Oopsie: 100s Of QLDers Lost Their Driver’s Licenses Bc They Didn’t Register Their Pet Dogs
If you live in Queensland and you can’t remember whether you ever paid that pesky registration fee when you got your dog, now’s the time to check — because as it turns out, you can lose your licence over it.
Under the Animal Management (Cats & Dogs) Act 2008, anyone who owns a dog that’s more than three months old has to register it with their local council.
For those of you that have a pup, you probably already know this. What a lot of people clearly don’t know is that you also have to pay a small fee when you register your pooch, and you have to renew your registration every year. It’s like a subscription service but for… owning a dog?
The costs of registering a dog vary and depend on a few factors, but if you live in Brisbane City Council, it’s $41.40 for a desexed dog and $118.75 for a non-desexed dog. These numbers get lower if you adopt your dog through an approved facility or if you’re a pensioner though: just $27.60 for a desexed dog.
Unfortunately, a few people missed the memo. And by “a few” I mean a couple thousand.
According to the ABC
“Debtors have multiple opportunities to pay their debt before SPER takes enforcement action, which can include suspending a debtor’s driver licence,” a SPER spokesperson said.
“Fines of this nature are issued by councils and if people want to dispute the fine, they should contact their local council directly.”
