You can only keep more than two dogs at your property if you have a kennel licence or live in a rural zoned area.
Each resident of a property is allowed to keep up to two dogs without a kennel licence. If you are zoned residential or rural residential, you'll need to apply for a kennel licence if you want to keep more than two dogs over the age of three months. A kennel licence is issued for a specific address. It states the maximum number of dogs that can be kept at the property and may include other conditions. There is no fee for a kennel licence, but each dog must be registered.
As part of the licence application, an animal service officer will visit the property to check that it is appropriate for the number and type of dogs the applicant wishes to keep.
They'll also check:
- Your dogs haven’t been impounded in the past two years.
- There have been no justified complaints received by Animal Services regarding the control of any dogs in your care.
- You haven’t been convicted of an offence in relation to the control of dogs.
- Your dogs remain registered in accordance with the Dog Control Act 1996.
- The kennels or place of confinement are kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
- You haven’t been issued with, and paid or ordered to pay, an infringement notice.
- The licence is not going to be used for the purpose of operating a business.