Consultation on Victorian Animal Care and Protection legislation
22 Dec 2023Reforming Victoria's animal care and protection laws - HAVE YOUR SAY
- Draft Animal Care and Protection Bill
- Development of Regulations
The draft Bill for a new Animal Care and Protection Act has been released for public comment and acknowledges animal sentience and minimum care requirements for animals.
If the draft Bill is passed by the Victorian Parliament to become an Act, the new Animal Care and Protection Act would replace the current Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (the POCTA Act) after more than 30 years.
A new Act would not come into force for at least 2 years to enable the development of supporting regulations.
The AVA has appreciated being a key stakeholder in the preparation of the Draft Bill over the last several years, which has included past submissions and involvement in workshops and meetings.
AVA will again provide a submission based on AVA policy and members views as subject matter experts in animal health and welfare.
The Victorian Government is inviting TWO AREAS of feedback.
- Draft Animal Care and Protection Bill
- the supporting Regulations
Draft Animal Care and Protection Bill
This is the last opportunity to provide feedback.
Previous public consultation on the reform has sought comment on the high level elements.
This consultation seeks submissions on the text of the draft Bill, any risks or unintended consequences based on the language used or the structure of provisions in the draft Bill.
The draft Bill has been informed by previous public consultations which can be accessed here.
Regulations
The regulations would set more detailed requirements for specific species and activities involving animals (where needed).
This is the first consultation on the regulations and seeks feedback to inform the priorities and the approach to developing the regulations.
The current Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (POCTA Act) Regulations and the POCTA Codes of Practice as well as the Australian Standards and Guidelines for Animal Welfare will provide the basis for the new regulations.
How to be involved:
We encourage you to be involved by contributing to the AVA submission to represent the views of the profession and/or your own individual submission.
Details on the Draft Bill and regulations can be found here. For your assistance, please find the AVA policies here.
- Contribute to the AVA submission by Monday 5 February 2024 to allow collation of the views of the profession. Forward your comments to kristen.steele@ava.com.au (If possible, we ask if you can add your comments to the follwoing PDFs and email it through):
2. Make an individual submission at Engage Victoria by Friday 8 March 2024.