Registering Your Pet

Dogs and cats are recognised and cherished by many Australians, both young and old, for their unique ability to provide companionship, comfort and unconditional love.

The Domestic Animals Act 1994 requires all dogs and cats over the age of three months to be microchipped and registered with their local Council. It is also a requirement that the issued registration tag be worn at all times.

Registrations are an annual charge and must be renewed by 10 April each year.

If you have a new animal, please ensure you have the microchip details with you when you call or visit to register your pet. To claim a discount or concession, proof of sterilisation, registration with an approved breed society or concession card details are required.

Download the Animal Registration form(PDF, 280KB)

How is my registration fee used?

We offer an extensive animal management service in Benalla Rural City. 

Find out about how we manage domestic animals in our Domestic Animal Management Plan summary(PDF, 3MB)

Registering your pet and keeping your details up-to-date ensures we can reunite lost pets with owners. 

However, pet registrations don't allow us to run a lost pets service. In addition to your registration tag and pound service, we also use your registration fees to fund a wide range of services that our team provide. These include: 

• Providing poo bags around popular walking areas to reduce dog waste on the streets
• Removing wandering and aggressive dogs from the streets, so you and your pet can walk safely
• Dealing with nuisance animal issues, including barking dogs, cat trespass and unowned animals
• Controlling dangerous, menacing and restricted breed dogs to ensure they don't pose a threat to the community
• Monitoring of animal welfare standards in pet shops, kennels, catteries, breeding and training businesses
• Providing education programs for children in preschool and primary school, as well as offering general education programs for the community
• Planning emergency animal welfare activities, to make sure pets are considered during disasters and other emergencies
• Understanding our population of domestic animals to help control biodiversity risk 
• Continuing to stay up-to-date with welfare and control issues, including dog attack prevention.

More information about why registering your pet is important can be found on the agriculture.vic.gov.au website

Leanne Campbell reunites with Missy

When we called Leanne to say that we had a cat that had been registered and microchipped to her name and address, she was a bit confused. 

"My cat is here with me," she said. 

We took the cat in question around to Leanne's and that's when she realised - Missy had been found after being missing for two years.

Leanne and Missy's story is a good example of why you should keep your pets registered and microchipped.