Rules for animals in towns

Your dog must be supervised at all times and not allowed to roam or affect other people and animals. According to the Companion Animals Act 1998, your dog is considered a nuisance if it:

• routinely roams
• repeatedly defecates on private property, other than where it is ordinarily kept
• runs at or chases a person, animal (other than vermin or in the course of droving, tending, working or protecting livestock) or vehicle
• endangers the health of a person or animal (other than vermin or in the course of droving, tending, working or protecting livestock)
• repeatedly causes substantial damage to anything outside the property where it is normally kept.

It is always best to talk to the dog’s owner first to try to resolve the situation. If this isn't successful, please contact us at council to discuss the issue.

If we identify a serious or on-going problem, we may issue a nuisance order requiring the owner to prevent the specified problem. If the problem persists, we may issue penalty notices for first and repeat offences, with the amount of the fine increasing for the second offence.

If your neighbour's dog is barking excessively and causing a nuisance, there are steps you can take to resolve the issue. These are the steps you should follow:

Step 1: Speak with the owner

Start by having a polite conversation with the dog's owner.  They may not realise their dog is bothering you.

Step 2: Keep a diary

If the barking continues after speaking with the owner, begin recording the times, duration and possible causes in a a diary - we have provided a template below. You will need this diary if you continue with step 3 and lodge a complaint. The diary helps us to investigate the issue and also provides good evidence.

Download the diary template.(PDF, 152KB)

Step 3: Lodge a report

If the problem is ongoing, you can lodge a report with us at council. You will need to provide your completed diary as supporting evidence.

Based on your report, we have the authority to issue the dog's owner with a nuisance order or prevention notice, as well as fines. 

Step 4 (optional): Take independent legal action

If the issue still isn't resolved after council intervention, you may choose to apply for a noise abatement order through the local court under section 268 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO). This is a civil process that allows you to take independent legal action to address the noise problem.

More information

You can read more about dealing with barking dogs on the NSW EPA website.

Unlike dogs, cats are allowed to roam in public places and onto private property. There are no provisions in New South Wales for councils to declare a curfew on cats, but individual cats can be restricted to their owners' property where the cat has been shown to be causing damage or killing wildlife.

More information about roaming cats and the law.

Key points

• In order for us to identify a cat's owner, the cat must have some form of identification that shows its name and the owner's address or phone number. 
• Cats are not allowed in areas designated for wildlife protection or areas used for preparing or consuming food.
• The owner must ensure their cat does not disturb others or interfere with their peace, comfort or convenience.
• The owner must make sure their pets do not repeatedly damage anything outside of their own property.
• Cats may roam up to 1 km in radium from where they live or are being fed.
• Before assuming a roaming cat is a stray, please check to see if it has a collar and tag and speak to the owner to see if they are able to keep the cat contained so it does not stray onto your property.

You are not allowed to keep roosters in urban areas due to the potential impacts on residents in the surrounding area.

People living in the urban areas of our council area are allowed to keep up to 5 chickens with the following conditions (this includes guinea fowls):

• The area is kept free of offensive odour, flies and rodents.
• The area is fenced and secure so your poultry cannot escape. 
• The floors in the poultry house must be paved with concrete or mineral asphalt underneath the roosts or perches that comply with the Building Code of Australia.
• The chicken coop must be at least 4.5 metres away from your dwelling. 

The following types of poultry/birds are not allowed to be kept in urban areas:

• roosters
• pigeons
• ducks
• geese
• turkeys
• peafowl
• other pheasants

The guidelines we provide for keeping animals in residential areas are based on these regulations:

• NSW Environment Planning legislation
• the Local Government Act

Large animals are not allowed to be kept in urban areas:

• horses
• cattle
• goats 
• sheep
• pigs

Please see our policy on Keeping animals in urban areas(PDF, 374KB) further information, including the conditions for housing each type of animal.