Monash Council’s new Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP) for 2026–2029 was shaped by your feedback and will guide Council on how we manage cats and dogs in Monash, focusing on animal welfare and promoting responsible pet ownership.

What you told us during consultation

More than 400 people shared their feedback on our draft Domestic Animal Management Plan during July and August.

We’ve summarised what we heard from the community and how the final DAMP responds below. Some feedback covered more than one topic and, in those cases, we have addressed it once.

Topic one: Ensuring the quick return of lost pets

Key feedback:

• Opposition to door-to-door checks.
• Concerns about the de-centralised nature of the microchip database.
• Support for more education and communication for pet owners.
• Concerns about the distance to Council’s pound facility in Coldstream.
• Concerns about high registration fees.
• Feedback about the durability of the lifetime tags provided by Council.

How we will respond:

• Council’s door knock program is conducted twice a year, targeting properties where Council believes an animal has not been re-registered, or animal is living but no registration exists. We acknowledge the community concerns but will maintain this approach in the above situations.
• Victorian microchip databases are managed by the Department of Agriculture, with similar arrangements in other states and territories. Pet owners can search all recognised databases and update contact details at petaddress.com.au.
• We will promote what to do when a pet is lost and other areas of interest for pet owners raised through consultation.
• We acknowledge the concerns of the distance from Monash to Coldstream. Our DAMP prioritises a ‘reuniting first’ approach where Council seeks to return pets directly to their owners and will continue communicating about the importance of updating contact details to support this.
• Council will continue to provide discounted registration fees for de-sexed animals and pensioner concession.
• Lifetime tags provided to owners are designed to be long-lasting to assist in identification. If a tag becomes illegible or is lost, Council will issue a replacement free of charge.

Topic two: Reducing nuisance behaviours

Key feedback:

• Concern about dog poo not being picked up and calls for more bins and bag dispensers.
• Support for stricter cat curfews and promotion of cat enclosures.
• Issues with dogs being off-leash in on-leash areas and desire for additional patrols and enforcement activities.
• Requests for more off-leash areas, fenced parks, better lighting and more bins.

How we will respond:

• The DAMP sets objectives for providing dispensers in park and off-leash areas, use of stencils and signage to reinforce owner obligations, conducting routine patrols to monitor compliance and enforcing penalties where appropriate.
• A stricter cat curfew is not being considered, instead our DAMP establishes targets for improving compliance, encouraging the use of cat enclosures and providing guidance for owners to transition their cat to an indoor lifestyle.
• We will continue to conduct patrols to ensure compliance with dogs off-leash in on-leash areas.
• In 2022 we adopted a Monash Dog Off-Leash Policy that designates 47 off-leash areas across Monash. There are no plans to change this, and Council will look to better promote the off-leash areas and facilities in place.

Topic three: Preventing risks to the safety of people and pets

Feedback received has been covered in above topics.

Topic four: Ensuring the welfare of animals

Key feedback:

• Desire for increased public awareness of animal cruelty, neglect and illegal breeding.

How we will respond:

• We will promote platforms where people can report cases of animal cruelty and neglect.

You can also read the report to Council that summarised community feedback in more detail.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback.