Register an animal

Owning a cat or dog comes with many benefits, but also comes with some legal responsibilities. Registering your cat or dog with your local council is one or them.

In accordance with the Domestic Animals Act 1994, every cat and dog over the age of 3 months old must be registered with your local Council.

If you live in the Moorabool Shire Council and have a cat or dog, make sure you register them with us. Remember, having your pet microchipped doesn't mean they are registered with us.

The per registration period runs from 10 April to 9 April yearly. You must renew your pet's registration by 10 April each year. We will send you as reminder before your registration is due. 

There are many benefits to pet registration - visit Animal Welfare Victoria to lean more.

If your dog or cat meets one or more of the following you will be eligible for a reduced fee: 

• desexed,
• over 10 years of age
• kept for breeding at a registered domestic animal business
• registered with an applicable organisation and the owner is also a member of that applicable organisation
• a dog that has undergone obedience training with an approved organisations
• a dog kept for the purpose of working stock

Applicable organisations are:

• Dogs Victoria
• Master Dog Breeders & Associates
• Responsible Pet Breeders Australia
• Feline Control Council (Victoria) Inc.
• The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy Australia and Victoria Inc.

Approved organisations - Obedience Training are:

• Dogs Victoria - Please note: as of 13 October 2023 Dogs Victoria is no longer an approved organisation.

Any dog that completed the training with Dogs Victoria, or one of its affiliate clubs are no longer eligible for reduced registration. Dogs Victoria remains an approved Applicable Organisation under the DA Act; this affords its members the reduced council registration fee without the need to undergo any training program.

• Australian Association of Professional Dog Trainers Inc.
• The Kintala Dog Club Association Inc.
• Four Paws K9 Training
• Delta Institute

Pensioner discount only applies to current full Pensioner Concession Card, Department Veteran Affairs TPI or War Widow card holders.

You can request a replacement tag from our customer service team by visiting, calling or emailing us.

Contact us here

If you have paid your pets registration for the full year and your pet has passed or has been de-sexed before 30 June you will be able to apply for a pro-rata registration refund.

Update your animal details

If you would like to change ownership of your pet/s into another person's name please complete this form(PDF, 157KB) and return to info@moorabool.vic.gov.au. Please note that both the current owner and new owner will need to sign the form.

To be eligible for a registration fee exemption, the owner of an assistance dog must apply to Council and provide reasonable evidence that they have a disability that necessitates an assistance dog, and that their dog meets the following eligibility criteria:

• has been trained to alleviate the effect(s) of the disability (as per the definition of assistance dog under Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (EO Act)
• has completed obedience training, as defined in the GiC Order
• is at least 12-months old
• is microchipped
• is desexed.

An applicant is not eligible for free registration for their assistance dog if:

• not all eligibility criteria are satisfied
• the applicant has been found guilty of two or more offences under the DA Act with respect to the same assistance dog
• the assistance dog has been declared menacing or dangerous
• the assistance dog is a restricted breed dog.

Under Council’s Community Local Law, the maximum number of animals you can keep on your property without a permit depends on your land size.

For information on number of animals per property, see our Application for additional animals in your home page.

All pets must be microchipped to be registered with council.

Microchipping can be done and your local veterinary clinic or council can also provide this service at a fee.

If you would like to get your pet microchipped through council please contact us to arrange an appointment.