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Companion animals have come to play an important part in the lives of many people. The majority of homes in Australia have at least one companion animal. Pets are a wonderful source of companionship and pleasure for many people. Under the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998, all cat and dog owners must complete a 2 step process to registering their pet.
Step 1: Microchipping
A companion animal must be identified by a microchip as required by the regulations from the time the animal is 12 weeks old and must not be sold unless it is microchipped, even if it is younger than 12 weeks. Microchipping ensures that all companion animals have a means of permanent identification that cannot be lost or tampered with. Microchipping means that owned and unowned animals are readily identifiable so that they can be promptly returned to their owners or re-homed.
Microchips are tiny - about the size of a grain of rice - and can be inserted under the skin between the shoulders of a cat or dog. The process is similar to receiving immunisation injections and is generally less distressing for the animal than a vaccination.
Once you have microchipped your animal, the details will be sent to your local council for data entry into the NSW Companion Animals Register. You will also be posted a Certificate of Identification.
Councils, pounds, vets and animal welfare organisations will be able to read the microchip by passing a scanner over the animal. Thanks to the microchip, if your animal is found, lost or straying the Council Ranger can contact you to arrange for your animals return and if it is taken to a pound, the pound will scan the animal and promptly contact you.
It is therefore extremely important that your contact details are kept up to date.
Step 2: Lifetime registration
Once your animal is microchipped, the next step is lifetime registration. Under the Companion Animals legislation all companion animals must be lifetime registered from 6 months of age. All cats born, bought or sold after 1 July 1999 must be microchipped and lifetime registered.
Lifetime registration incurs a once only fee that can be paid at any local council. The animal owner must be 18 years old or over. Once you have paid lifetime registration, a Certificate of Registration will be posted to you.For registration forms and information about the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998, breeders, pet shops, vets and microchip identifiers, visit the NSW Department of Local Government. To register your animal, bring your completed forms with payment to Councils Customer Service Centre.
To register a companion animal, owners must supply the following information:
- Certificate of Identification
- Evidence of desexing (if applicable)
- A copy of your pension card (if applicable)
- A copy of your breeder membership card (if applicable) plus documentation verifying that your dog/cat is a purebred and a statement to say that the animal is to be kept for breeding purposes.
Refer to the link for registration exemption information: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/car2008265/s16.html
Registration costs
| Non-desexed cat or dog |
$150 |
Entire cat or dog owned by a registered breeder
(proof required) |
$40 |
| Desexed cat or dog (proof required) |
$40 |
| Desexed cat or dog owned by a pensioner (proof required) |
$15 |
| Assistance animal (proof required) |
Free |
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