Australia could require cat containment under WA reforms, with fines possible for owners

A broad package of reforms to Western Australia's Cat Act 2011 could give local councils new powers to enforce cat containment and fine owners whose pets roam beyond prescribed boundaries, with changes potentially taking effect as early as 2026. The federal government is pursuing amendments to the Cat Act, aiming to provide a framework that promotes responsible cat ownership, including containment, sterilisation, microchipping and registration, and to enable local governments to tailor rules to community needs.

Building a large cat enclosure can cost upwards of $4,500, a consideration for households weighing containment requirements. The changes would allow councils to prohibit cats from certain public places and to address nuisance behaviour, while also enabling measures such as sterilisation, microchipping and registration to be enforced more broadly. Since colonisation in 1788, cats have played a major role in Australia's mammal declines, according to researchers.

A University of Sydney study found that each roaming cat killed an average of 186 reptiles, birds and mammals per year, contributing to wildlife declines in areas where cats roam freely. The 2020 report cited a death rate of 4,440 to 8,100 animals per square kilometre per year in regions inhabited by pet cats. In Australia, about 2.7 million pet cats—roughly 71 percent—are able to roam freely and hunt wildlife, underscoring the wildlife protection rationale behind containment efforts.

WA Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said councils had been pushing for changes to cat containment for more than a decade. "(The act) provides local governments with important tools to manage cats, including prohibiting them from specific public places, addressing nuisance behaviour, and enforcing sterilisation, microchipping and registration," she said. "If passed, the reforms will provide a framework for local laws which promote responsible cat ownership including cat containment — empowering individual councils to engage with their communities on these issues."

The City of Bayswater in Perth has previously attempted to introduce laws allowing council officers to fine owners whose cats were found too far from home, but the proposal was rejected by the WA parliament due to conflicts with the Cat Act 2011. "It means that Bayswater can't go ahead with very sensible legislation," Legalise Cannabis MP Brian Walker said. "I'm a cat lover, I have a cat at home myself, but I'm also aware that cats can cause untold damage to our flora and fauna, so we need to be responsible owners." Greens leader Brad Pettitt said LGAs were frustrated by the lack of action, noting strong support from councils and communities for containment measures. "There was a real opportunity for the parliament not to disallow this and to actually let those local governments that want to lead, let them lead. Let Bayswater show how this can work in this community," he said.\n WA opposition local government spokeswoman Kirrilee Warr argued that councils still lacked the tools they need, saying, "The law must be fixed so councils can act now, protect wildlife, and meet community expectations, not wait until 2026." The reforms, if enacted, would provide a framework for local governments to act on containment and wildlife protection without waiting for federal action.

The proposed changes come amid a broader national conversation about balancing pet ownership with wildlife conservation, with supporters arguing that empowering councils could help curb wildlife losses while giving owners clearer rules and responsibilities. Opponents have raised concerns about the costs of compliant enclosures and the potential for uneven adoption across regions, but proponents say the measures are necessary to address wildlife declines and protect biodiversity. The timeline for enactment remains uncertain, with parliamentary consideration and potential adjustments likely to shape when and how containment requirements would be implemented across Western Australia.