Animals & pets

Here are the rules about dog and cat ownership in Campaspe Shire Council:

• You can’t have more than two dogs and two cats on any one property unless you have a permit to keep more.
• Dogs and cats aged 12 weeks and older must be registered with Council.  
• If you’re in control of a dog in a public place, you must pick up its dog poo! You must also have something you can pick it up with when out with a dog. If you fail to do so, you could be fined. 

Registrations

Dogs and cats in the Campaspe Shire Council must be registered with us. Registration renewal is due by 10 April each year. Pet owners whose cats and dogs are registered in Campaspe will receive a registration pack in March. You can also download an animal registration application(PDF, 2MB) here or pick one up from a customer service centre.

There are a number of fee levels including:

• full fee
• full fee with Pensioner Concession Card
• reduced fee
• reduced fee with Pensioner Concession Card

Registration fees 2023/24. You can view the 2024/25 fees here.

Important notice - Any puppy or kitten to be registered, or any dog or cat being moved into Campaspe Shire (as a new registration) must be microchipped before Council can accept registration.

If an animal is sterilised, owners will need to supply a copy of the certificate. The certificate needs to be signed by the vet and include the animal's microchip number. 

If you move house, change your telephone number, please advise Council of your details by completing a change of owners details(DOCX, 33KB) form.

If the details of the owner of the animal changes, you must complete a change of ownership(DOCX, 31KB) form.

If you move to our shire and your animal is already registered, you need to complete an animal registration application(PDF, 2MB).

If your animal has died, you can advise Council by:

• Online at link
• By calling on 1300 666 535
• In person at one of our customer service centres

There are specific areas in our shire where your dog/s must be on a lead. This includes all residential areas and central business districts.

There are also specific off-lead areas where you can exercise your dog/s without a lead. However, you must still be able to control the dog by calling its name or making a similar command.

Download this information sheet(PDF, 174KB) about restrictions that apply to dogs in public reserves.

Dogs are an important part of our community, but dogs that bark excessively can become a nuisance and create friction between neighbours and others using the local environment.

The first step is to speak with your neighbour to attempt to resolve the matter in a neighbourly manner.

Download our information booklet Barking dogs in your neighbourhood(PDF, 1006KB) to find out what steps you can take and what steps Council can take. The booklet also includes templates for you to use in lodging your complaint.

If you have a dangerous dog:

• it must wear bright a collar that is visible at night
• it must be housed in an enclosure that is both dog and child-proof.

If you see a stray dog, please contact Council during business hours on 1300 666 535.

To report a stray dog out of business hours, you can still lodge a service request by calling 1300 666 535. Follow the prompts to speak with the ranger on call. 

If you live in one of Campaspe’s townships, you can keep up to four different types of animals on the property, whether you own the property or are renting it. If you want to keep more, you must apply for a permit to Keep-additional-animals(DOCX, 44KB) from Council.

There are also limits to the number of each different type of animal you can keep in a residential area, as outlined below: 

Under Victorian law, every dog and cat aged three months and older must be registered with the council it resides in. These registrations must be renewed by 10 April each year.

A Governor in Council Order, made under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 (DA Act), is in place to enable assistance dogs to receive free council registration.

If you currently have an assistance dog (other than a guide dog) that has been trained to perform tasks or functions that assist to alleviate the effects of your disability, you may be eligible to receive free registration for your assistance dog.

To receive free registration for an assistance dog, the owner of the dog (or their carer/guardian) must demonstrate that they have a disability as defined under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and that the dog is trained to assist them in alleviating the effect(s) of that disability.

In addition to demonstrating the dog’s function in alleviating the effects of a disability, an assistance dog must also:

• be desexed
• be microchipped
• be at least 12 months of age
• have completed obedience training provided by a dog trainer Note: The obedience training can either be completed separately, or as part of the training undertaken to perform tasks or functions that assist the person with a disability to alleviate the effects of their disability.
• not be a dangerous, menacing, or restricted breed dog.

For the purposes of the above requirements:

Dog trainer means a person who:

1. provides training at a dog obedience training organisation approved under section 5B of the Act; or
2. has a Certificate III in Dog Behaviour and Training or Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services.

Obedience training means a training program that assesses an assistance dog in the following:

1. heeling or walking with a handler, without sniffing, marking or wandering;
2. sociability with other dogs;
3. responsiveness to a handler’s commands, including staying on command (known as a stay test) and coming to a handler on command (known as a recall test);
4. absence of aggression towards humans or other animals;
5. absence of anxiety, stress, fear, or undue excitement when in public places; and
6. standard of hygiene appropriate for a public place.

Note: Guide dogs are currently recognised under the DA Act. The recognition provides guide dogs and their handlers with certain public access rights, as well as an automatic exemption from paying council animal registration fees and from certain offences under the DA Act. As such, this assistance dog application is not required for guide dogs.

Application for Assistance Dog Registration(PDF, 254KB)