Exorbitant Fine for Not Renewing Pet Registration - VIC

TEER3X on 07/07/2023 - 18:04
Last edited 08/07/2023 - 10:01 by 1 other user

Might be obvious to some, but if you don't pay your pet registration, you will likely get the maximum fine as allowed by fines Victoria.

I did receive a letter and an email prior to getting the fine, so there's no excuse.

The only thing that sucks is the fine amount is $370 per pet. So I'm getting slugged $740 in fines plus the cost of registration renewal.

There's really no getting out of the fine, so if you have a renewal, pay it before copping a fine.

I think if I knew the fine amount, I would have paid my registration renewal when I received the letter.

Hopefully this helps someone else. I know there was a similar post last year on this site, but I only found it after getting my fine.

Pets

Comments

  • RefusdClassification on 09/07/2023 - 06:20
    +5

    Just refuse to pay the fine. Fcuk the government. Everything is massively taxed in Australia. ~45% of the cost of building a house is government fees.

    • altomic on 09/07/2023 - 14:39
      +3

      gotta pay for the $360,000,000,000 submarines some how

  • Breno785au on 09/07/2023 - 08:31

    When your pets are laying down, put some tomato sauce around their heads and take a photo. Send said photo to the council stating that you had to shoot them because you cannot afford the exorbitant cost of the fine due to the increased cost of EVERYTHING in life.
    Problem solved.

    • altomic on 10/07/2023 - 08:05

      you got to wet their crotch because animals always pee themselves when they're shot

  • TightAl on 09/07/2023 - 09:25
    +5

    Victoria is such a dog state. Ev tax, pet rego tax what?!

    • jaimex2 on 10/07/2023 - 09:46
      +1

      Its speed cameras bring in more revenue than every other state combined as well.

    • burningrage on 10/07/2023 - 14:55

      The people voted for them in the last election so…..

  • bananabendera on 09/07/2023 - 09:49
    +5

    There's a lot of negative sentiment on here towards animal rego fees, although I agree the fines that OP copped are exorbitant. We have always paid dog rego fees (to the council) on the Gold Coast. If your pet is not registered and not microshipped here good luck ever getting it back if for some reason it gets lost/taken. The council here does a pretty good job of providing dog and owner friendly facilities like fenced dog parks, off-leash areas, bags and drinking stations, it's only fair that the people who would use those facilities help foot the bill.

    Anecdotally I was recently involved in a dog attack where a person and another dog required medical attention, the council has done a fair amount of work regarding the situation. Put into perspective for me how important and complicated animal control can be. It needs the funding for the lawmaking and man hours. It wouldn't make as much sense for a rural area though.

    • bohn on 09/07/2023 - 10:03
      +1

      The council here does a pretty good job of providing dog and owner friendly facilities like fenced dog parks, off-leash areas, bags and drinking stations, it's only fair that the people who would use those facilities help foot the bill.

      what do they do for indoor cats?

      indoor cats should be much less $ to register (less than what they already do), with bigger fines if they are caught outside. City of Melb dog is 65 cats 40. Cats should be maybe 5-10 in this case.

      • bananabendera on 09/07/2023 - 11:51
        +2

        Agree with you there, indoor cats are such low maintenance

    • belongsinforums on 09/07/2023 - 13:11
      -1

      Dog owners want to have their cake and eat it

    • Leadfoot6 on 10/07/2023 - 17:10

      Easy solution is ban aggressive/dangerous dog breeds.
      Simples.

    • mhz on 11/07/2023 - 09:42

      And if you don't use any of the facilities that Councils provide for dogs? Am I supposed to still pay for them?

      As for getting my dog back if its lost, that's what a microchip is for!

      Pet registration as a whole is a rort!

      • bananabendera on 11/07/2023 - 10:25
        +1

        The fees are not only to cover the provided facilities obviously. It also covers costs of managing:
        * Dogs that escape from owners and need to be captured + returned, which the microchip itself isn't going to do
        * Dogs that cause constant neighbourhood disturbance like barking
        * Owners that refuse to manage their dogs properly

        That list is non-exhaustive but ultimately we live in a society where dogs are both popular and high maintenance, someone needs to pay someone to manage them or there would certainly be larger issues. Look at developing countries where there are strays constantly wandering the street. Dog poop everywhere, regular dog attacks, dead dogs lying on the side of the road, dogs scavenging for scraps. It's unsanitary and it's unsafe - I've had 2 mates who have been attacked by strays in that environment, both required a hospital visit and one almost lost an eye.

        Whether your council charges fair rates/fines is another matter, but it makes sense that people who own dogs pay for dog management when you take the emotion out of the argument.

  • payless69 on 09/07/2023 - 11:54
    -3

    Queensland is even more draconian:
    Drive past a faulty speed camera and question it: LOSS of license!
    Your disabled visitor from overseas sits in the back but his foreign language belt exemption is not possible to be registered here: $1074 fine, bank accounts get cleared if you can't bribe the judge!
    Then again: Real Queenslanders are proud to have a huge debt for the (Prigoshin) Wagener Concentration camp, free beaked beans there!

    • belongsinforums on 09/07/2023 - 13:13
      +2

      Steal a car and go for a joy ride, get fined! Hit someone, get arrested! F the government

      • payless69 on 09/07/2023 - 13:40
        +2

        Here in Cairns we have record numbers of stolen cars every night. Most of the times they find a 14 year old girl only to be pampered because she will usually tell the judge that she had to flee from the bad boys. Been to court, seen it all day long how courts are clogged up and the working public has to pay for it all.
        They have endless programms trying to mitigate the issue by blidly throwing huge moneys at the situation. Work to pay back a fine programms are getting out of hand with participants abusing the charity organisations who are trying to organise such courses. Soon we will be the next Venezuela!

        • belongsinforums on 09/07/2023 - 19:08
          +3

          Cairns, Townsville, Darwin and some country towns are a nightmare

  • Dack Smith on 09/07/2023 - 12:07
    +4

    Dan says you need to be a good Victorian and pay anything we want from you, because you keep voting me in and believe in people democracy.

    No fine is too great in Victoria

    No lockdown is too long in Victoria

    Anna and Dan together creates the supreme states of Australia

    • payless69 on 09/07/2023 - 13:41

      Them 2 make Ji Jinping so happy he is already getting ready to buy them 2 failed states!

    • lazarski on 10/07/2023 - 02:17
      +1

      yes dan andrews runs the local rsl, the council, the world and the universe and the multiverse

    • burningrage on 10/07/2023 - 15:02
      +1

      "No fine is too great in Victoria

      No lockdown is too long in Victoria"

      And no speed/perv camera is too many in Victoria.

  • ahara on 09/07/2023 - 14:11

    Which council OP?

  • Drakesy on 09/07/2023 - 14:51
    +2

    I'd just say they ran away/go for the full guilt trip and say they were hit by a car, hence didn't renew the rego.
    If they send someone round just be like oh no, i'm just looking after these for my friend. They're not mine.

    Then re-register/don't re-register. They're still microchipped no?

  • shutuptakemymoney101 on 09/07/2023 - 17:49

    Tell the council that your 'dogs' identify as goldfish, you don't need pet registration for goldfish - simples !!

  • Leadfoot6 on 09/07/2023 - 19:01

    Once a pet is registered, where do they hang the number plate from?
    Dangerous dog breeds should be the only animals requiring administrative intervention.
    Everything else is just revenue raising to keep unnecessary employees on the council payroll and paying union dues.
    Local Councils are replete with bludgers, increasing the burden on ratepayers.

    • mhz on 11/07/2023 - 09:44

      And who determines which is a dangerous breed?
      There is no such thing as a dangerous breed, just idiotic owners!

      • Leadfoot6 on 11/07/2023 - 09:45
        -1

        Any sort of dog that kills other dogs and attacks people.

        https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-dog-attack-victim-u…

        It is not difficult at all to find out what dog breeds are considered dangerous.

        Would you like me to start you off?

        It seems you need a bit of help in this area:

        https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/lists-maps-inventories/r…

        • mhz on 11/07/2023 - 10:02
          -2

          Any dog is capable of killing, it seems you are the one who needs a bit of help in this area!

          • Leadfoot6 on 11/07/2023 - 10:11

            @mhz: It seems you are beyond help.

            If just "any dog" was capable of killing, there would be a strong possibility that the "dangerous dog" lists would be vastly longer.

            A more intelligent approach is normally taken, but that seems to be beyond your reach.

            Sad.

            .

  • RocketSwitch on 10/07/2023 - 01:01
    +2

    Never registered a pet for the last 20 years. Why give the police state another reason to fine you?

  • lazarski on 10/07/2023 - 02:16
    +2

    why would anyone register when its that expensive, you forget to pay and $370 fine? insane amount.

    At $740+ I would be calling up to say I didn't renew because my pets died

  • jaimex2 on 10/07/2023 - 09:44
    +2

    Wow, Victoria is such a nanny state.

    Never register your pet. You're paying the council for what exactly? They can shove it.

    Dont pay the fine either, contest it and say the pet doesnt live there. Someone was visiting.

    • T3J on 10/07/2023 - 16:00
      +1

      100%, its a no from me.. for many things.

    • Yola on 10/07/2023 - 16:29

      It was microchipped to OP.

  • CocaKoala on 10/07/2023 - 10:39
    +5

    Lol. Next they'll ask you to get a roadworthy for your pet. Local councils are bloody leeches.

  • Mahalo on 10/07/2023 - 13:19
    +2

    Tell them your dogs died and this letter has reminded them of them and you would appreciate if they update their details as it has caused you a lot of distress.

  • curtturtle on 10/07/2023 - 14:11

    Easy fix. Say you gave your pets away to a friend before the renewal was due. And that you thought they has registered them to a new council. Then get your friend to register them to a different council. In a few months, transfer them back to you.

  • meowsers on 10/07/2023 - 16:45
    +2

    TBH your first mistake is registering the dog. If you don't do it, they'll never know.

  • Warface on 10/07/2023 - 17:11

    Can't you just say your pet died, to avoid the fees and that why you did not re-new? Then wait a week and sign up as a new pet?

  • ChipsChicky on 12/07/2023 - 12:02

    A friend just got a fine for not registering himself and his partner.

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