Enclosure requirements

Animal owners must make sure their animals are kept in a place with adequate fencing that stops their animals from wandering.

Dogs

You must keep you dog within your property boundary. Our local laws state that dog enclosures must:

• allow for public access to an entry on the dwelling and to all local utilities
• be built of strong and firm fencing materials
• prevent the dog escaping over, under or through the fence or barrier
• be at least 1 metre in height for dogs under 10 kilograms and 1.2 metres in height for dogs over 10 kilograms
• not be less than 10 metres in area and exclude any swimming pool area
• meet and welfare requirements of the dog
• provide effective control.

If your dog is subject to a control issue we may enforce up to 1.8 metre high fencing or improvements to your dog's enclosure.

Remember to close the gate so your dog doesn't get out!

Cats

Preventing cats from wandering is an important part of being a responsible animal owner.

Cats tend to wander and this can cause nuisances like:

• causing dogs to bark
• fighting with other cats
• unwanted litters
• menacing or killing birds and native animals
• sleeping on neighbours vehicles 
• urinating and defecating.

Contrary to belief, even well fed cats hunt instinctively.

Our local laws state that all cats must be de-sexed and kept within the property boundary. This means they need to stay inside the house, in a purpose built cat enclosure or within your boundary fence.

Cats can happily live indoors. Whether your cat is contained indoors, outdoors or a mixture or both depends on your cat and your lifestyle.

There are many enclosure and specialised fencing options to keep your cat/s contained. There are also some low-cost options that can be installed with a few items from your local hardware store. You may find some cat containment ideas in the Cat fencing and enclosure fact sheet (PDF 2.45 MB).

Effective control

Dogs

You may have heard the term ‘effective control’ but what does it mean?

A dog, other than a regulated dog, is under effective control when it is:

• inside an enclosure, refer above for enclosure requirements
• held by a leash no longer than 2 metres in length
• held by an owner / handler who is physically able to control it
• if held by a minor, under 18, accompanied by an adult who is physically able to control it
• held by an owner / handler who is not handling more than 2 dogs at the same time
• tethered to a fixed object and under the continuous supervision of the owner / handler. The owner / handler must be able to physically control the dog.
• restrained in or on a vehicle so that it cannot get out of the vehicle or get any part of its body out of the vehicle
• participating in training or obedience trials under the supervision of its owner / handler, only applicable to recognised organisations
• show at an event, under the supervision of its owner / handler, only applicable to recognised organisations.

You are responsible for making sure your dog doesn’t become a nuisance or cause an injury to a person or another animal. For more information see, fence reactivity, arousal and noise nuisance.

Cats

Cats must be kept inside your property boundary. 

If you are out and about with your cat you should make sure that your cat is harnessed or in a cat carrier.