Regulated dogs

Declared dangerous or menacing dogs

Regulated dogs include dogs that are declared dangerous or menacing.

An authorised person can declare a dog to be dangerous or menacing if it:

• has attacked, or acted in a way that caused fear to a person or another animal

or

• may seriously attack or act in a way that causes fear to a person or animal, in the opinion of the authorised person according to the way the dog has behaved towards a person or another animal.

An authorised person is a local council employee who has the power to investigate, monitor and enforce any part of the AMCDA.

Prohibited dog breeds

Under the AMCDA there are 5 prohibited dog breeds:

• Dogo Argentino
• Fila Brasileiro
• Japanese Tosa
• American pit bull terrier or pit bull terrier
• Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canari

A person must not own or be responsible for a prohibited breed unless they have a reasonable excuse.

A person must not supply a prohibited dog to another person or give or take possession of a prohibited dog for the purposes of allowing it to breed with another dog.

Requirements for regulated dogs

If you have a regulated dog that has been declared dangerous or menacing you must comply with these requirements including:

• Microchip and register your dog.
• Ensure the dog wears a distinctive collar
• with a yellow and red striped pattern, red stripe of 25mm wide, diagonal to the rim of the collar at an angle of 45 degrees
• where at least one of the colours must be reflective so that it is visible in low light
• that has a yellow identification tag attached
• made of durable materials
• that can be securely fastened to the dog.
• Muzzle the dog when it is in a public place if it is dangerous and regulated (excluding menacing dogs).
• Keep the dog in a local council-approved enclosure that is child-proof and the dog is not able to escape or protrude from it.
• Display a sign/public notice at or near each entrance to the place where the dog is kept, to notify the public that a regulated dog is kept on the property.
• Keep the dog at its registered address—that is, the place stated in the registration notice for the dog as the address for the dog.
• Keep the dog under effective control when in a public place by someone who has the control of no more than 1 dog at the same time (i.e. on a leash being held by a physically capable adult).
• Follow all relevant local government laws.
• Notify council of any changes to your residential address within 7 days after making the change.
• If the new address is in another local government's area, the owner must also give the notice to both local governments.

For more information contact your local council.

Effective control for regulated dogs

You have effective control of a regulated dog if all of the following apply.

You are:

• physically able to control the dog
• in control of only that dog

and you are either:

• holding the dog using a leash, lead or other restraining device that is appropriate to restrain the dog that ensures it is not a risk to a person or an animal
• securely tethering the dog to a fixed object that ensures it is not a risk to a person or an animal and is under continuous supervision by you
• keeping the dog in an enclosed part of a vehicle that is enclosed or restrained to prevent the dog or any part of it, moving outside the enclosed part of the vehicle.

If the dog is participating in, or being exhibited or trained at, an exhibition, race meeting, race trial or obedience trial, the dog must also be supervised by a body that is:

• recognised by the state as an appropriate body to supervise the exhibition, meeting or trial and published on the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries website (when applicable)

or

• recognised by the local government in whose area the exhibition, meeting or trial is held as an appropriate body to supervise the exhibition, meeting or trial and published on the local government's website.

A regulated dog must never be in an off-leash public area.

Changes to laws for regulated dog owners

If you own a regulated dog, you should be aware of the following changes to the AMCDA.

From 31 July 2024:

• if you do not keep a regulated dog under effective control when in a public place there is an on-the-spot fine of $1,613
• there is a new definition of effective control for regulated dogs in public places
• if you fail to comply with the permit conditions for owning a regulated dog, the on-the-spot fine has increased to $2,419
• the most serious dog attack offences have increased fines of up to $112,910, including the option of imprisonment for up to 3 years where a person encourages a dog to attack that results in death or grievous bodily harm to a person.

From 28 August 2024:

• any regulated dog that seriously attacks a person or another animal must be subject to a destruction order, which is an order made by a local government that the owner of a dog must destroy the dog
• when a regulated dog is involved in an attack on a person or other animal, new maximum fines for court proceedings range from $32,260 to $112,910.
• when a regulated dog attacks and wounds another animal in a public place there is an on-the-spot fine of $3,226. Wound can generally be taken to mean to cause bodily injury by cutting, piercing, breaking or tearing the outer and inner skin.

Dog attacks

If you have seen an incident or been the subject of a dog attack, contact your local council and if needed, seek medical attention.

If you witness a dog attack, your first priority must be to protect yourself and those with you from harm.

• Do not attempt to hold or restrain a dog unless it is your own.
• You may take a photo of any dog you suspect was the aggressor and/or victim.

This can help your local government's investigation of the incident.

Further information

Sections 192 and 193(d) AMCDA

Effective control of non-regulated dogs

Changes to the AMCDA for dog management—information for local councils