Nuisance and Dangerous Dogs

If you are attacked by a dog please contact our Rangers or the local Police immediately with details including:

• Date, time and location of the attack
• Description of the dog e.g. colour, breed, size
• Details of the dog's owner (if possible)

If we can identify the dog and determine where it came from, legal action may be taken.

Call Council on 1300 275 782 (1300 ASK SVC) or phone 000 for Police

Many people keep a dog to deter trespassers and burglars. There is no problem with this, providing that it does not become a danger to other people or animals (including displaying unreasonable aggression).

A declared menacing dog is a dog that a Council Ranger or a Local Court has declared as menacing because it:

• Has displayed unreasonable aggression towards a person or animal (other than vermin)
• Has, without provocation, attacked a person or animal (other than vermin) but without causing serious injury or death
• Has been declared a menacing dog under a law of another State or a Territory that corresponds with the Act

Council Rangers have a general duty to take such steps as are necessary to ensure they are aware of the existence of all dangerous, menacing and restricted dogs that are kept in their areas.

If you have evidence that a dog is dangerous or menacing, you should notify our Customer Service Team P 1300 275 785 (1300 ASK SVC)

A declared dangerous dog is a dog that a Council Ranger or a Local Court has declared as dangerous because it:

• Has, without provocation, attacked or killed a person or animal (not including vermin)
• Has, without provocation, repeatedly threatened to attack or repeatedly chased a person or animal (not including vermin)
• Is kept or used for hunting (not including a dog used for locating, flushing, pointing or retrieving birds or vermin)
• Has been declared a dangerous dog under a law of another State or a Territory that corresponds with the Act

If you have evidence that a dog is dangerous or menacing, you should notify our Customer Service Team. P 1300 275 782 (1300 ASK SVC)

It is an offence in New South Wales to sell, acquire or breed dogs on the restricted dog list.  If you fail to comply with these requirements, you may be liable for large fines or imprisonment and your dog may be seized and destroyed.

If you own a restricted dog and it attacks or injures a person or an animal (other than vermin) without being provoked, you must report it to your local council within 24 hours of the attack or injury.

Restricted dogs in NSW are the same as those currently on the prohibited list of importations into Australia. However changes to the legislation also include offspring of restricted dogs on the list, as follows:

• American pitbull terrier or Pitbull terrier
• Japanese Tosa
• Dogo Argentino (Argentinean fighting dog)
• Fila Brasiliero (Brazilian fighting dog)
• Any other dog of a breed, kind or description, whose importation into Australia is prohibited by, or under, the Customs Act 1901 of the Commonwealth (Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canario)
• Any dog declared by an authorised officer of a council, under division 6 of the Companion Animals Act 1998, to be a restricted dog**

**This means any dog where a Ranger is of the opinion that a dog is of a breed or kind of dog on the restricted dog list or a cross-breed of any such breed or kind of dog. 

If you have evidence that a dog is a restricted breed  you should notify our Customer Service Team. P 1300 275 782 (1300 ASK SVC)

If a Council Ranger issues you with a 'Notice of Intention to Declare a Dog to be a Restricted Dog', you must follow all instructions in the notice. You must also immediately ensure that the dog is contained securely within its property so that it cannot chase or attack any person lawfully at the property.

Control Measures for Restricted Dogs

 If you are the owner of a restricted dog, you must ensure that:

• Your dog is microchipped and lifetime registered
• Your dog is de-sexed (or permanently sterilised)
• Your dog is contained in an enclosure that complies with the requirements of the Companion Animals Regulation http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2008/374/part4/sec24 when on the premises where the dog is normally kept
• You have a certificate of compliance from Council, certifying that the enclosure meets the regulatory requirements
• Your dog wears a muzzle and is securely leashed at all times when outside the enclosure
• Your dog wears a prescribed collar at all times
• You prominently display dangerous dog warning signs on the premises where your dog is normally kept
• Your dog is not left at any time in the sole charge of a person under 18 years of age
• You do not breed from, or advertise as available for breeding, your dog prior to de-sexing
• You do not transfer ownership of your dog (It is also an offence for someone to accept ownership of a restricted dog)
• You do not sell (sell includes giving away) your dog or advertise it for sale

You must notify Council if:

• Your dog has attacked or injured a person or animal (other than vermin) with or without provocation (must notify within 24 hours of the attack or injury).
• Your dog cannot be found (must notify within 24 hours of your dog's absence first being noticed)
• Your dog has died (must notify as soon as practicable after the dog's death)
• your dog will no longer be ordinarily kept in the same council area
• Your dog will ordinarily be kept at a different location in the same council area

If you fail to comply with these requirements, you may be liable for large fines or imprisonment and your dog may be seized and destroyed.

For more information on these control requirements contact our Customer Service Team. P 1300 275 782 (1300 ASK SVC)