Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on the Domestic Animal Amendment (Rehoming Cats and Dogs and other Matters) Bill 2025.
This is a bill about cats and dogs, but really, it is about the bonds that shape our lives. It’s about muddy paw prints on a freshly mopped floor, the jingle of a collar as a dog bounds to the door, the soft weight of a cat curled up beside you after a long day.
And it is about second chances. The dog waiting at the pound to be reunited with its owner. The rescue cat peering through the bars of a shelter, hoping for a home. The volunteers who open their doors and their hearts, giving those animals a future.
Because Speaker when we talk about rehoming cats and dogs, we are really talking about building families. We are talking about homes filled with love and laughter and companionship.
Pets are not background characters in our lives — they walk with us through our stories. They share our secrets, our sorrows, and our joy. They are part of us.
And Speaker when I think about the difference a pet can make in a family’s life, I can’t help but think back to my own childhood dog.
We got her on Christmas Day when I was seven years old – a tiny Australian Terrier crossed with a Silky Terrier, so small she could fit into the palms of my two hands.
Because she was a Christmas gift and a pooch, she was dubbed Chooch – and she truly lived up to her special name.
Chooch was whip smart and emotionally savvy. She was cheeky and independent. She loved her freedom, and when she ran, she ran like the wind.
When she was happy, her tail would wag furiously and she’d leap all over us, licking our faces. If you got too close to her when she was eating, you’d risk her growl and toothy nip.
My older brothers and I used to set up obstacle courses down the hallway of our house in Alphington – pillows and teddies lined up as hurdles – and she would tear through them at lightning speed to claim the piece of ham waiting at the other end.
She was resourceful too – finding ways to sneak out of the house and explore the neighbourhood, sometimes even enlisting other dogs to bring her scraps of food. She loved a tummy rub and hated baths. If we did bathed her, she’d dash straight outside to roll in the dirt, undoing all our efforts in seconds.
So many of my childhood memories are coloured by her fluffy little face, her soft pointy ears, and those clever brown eyes. She filled our childhood with happiness.
It was devastating when she went missing about ten years later. She left a big hole in our hearts – one so deep that we never brought another dog into the family.
But if we ever did, I know that rehoming would be a pathway we’d really consider - because every dog and cat deserves that chance to bring joy to a family like Chooch brought to ours.
And or the very first time, our laws will formally recognise the extraordinary contribution of Victoria’s pet rehoming organisations: the rescue groups, the adoption networks, and the volunteer-run charities who dedicate themselves, day in and day out, to giving cats and dogs a second chance at life.
That’s why this Bill matters, Speaker. It recognises the simple truth that pets aren’t just animals – they’re family.
By strengthening the rehoming system, we’re helping to build more happy homes, full of muddy paws, wagging tails, and the kind of unconditional love only an animal can give.
This is something I see reflected every single day in Northcote.
We are a community who care deeply about the welfare of animals, and have long campaigned on animal justice issues: from pushing for a ban on recreational duck hunting, to better treatment for greyhounds, to conservation efforts for our swamp wallabies and other species along the waterways.
As the Member for Northcote I’ve been proud to champion these causes and represent the deep affection that my community feels for all living things.
By a vast majority, we believe that all animals are sentient beings, capable of experiencing fear, pain, and suffering, and therefore, it is our moral responsibility to protect them from harm.
That is why I have been proud to be part of a Labor Government that has led the nation on animal welfare.
We introduced Victoria’s first-ever Animal Welfare Action Plan, providing a framework for protecting all animals, whether they are pets, farmed animals, or wildlife – and recognising the sentience of animals.
We banned cruel puppy farms with the strictest breeding laws in the country, and we changed the rules so pet shops can only source cats and dogs through registered shelters and organisations - helping to put an end to large-scale illegal breeders. We also banned puppies and kittens from languishing in pet shop windows.
But the list goes on, Speaker, it doesn’t stop there.
We made it the law that every pet sold must have a microchip and source number, so families know where their animal has come from. We established a Pet Exchange Register to improve the traceability of dogs and cats being sold or rehomed. And we became the first state to introduce mandatory reporting of animal fate data for dogs and cats in shelters and pounds.
We gave renters the right to keep a pet in their home, and we removed the cruel and outdated requirement for greyhounds to be muzzled in public.
These are reforms that reflect our values as Victorians – that animals deserve to be treated with dignity, and that every dog and cat should have the chance to live in a safe and loving home.
In my office in Northcote, this is our lived experience. My former staffer Johanna used to bring Frank to work under her desk - her adorable little Jack Russell. Now my staffer Heidi tells me about her three cats that are her family at home – each with their own quirks and personalities.
And Speaker, walk through Northcote on any given day and you’ll see it everywhere. On High Street, dogs sit at café tables, bowls of water are welcomingly laid out for them. Cats perch on window sills, ruling their little kingdoms. In All Nations Park, neighbours meet and dogs tumble together on the grass.
We are also fortunate to have wonderful local vets — Northcote Animal Hospital, Northcote Plaza Veterinary Clinic, Thornbury Veterinary Hospital, Preston Vet Clinic & Hospital, Alphington & Fairfield Vet and ARC.
I thank these vets and their staff, who are there for families through very difficult moments, holding their hands as they say goodbye to a beloved pet, or celebrating with them when a sick animal has pulled through.
I also want to thank our local pet rehoming services – including the Wat Djerring Animal Facility which is the animal pound for Darebin but also other local rescue groups like Maneki Neko Cat Rescue and the Lost Dogs Home.
And it’s worth noting that in the last year, Darebin’s rangers collected over 1,000 pets – with many not returning home. So foster carers and rehoming is critical work.
Speaker, what we’re doing in this Bill matters. Because these reforms will shape the kind of lives our pets lead, the care they receive, the chances they’re given, and the love they get to share.
This Bill takes forward five of the recommendations from the independent Taskforce for Rehoming Pets.
At the heart of the changes is a new voluntary authorisation scheme for pet rehoming organisations.
Right now, the law regulates individual foster carers, but it doesn’t give proper oversight or support to the organisations that actually manage the whole rehoming process - and the sector has been calling for change.
Under the new framework, organisations that choose to become authorised will receive important benefits – including reducing financial burdens and giving them the same opportunities that pounds and shelters have to rehome cats and dogs.
They’ll be able to hold adoption days with no dogs under six months and no kittens under eight weeks, and authorised officers will be empowered to shut down an event if welfare is ever at risk.
This means they’ll be better placed to find safe and loving homes for more animals. Those organisations that don’t opt in can continue to operate as they always have, but they won’t have access to those benefits.
These changes have been shaped by extensive consultation with rehoming groups and animal welfare advocates across Victoria. They will take effect in 14 months, after detailed regulations are developed in partnership with the sector and the community.
The Bill also makes one important clarification around powers of entry. It confirms that authorised officers can enter a backyard, without a warrant, in order to seize a dangerous dog – but it does not extend those powers to people’s homes or vehicles.
And that change is about making sure our laws are clear, following an isolated incident where a council officer hesitated to act, and public safety was put at risk.
Speaker this Bill strengthens Victoria’s proud record of animal welfare reform.
It gives proper recognition to the organisations and volunteers who devote themselves to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming our state’s cats and dogs.
For the first time, their contribution will be formally enshrined in law, backed by a framework that provides the support they need to keep doing their vital work.
I want to again acknowledge the tireless dedication of Victoria’s rehoming community – from large organisations to the smallest volunteer rescue groups.
The compassion, persistence and care they bring has shaped these reforms and ensures that more animals will find their way to safe, loving homes.
Speaker, step by step, reform by reform, we’ve been making Victoria’s laws more compassionate, more humane, and more reflective of our values.
Animals are not property. They are not disposable. They are living, feeling beings. They experience fear, joy and love, just like we do.
Whether it’s my Choochie, the terrier who made my childhood brighter, Heidi’s three cats waiting at home, or the rescue dog finding its forever family — this bill is about valuing them, protecting them, and recognising the sector that supports them.
It’s been shaped by extensive consultation with those organisations and with the people who know this work best.
On behalf of my community, I thank the Minister, the Taskforce, and of course the sector itself for bringing more kindness into our laws.
I am proud to support this bill. And I commend it to the house.
