Animals next door
An animal problem between neighbours is usually not a court matter at all. In New South Wales dogs and cats are regulated by statute, and the body that enforces it is your local council.
General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.
This one usually belongs to the council
The great majority of people who look for a lawyer about a neighbour’s animal do not need one. They need the council, a good record, and to know what the council can actually do. That is worth saying plainly, because the alternative is spending money on a problem that a complaint form would have addressed.
The Companion Animals Act 1998 (NSW) regulates dogs and cats in New South Wales and it is administered by local councils. Its nuisance provisions cover a dog that barks in a way that persistently occurs or continues to such a degree or extent that it unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of a person in other premises. Where an authorised council officer is satisfied that a dog is a nuisance, the officer may issue an order to the owner, and that order specifies the behaviour that has to be prevented.
Note the words persistently and unreasonably. A dog that barks when the post arrives is not a nuisance dog. A dog that barks for hours, most days, is a different matter. The distinction is made on evidence, which in practice means a barking diary: dates, start times, how long it went on, and whether anyone else in the street would say the same.
There is a second route for noise. The NSW EPA states that a council officer can issue the owner of a noisy dog with a prevention notice under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW). And a serious animal problem — an attack, or a dog behaving dangerously — is not a matter for a diary at all. Report it to the council, and if someone is at risk, to the police, straight away.
What the work actually is
Telling you when you do not need us
For most barking and wandering complaints the effective step is a properly evidenced complaint to the council. We will say so rather than open a file, and we will tell you what the council will want to see.
Making the complaint land
Councils act on evidence. A clear record over a period, with times and durations, and corroboration from others affected, is what turns a complaint that is filed into a complaint that is acted on.
Where the council has already acted, or refused to
Understanding what an order requires, what happens if it is not complied with, and what your options are if the council has declined to take the matter further.
Where it is really a nuisance claim
Occasionally an animal problem is part of a wider and genuinely serious interference with the use of your home. Then the analysis on our noise and nuisance page applies, and we will tell you honestly whether that is proportionate.
Questions people ask first
The dog next door barks all day. What do I do first?
Keep a record, then complain to your local council. The Companion Animals Act 1998 is administered by councils, and its nuisance provisions cover barking that persistently occurs or continues to such a degree that it unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of a person in other premises. A record covering several weeks, with dates, times and durations, is what a council needs to act.
Should I speak to the owner first?
Usually yes, if it is safe and reasonable to do so. Owners are often genuinely unaware — a dog that barks when nobody is home is invisible to the person who owns it. A short, calm conversation or note fixes a good proportion of these problems, and if it does not, the fact that you raised it and gave them a chance is worth having.
What can the council actually do?
Where an authorised council officer is satisfied a dog is a nuisance, the officer may issue an order to the owner specifying the behaviour that must be prevented. The EPA also states that a council officer can issue the owner of a noisy dog with a prevention notice under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997. Which route the council takes is a matter for the council.
The dog got out and frightened my child.
That is not a barking complaint and it should not be treated as one. Attacks and dangerous behaviour are dealt with separately under the Companion Animals Act 1998. Report it to the council straight away, and to the police if anyone is at risk or has been hurt. Get medical attention first, record what happened and photograph any injury.
It is a cat, not a dog.
The Act covers cats as well as dogs, but the provisions are not identical and the powers available to a council differ. Nuisance cat complaints are handled differently from nuisance dog complaints. Start with your council and ask specifically what it can do about a cat.
It is a rooster, or chickens, or bees.
Those fall outside the Companion Animals Act 1998, which is about dogs and cats. Animals of that kind are usually regulated by council rules about what may be kept on residential land, and the noise or smell may also be dealt with as a nuisance. Your council is still the right first call.
I live in a strata building and a neighbour has a pet.
That is a by-law question rather than a companion animals question. Pets in a strata scheme are dealt with under the scheme’s registered by-laws and the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), with a compulsory mediation step before most NCAT applications. See strata neighbours, and read your own scheme’s by-laws before acting.
What to have ready
A council decides these matters on evidence about a pattern. The record is the case.
- A diary: the date, the time the barking started, and how long it continued.
- Whether the owners appear to be home when it happens.
- Any recordings, with the date and time they were made.
- Other neighbours affected, and whether they would support a complaint.
- Anything you have said or written to the owner, and their response.
- Any complaint already made to the council, the date, and what the council said.
- For an incident: what happened, where, any injury, and any witnesses.
- How it is affecting you — sleep, working from home, use of your yard.