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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.


CAT BILL 2003

                       Western Australia


                      Cat Bill 2003

                          CONTENTS


      Part 1 -- Preliminary
1.    Short title                                               2
2.    Commencement                                              2
3.    Interpretation                                            2
4.    Exclusion by other enactments and application to
      Commonwealth places                                       3
      Part 2 -- Ownership, Possession and
           Transfer of Cats
5.    Ownership                                                 4
6.    Conditions to be met before change of ownership           4
      Part 3 -- Requirements With Respect
           To Keeping Cats
      Division 1 -- Identification
7.    Duty of owner to provide identification -- when
      required                                                  6
8.    Temporary circumstances where identification not
      required                                                  6
9.    Interference with identification                          7
      Division 2 -- Permits
10.   Provisions in this Division exhaustive - permit not to
      override restrictive covenants                            7
11.   When permit required -- duration -- implied
      conditions                                                7
12.   Exemptions and application of Act to cats owned at
      time of commencement                                      8


                            269--1                              page i
Cat Bill 2003



Contents



   13.      Obligation on owner to obtain permit                9
   14.      Information to be included in application -- fees    9
   15.      Application with fee to be lodged with local
            government                                         10
   16.      Refusal to issue permit -- grounds                  11
   17.      Review of decisions with respect to permits        12
            Part 4 -- Applicability of Local Laws
   18.      Consistency of local laws with this Act            15
   19.      Local laws controlling or regulating cats          15
            Part 5 -- Offences and Breaches
   20.      Offences not criminal                              16
   21.      Breaches of permits etc                            16




page ii
                           Western Australia


                      LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

                           (Hon Giz Watson)


                          Cat Bill 2003


                               A Bill for


An Act to regulate the ownership and keeping of cats and for related
purposes.



The Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:




                                                              page 1
     Cat Bill 2003
     Part 1            Preliminary

     s. 1



                              Part 1 -- Preliminary
     1.         Short title
                This Act may be cited as the Cat Act 2003.

     2.         Commencement
5               This Act comes into operation 6 months from the day on which it
                receives the Royal Assent.

     3.         Interpretation
          (1)   In this Act unless the context otherwise requires --
                "local government" is the local government constituted under
10                   the Local Government Act 1995 within whose boundaries a
                     cat is, or will be kept by an owner, and includes a person or
                     body administering any part of the State, not being a
                     Commonwealth place, that is not under the jurisdiction of a
                     local government;
15              "multiple dwelling" is a building occupied wholly or primarily
                     as a domestic residence by 2 or more persons or groups of
                     persons where each person or group occupies a specified or
                     ascertainable part of the building by reason of an estate or
                     interest, applicable to that part only, that may be alienated
20                   or dealt with separately from any estate or interest that
                     applies to another part of that building, and it does not
                     matter that more than one estate or interest vests in, or is
                     held by, the same person;
                "owner" is a natural, adult person having the property in a cat
25                   and includes a person having temporary possession of a cat
                     at the request, or with the consent, of an owner;
                "prescribed" is a matter prescribed by regulations for a purpose
                     required or permitted to be prescribed by this Act.
          (2)   This Act is to be interpreted and applied consistently with the
30              provisions of any other written law enacted from time to time
                that imposes, or authorizes or permits the imposition of

     page 2
                                                                     Cat Bill 2003
                                                       Preliminary

                                                                              s. 4



                temporary restrictions on the free movement of people or
                animals or both within the State or within any part, or between
                specified parts, of the State for a purpose with respect to the
                preservation and maintenance of public health or safety.

5    4.         Exclusion by other enactments and application to
                Commonwealth places
          (1)   This Act does not apply to an animal of the feline species --
                 (a) whose acquisition, possession or keeping is restricted,
                       regulated or prohibited under a written law of the
10                     Commonwealth or the State;
                 (b) which, although capable of being owned as a cat, has no
                       owner.
          (2)   Subsection (1)(b) applies where a cat, when found by any
                person at a place or on land not subject to section 8, has no form
15              or means of identification attached to it and that person is
                justified in dealing with the cat inconsistently with any
                provision of this Act.
          (3)   The application of this Act to a Commonwealth place may be
                the subject of an agreement made between the Governor-
20              General and the Governor under section 6 of the Commonwealth
                Places (Application of Laws) Act 1970 of the Commonwealth..
                The text of any agreement and any subsequent variation is to be
                published in the Gazette.




                                                                           page 3
     Cat Bill 2003
     Part 2            Ownership, Possession and Transfer of Cats

     s. 5



      Part 2 -- Ownership, Possession and Transfer of Cats
     5.         Ownership
          (1)   A cat under this Act is a chattel but must be dealt with subject
                always to the provisions of this Act and any applicable written
5               law enacted for the welfare of animals or to protect them from,
                or punish persons who commit, acts of cruelty or neglect.
          (2)   The property in a cat, whether for valuable consideration or not,
                may be transferred to or acquired by another person who is
                eligible to be an owner at the time when the property is to be
10              transferred but the property in a cat cannot vest in 2 or more
                persons jointly.
          (3)   The property in any cat passes absolutely despite any contrary
                intention, or agreement or arrangement between or among those
                persons involved.
15        (4)   A minor cannot be an owner.
          (5)   A cat is not capable of being placed on a chattels register, and
                any registration has no effect as notice to a bona fide purchaser
                for value.

     6.         Conditions to be met before change of ownership
20        (1)   Before or at the time the physical possession of a cat is
                transferred under an arrangement to change owners --
                  (a) the relinquishing owner must ensure that the
                        identification information required under section 7(1)
                        relates to the succeeding owner;
25                (b) the succeeding owner must provide the relinquishing
                        owner --
                           (i) with proof of having applied for a permit if that
                                will be required as a result of relocation;
                          (ii) if the cat is less than 5 months old, with a
30                              statement made for the purposes of section
                                13(2)(a).

     page 4
                                                                Cat Bill 2003
                  Ownership, Possession and Transfer of Cats

                                                                         s. 6



     (2)   A relinquishing owner who parts with, or a succeeding owner
           who takes, physical possession under subsection (1), and who
           does so in breach of an obligation imposed by subsection (1)(a)
           or (b) commits an offence and on conviction, as part of or in
5          substitution for any penalty that may be imposed, be ordered to
           pay an amount sufficient to meet the costs that will be or have
           been incurred in rectifying that breach.
     (3)   It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under
           subsection (2) to show that he or she was acting on behalf, and
10         in the absence, of an owner who was a party to the agreement
           for the change in ownership.
     (4)   In subsection (1) a person's intent or purpose may be inferred
           from the factual circumstances in which physical possession
           was transferred. Whether the property in the cat passed at the
15         same or some other time is not a relevant consideration.
     (5)   A contravention of subsection (1) does not affect the validity or
           effectiveness of any transfer of the property, or any rights or
           interests that a person acquires or surrenders as an owner.




                                                                      page 5
     Cat Bill 2003
     Part 3            Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats
     Division 1        Identification
     s. 7



     Part 3 -- Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats
                            Division 1 -- Identification
     7.         Duty of owner to provide identification -- when required
          (1)   An owner has a continuing duty to ensure that the owner's
5               name, and current address or telephone number, is clearly
                marked on a collar or other device worn or attached to a cat
                from the time it is 5 months old.
          (2)   An owner complies with subsection (1) by providing the
                information in a microchip implanted in the cat.
10        (3)   This section applies after the lapse of 28 days from the day on
                which the cat was first kept at the address that is the current
                address under subsection (1).
          (4)   Any contravention of this section is an offence and continues
                for each day on which the owner is in breach of the duty
15              imposed by subsection (1).
          (5)   A person is not civilly or criminally liable for anything done in
                good faith in relation to a cat that is not identified or cannot be
                identified visually.

     8.         Temporary circumstances where identification not required
20        (1)   Section 7 does not apply during a period of not more than 3
                consecutive months, if a cat is held or kept exclusively --
                  (a) by the RSPCA or another prescribed animal welfare
                       organization;
                  (b) in an approved pound;
25                (c) in a pet shop;
                  (d) at a veterinary surgery.
          (2)   If a cat is held or kept in any of the places described in
                subsection (1) beyond the expiry of the period of 3 months, the
                person exercizing operational control or management of that

     page 6
                                                                       Cat Bill 2003
                        Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats             Part 3
                                                          Permits        Division 2
                                                                                 s. 9



                 place becomes an owner under section 7 in relation to that cat
                 from the time of expiry until its permanent removal from that
                 place.
           (3)   The rights of an owner (if any) with respect to a cat are
5                suspended for so long as this section applies to the cat.

     9.          Interference with identification
           (1)   A person commits an offence who removes the means by which,
                 or obliterates or makes illegible the information provided under
                 section 7.
10         (2)   It is a defence if the person charged with an offence under
                 subsection (1) shows that what was done was lawful or
                 justifiable under the circumstances as they were at the time.

                                Division 2 -- Permits
     10.         Provisions in this Division exhaustive - permit not to
15               override restrictive covenants
           (1)   Except as section 11 provides, a permit is not required.
           (2)   A permit does not suspend or in any way interfere with an
                 agreement or instrument that prohibits or restricts the
                 introduction or keeping of cats on land described in the
20               agreement or instrument and does not authorize an owner to act
                 in breach of such a provision.

     11.         When permit required -- duration -- implied conditions
           (1)   A permit to keep a cat on any land is required if --
                  (a) the cat is not desexed;
25                (b) more than 2 cats will be kept on a permanent basis;
                  (c) the cat will be kept in a multiple dwelling.
           (2)   A permit may authorize keeping 2 cats under subsection (1)(a)
                 but only in a case where one or both is to be used for breeding.


                                                                             page 7
     Cat Bill 2003
     Part 3              Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats
     Division 2          Permits
     s. 12



           (3)   Each cat to be included in a permit under subsection (1)(b) must
                 be desexed at the time of making the application.
           (4)   A local government may issue a permit for a period calculated
                 from the date of first issue or fix a day on which all permits
5                expire and a subsequent day by which an expired permit must
                 be renewed.
           (5)   The maximum period for which a permit may be issued under
                 subsection (4) is 18 months, and not less than 14 days must
                 elapse between the date on which all permits expire and the date
10               by which an expired permit must be renewed.
           (6)   A permit is issued subject to the condition that the owner will
                 surrender a permit during its currency if the cat dies, or there is
                 a substantive change in the circumstances for which the permit
                 was issued.
15         (7)   A local government may require an owner, on giving not less
                 than 24 hours' notice, to allow a person named in the notice and
                 who produces to the owner evidence of the person's identity and
                 authority to act on behalf of the local government, to inspect the
                 land and building where a cat is kept under a permit and is to
20               rectify, if required, any default or breach of the permit's
                 conditions identified by the person carrying out the inspection.

     12.         Exemptions and application of Act to cats owned at time of
                 commencement
           (1)   Section 11 does not apply to a cat --
25                 (a)   on land being used --
                            (i) by the RSPCA or another prescribed animal
                                welfare organization;
                           (ii) as an approved pound;
                          (iii) as a pet shop;
30                        (iv) as a veterinary surgery;
                           (v) as a cattery;


     page 8
                                                                       Cat Bill 2003
                        Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats             Part 3
                                                          Permits        Division 2
                                                                                s. 13



                          (vi) for a prescribed purpose,
                         if the cat is kept on the land in the ordinary course of
                         business of a person or body described in subparagraph
                         (i)-(vi);
5                 (b)    that is alive when this Act comes into operation and for
                         which a permit would otherwise be required.
           (2)   Subsection (1)(b) lapses on the day 5 years from the day on
                 which this Act comes into operation and a cat that was exempt
                 then becomes subject to this Act.
10         (3)   In subsection (1) "business" includes providing goods or
                 services by a person or body without an intention to make a
                 profit or by a registered charity.

     13.         Obligation on owner to obtain permit
           (1)   An owner has the primary obligation to apply for a permit when
15               so required under section 11.
           (2)   An owner discharges the obligation under subsection (1) and is
                 not to suffer any penalty or detriment where it is shown that by
                 reason of the owner's absence, illness, incapacity, or for any
                 similar reason, another person agreed to act on the owner's
20               behalf.
           (3)   A permit may be issued to have effect at a future time for the
                 purposes of section 6(1)(b)(i), (ii).
           (4)   A permit applies to the cat described in an application and
                 cannot be transferred to another cat or issued in relation to land
25               or land answering a particular description.

     14.         Information to be included in application -- fees
           (1)   An application for a permit is to be submitted in the prescribed
                 form and a separate form may be prescribed for each ground in
                 section 11(1)(a)-(c).




                                                                             page 9
     Cat Bill 2003
     Part 3             Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats
     Division 2         Permits
     s. 15



           (2)   The application is to contain --
                  (a) the owner's name, address and other contact details, as
                        they are provided under section 4(1);
                  (b) if made under section 6(1)(b), the same information with
5                       respect to the person who will become the owner as that
                        required of an owner by paragraph (a);
                  (c) the cat's breed (if any), name, age, gender, and may
                        include a description or photograph;
                  (d) the zoning designation of the land where the cat will be
10                      kept;
                  (e) information as may be prescribed that will assist
                        determining an application in a timely manner.
           (3)   Where more than one form of application is prescribed under
                 subsection (1), the rate at which a fee is imposed by a local
15               government may differ depending on the form of application but
                 in no case is the rate of a fee to exceed that which enables full
                 cost recovery of administering applications for permits.

     15.         Application with fee to be lodged with local government
           (1)   An application is to be lodged at an office maintained by the
20               local government.
           (2)   If the local government having jurisdiction under subsection (1)
                 is not constituted under the Local Government Act 1995, an
                 application is to be lodged with the department of the State
                 Public Service or other person or body administering the land
25               on which the cat is, or will be, kept or with a designated local
                 government where there is an agreement in existence made
                 under subsection (3).
           (3)   A local government may agree to accept and process
                 applications for permits where subsection (2) applies and, unless
30               expressly agreed otherwise, a decision made to issue or refuse to
                 issue a permit, including a decision made after a review under
                 section 17, binds the department, person or body as the case
                 may be.

     page 10
                                                                      Cat Bill 2003
                        Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats            Part 3
                                                          Permits       Division 2
                                                                               s. 16



           (4)   The fee tendered with an application is revenue of the local
                 government and is subject to any written law or rule of law with
                 respect to the collection, custody, and disposition of moneys by
                 a local government.

5    16.         Refusal to issue permit -- grounds
                 (1) A permit cannot be refused merely for a want of form in
                      the application if it otherwise complies with the
                      requirements of section 14.
                 (2)   A permit cannot be refused by reason only of the zoning
10                     of the land on which the cat is being, or will be, kept.
                 (3)   A person convicted of an offence involving cruelty to an
                       animal or who is banned from owning an animal by order
                       of a court must not apply for, and is ineligible to have
                       issued, any permit for a purpose under this Act before the
15                     expiry of 5 years from the date of conviction or imposition
                       of the ban regardless of whether or not the person has
                       acquired and is caring for an animal meantime.
                 (4)   A permit cannot be refused on any but one or more of the
                       following grounds --
20                       (a) the unsuitability of the natural environment for a
                             cat or one of the type or breed to which the
                             application relates;
                         (b) the proximity of habitats of native fauna known to
                             be the prey of cats;
25                       (c) the number of cats in the surrounding area is
                             already such as to be a primary cause of significant
                             degradation of, or a principal source of measurable
                             deleterious effects being suffered by, the natural
                             environment;
30                       (d) the degree of interference a cat, whether alone or in
                             concert with others, may cause to the quality of life
                             of persons in residence in the immediate
                             neighbourhood having regard to such matters as


                                                                           page 11
     Cat Bill 2003
     Part 3             Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats
     Division 2         Permits
     s. 17



                              dominant land use, the number and types of
                              domestic residences, population densities,
                              geographic and topographic profiles.
                 (5)   Notice given to an applicant for a permit that it has been
5                      refused must state the ground or grounds in subsection (4)
                       relied on in making that decision.

     17.         Review of decisions with respect to permits
           (1)   Each local government is to maintain a panel of 2 or more of its
                 councillors (a "referee") any one of whom is authorized, on
10               application of the relevant owner, to review --
                   (a) a refusal to grant or renew a permit;
                   (b) a finding under section 11(7) that an owner has
                         defaulted or is in breach of a permit's conditions, or, if
                         the default or breach is admitted, that the requirements
15                       imposed to remedy the default or breach are unduly
                         onerous, or have the character of a penalty, or the period
                         within which to remedy the default or breach is
                         unreasonably short;
           (2)   If a referee, having commenced a review, is unable for any
20               reason to complete it, another referee is to conduct a review as if
                 it were the original review.
           (3)   A referee may make a determination on a question of law, or
                 mixed question of fact and law, if such a determination is a
                 necessary and unavoidable incident in disposing of the review.
25         (4)   A referee --
                  (a) must be given access to all documents and other
                         materials that were considered by, or influenced the
                         person who made the decision or imposed the
                         requirement;
30                (b) may require the person who made the decision or
                         imposed the requirement to explain the grounds on
                         which it was made;

     page 12
                                                                 Cat Bill 2003
                   Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats            Part 3
                                                     Permits       Division 2
                                                                          s. 17



             (c)   is to provide the owner with a reasonable opportunity to
                   state the reasons, orally or in writing, prompting the
                   request for a review.
     (5)   Where a referee forms the opinion that --
5            (a)   a permit or renewal of a permit was refused because the
                   weight given to certain matters disclosed in the
                   application was either disproportionate or insufficient,
                   or was based on an inappropriate or inflexible
                   application of guidelines or policies, or was
10                 discriminatory;
            (b)    a finding or requirement under section 11(7), if acted
                   upon or enforced, would act as a penalty with little or no
                   educative or deterrent effect, or the default or breach,
                   given the owner's previous record of compliance, was
15                 the result of inadvertence rather than intention, or that a
                   ground in subsection (1)(b) relied on by the owner can
                   be sustained,
           the application is to be remitted for reassessment with such
           directions as the referee thinks fit.
20   (6)   Except as provided in subsection (5), a referee is to affirm the
           decision.
     (7)   The owner requesting the review is to be informed of a
           decision --
             (a) made under subsection (6); or
25           (b) where subsection (5)(a) applies, that the application for
                  a permit or a renewal is to be reassessed and,
                  subsequently, the decision after reassessment, and in a
                  case under subsection (5)(b), the decision either to
                  uphold the finding or requirement in its original form or
30                as modified on reassessment, or vacating the finding or
                  requirement entirely.




                                                                      page 13
Cat Bill 2003
                Requirements With Respect To Keeping Cats
Division 2      Permits
s. 17




   (8)    A decision made following a reassessment is not liable to be
          quashed or avoided because it was made by a person, otherwise
          authorized to make such decisions, who did not make the
          decision, finding or requirement that was reviewed.




page 14
                                                                  Cat Bill 2003
                                    Applicability of Local Laws          Part 4

                                                                          s. 18



             Part 4 -- Applicability of Local Laws
     18.   Consistency of local laws with this Act
           Where it is not possible to reconcile the operation or effect of a
           provision of this Act with that of a local law, the operation or
5          effect of the local law is suspended.

     19.   Local laws controlling or regulating cats
           Subject to section 16, local laws --
            (a) may impose conditions that an owner must comply with
                  before a permit may be issued or renewed, or that are to
10                apply during the currency of a permit, or whose breach
                  entitles the local government to cancel the permit or
                  impose further conditions;
            (b)    may regulate matters with respect to the seizure,
                   impounding, detention, disposal, and destruction of cats
15                 whether or not in a particular case the cat is subject to
                   this Act;
             (c)   must identify each service that this Act requires a local
                   government to provide or that is instituted for a purpose
                   under this Act, and state the amount of any fee that is to
20                 be charged for that service;
            (d)    may prohibit at all times or at various times the entry on
                   to, or presence of a cat on specified land as a means of
                   conserving, or preventing deterioration of, the
                   environment;
25           (e)   must extend the provisions of section 14, with such
                   modifications as may be required but without any
                   diminution of the rights and entitlements conferred by
                   that section, so as to apply to any decision made by or
                   on behalf of the local government in performing a
30                 function under a local law made for a purpose, or in
                   reliance on a provision, of this Act.



                                                                      page 15
     Cat Bill 2003
     Part 5             Offences and Breaches

     s. 20



                       Part 5 -- Offences and Breaches
     20.         Offences not criminal
           (1)   A person convicted of an offence under this Act is not to be
                 regarded for any purpose as having committed a criminal
5                offence but is guilty of an offence of a civil kind.
           (2)   The standard of proof required to prove a charge of an offence
                 against this Act is the standard required in a civil action.
                 Penalty: Summary conviction $5 000.
                 For each day of a continuing offence $50.

10   21.         Breaches of permits etc
                 Unless there is express contrary provision made in relation to
                 breaches of a specified term or condition with respect to a
                 permit or any other matter that may be regulated under this Act,
                 a breach of any term, condition, or requirement does not avoid
15               or affect the continuing operation, effect, or requirement to
                 comply with the provisions of the permit or other document but
                 may provide grounds for revocation, or refusal to renew, or
                 imposition of a monetary penalty.




 


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