The Domestic Animals Act 1994 (the Act) requires domestic animal management plans to be prepared by every council in Victoria at four yearly intervals. The Domestic Animal Management Plan 2026-29 (DAMP) outlines the services, programs and policies that Council has established to address the administration of the Act and the management of dogs and cats in their community.

We asked the community for feedback on the key issues and objectives relating to animal management. We wanted to hear people’s experiences with animals in the city and what actions or programs we should prioritise.

We sought feedback on the following topics:

• training of Authorised Officers
• pet registration and identification
• nuisance issues, such as barking dogs
• dog attacks
• dangerous, menacing and restricted breed dogs
• domestic animal businesses.

These insights were used to set goals in the DAMP targeted at promoting responsible pet ownership, ensuring positive welfare outcomes for animals and minimising negative impacts cat and dogs may have on the community and environment.

The first phase of community engagement on the DAMP took place between 3 April to 29 April 2025. Consultation included an online survey on the Participate Melbourne website, published with a discussion paper to help inform decision making.

973 contributions were received via the online survey. We also received 15 written submissions via email.

The key themes identified include:

• the introduction of cat curfews and mandatory desexing of cats. This echoes what we heard in our cat management consultation in 2024 – that the community is largely supportive of these initiatives to benefit the welfare of cats and minimise harm to wildlife.
• the importance of implementing a strategy to manage semi-owned and unowned cat populations.
• more off-leash dog areas, with an emphasis on these areas being fenced.
• more bins with dog waste bags to reduce the amount of dog waste in public places.
• issues caused by dogs being off-leash outside of designated areas persist, and people would like to see more visible enforcement of the rules during peak times to boost compliance.
• to better incorporate pets into our day to day lives by being able to take them on public transport and to more restaurants, bars and cafes.

Download the full community engagement report (PDF 739.41 KB) .

Examples of what we heard

We are currently reviewing community feedback. The insights collected will support and inform the draft DAMP. This draft will be presented to the Future Melbourne Committee on 1 July 2025 for endorsement.

Following the Future Melbourne Committee meeting, a second round of community consultation will take place to seek any further feedback from the community on the final draft DAMP.