in the opinion of the Governor the powers conferred by this Act on a local government should be extended to an area outside the district the Governor may by Order declare that for the purposes of this Act the area is to be regarded as being within the district and the provisions of this Act shall then apply as if in fact the area were within the district.
Nothing in subsection (1) prevents the CEO from —
performing the CEO’s functions under this Act; or
doing anything the CEO considers appropriate for the purposes of performing those functions.
[Section 9 amended: No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 29 of 2021 s. 10.]
The CEO may delegate to a person any power or duty of the CEO under another provision of this Act.
The delegation must be in writing signed by the CEO.
A person to whom a power or duty is delegated under this section cannot delegate that power or duty.
A person exercising or performing a power or duty that has been delegated to the person under this section is taken to do so in accordance with the terms of the delegation unless the contrary is shown.
Nothing in this section limits the ability of the CEO to perform a function through an officer or agent.
[Section 9A inserted: No. 29 of 2021 s. 11.]
The CEO may, in writing, authorise persons to perform the functions conferred on designated persons under this Act (each a designated person).
An authorisation under this section may —
limit the functions of the designated person to functions specified in the authorisation; and
be cancelled by the CEO at any time.
The CEO is to issue to each designated person a certificate stating that the person is a designated person for the purposes of this Act.
A designated person must produce the certificate issued under subsection (3) at the reasonable request of a person in respect of whom the designated person exercises, has exercised, or is about to exercise any power under this Act.
[Section 9B inserted: No. 29 of 2021 s. 11.]
[(1) deleted]
Where a person ordinarily keeps a dog at a place that is not within the boundaries of a district or an area to which an Order under section 9 applies, that dog shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be ordinarily kept within the district the boundary of which is nearest to the place where the dog is kept.
[Section 10 amended: No. 23 of 1987 s. 9; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4.]
A local government may, by absolute majority as defined in the Local Government Act 1995 section 1.4, delegate to its chief executive officer any power or duty of the local government under another provision of this Act.
The delegation must be in writing.
The delegation may expressly authorise the delegate to further delegate the power or duty.
A local government’s chief executive officer who is exercising or performing a power or duty that has been delegated as authorised under this section, is to be taken to do so in accordance with the terms of the delegation unless the contrary is shown.
Nothing in this section limits the ability of a local government’s chief executive officer to perform a function through an officer or agent.
[Section 10AA inserted: No. 18 of 2013 s. 8.]
The chief executive officer of a local government is to keep a register of —
delegations made under section 10AA(1); and
further delegations made under the authority of a delegation made under section 10AA(1).
At least once every financial year —
delegations made under section 10AA(1); and
further delegations made under the authority of a delegation made under section 10AA(1),
are to be reviewed by the delegator.
[Section 10AB inserted: No. 18 of 2013 s. 8.]
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