Domestic Animal Management Plan

Our Domestic Animal Management Plan explains how we care for and manage domestic animals in the City of Whittlesea.

The plan outlines Council services, programs and policies established to address the administration of the Domestic Animals Act 1994 and Council’s management of cat and dog issues in the community.

By law, all Victorian councils must create and update a Domestic Animal Management Plan every four years. This ensures our strategies evolve to meet the community’s needs and comply with current regulations.

View the plan

Our current Domestic Animal Management Plan was adopted in November 2025.

Domestic Animal Management Plan 2026 - 2030(PDF, 15MB)

Domestic Animal Management Plan 2026 - 2030 - Accessible(DOCX, 287KB)

Process applied in developing the plan

The City of Whittlesea’s Domestic Animal Management Plan was developed in partnership with neighbouring councils, the City of Darebin and Merri-bek City Council.

An inter-organisational working group was developed to encourage partnerships and lead best-practice.

The development of the plan was driven by the working group through four specific stages.

Stage 1: Background research and analysis

A detailed background report was developed which outlined:

an overview of the local government area
relevant state and local policies
an analysis of Council’s current Domestic Animal Management Plan
emerging issues in domestic animal management
internal staff consultation
current animal management statistics.

Stage 2: Community consultation

A detailed community engagement program was delivered to encourage the community to have their say on domestic animal management issues.

Approximately 1,285 people who live, work or visit the City of Whittlesea provided feedback.

Feedback was gathered through three methods:

a detailed online survey which was available through a dedicated project webpage
community pop-ups held at key locations across the local government areas
focus groups
telephone interviews conducted with key stakeholders.

The feedback received from community members has been used to inform the priorities and actions outlined in the Domestic Animal Management Plan.

You can view the detailed Engagement Summary and other information via Engage Whittlesea.

Stage 3: Joint council planning

Relevant Council officers from the City of Whittlesea and Cities of Darebin and Merri-bek participated in a joint Council planning session to:

analyse community feedback
determine appropriate actions for the respective Domestic Animal Management Plans
identify opportunities for partnership and cost-savings.

Stage 4: Public exhibition

To finalise the plan and ensure community feedback was captured in the first round of community engagement, a formal public exhibition period was held from 25 September to 16 October 2025.

Council received 143 submissions on the draft plan.

Community consultation confirmed broad support for the Plan, with 89% of participants in favour. The Plan was widely described as clear, concise and well-structured, with positive feedback on its strategic outcomes, data-driven approach and the quality of Council's Animal Management service. Feedback did not require significant changes; however, minor adjustments have been made to provide greater clarity around the proposal to explore mandatory dog desexing.

You can view the detailed Engagement Summary and other information via Engage Whittlesea.

Contact us

Phone: 03 9217 2170

Email: info@whittlesea.vic.gov.au