‘Like robo-debt for pets’: Council nets $600,000 windfall from late pet fees

Key points

• Merri-bek council in Melbourne’s inner north began strict enforcement of animal registration late fees in 2021.
• The council booked $800,000 more than expected in the past 6 months from fines, and about $600,000 was directly from fines for animal registration late fees.
• The majority of extra income from fines came from issuing $370 fines for over pet registration fees which cost between $35 and $60.
• There have been widespread reports of residents fined without any prior notification or reminder from council.
• More than 700 residents have successfully appealed their fines, but others say they paid to avoid going to court.

A council in Melbourne’s inner-north has booked a windfall from fining residents for overdue animal registrations, despite widespread claims from pet owners that they were unfairly fined without notice.

Merri-bek City Council, formerly Moreland City Council, booked $600,000 in “unanticipated” revenue from animal registration fines in the six months to December 2022, according to its most recent mid-year financial report.

Brunswick resident Robert Lechte, a co-founder of the Merri-bek Pet Registration Justice Committee, with his golden labrador, Astro.Credit:Chris Hopkins

The council’s financial officers said the bonus income was one of the key contributors to Merri-bek’s operating surplus of $25.2 million, which is $5.7 million more than budgeted.

Residents have labelled the rollout of strict new enforcement measures, which began in 2021, as “robo-debt for pets”, as hundreds of pet owners claimed they were incorrectly and unfairly issued a $370 fine for a late payment of a $35 to $60 registration fee for their desexed dog or cat.

Brunswick resident Robert Lechte, who has received a fine and helped establish the Merri-bek Pet Registration Justice Committee, said the infringements had caused genuine distress for many in the community, either for those who never received notifications or those appealing for leniency for such a large fine amid heightened cost of living pressures.

Lechte was unsuccessful in appealing his $370 fine for not renewing the registration of his dog, Astro. The original registration bill was sent to him, but because it came from an EzyBill email address and not council, he said it had landed in his spam folder and he was totally unaware of it.

Coburg resident Rachel Perkins was hit with two fines mid-last year totaling $740 for her two spoodles, Maggie and Murphy, despite not receiving any invoices or payment reminders from the council.

“I contacted them and said, ‘Something’s gone amiss’,” she said. “They confirmed they had moved to another system for animal registrations, and in that process, a letter had been removed from my email address – so I never received the emails.”

But rather than waive the fines for the administrative error, the council told Perkins she still had to pay the fines or take her fight to court.

Perkins, a mental healthcare worker, wrote to council chief executive Cathy Henderson, which resulted in one of the fines being waived, but the council dug in over the remaining $370 fine, which she reluctantly paid.

“This went on for so long, I just thought stuff it, I can’t be bothered dealing with it,” she said. “I didn’t have the energy or time to take it to court.”

Council documents confirm how lucrative the fees for late payments have been: For the six months to December 2022, revenue from fines was $800,000 more than expected, which officers said was “primarily due to higher than anticipated Domestic Animal Act infringements”.

The council confirmed the majority of that amount – about $600,000 – was directly from fines for animal registration late fees.

Mid-year financial reports for the previous year also noted another $300,000 extra in fines booked, credited mainly to animal infringements.

The council has refused to reveal the full income earned from animal registration over the past two financial years.

In a statement, the council said it had received 1316 appeals over the pet registration fines since last July, of which 56 per cent (about 740) were withdrawn.

“No infringements from 2022 have been referred to court at this stage – we have first been doing everything we can to follow these up within council,” said Mayor Angelica Panopoulos.

“This included sending an additional letter in January 2023 giving pet owners one final opportunity to contact council to discuss the infringement and options available to them.”

The $370 fine for missing the registration deadline is set by the state government and is standard across Victorian councils.

There are currently 21,430 pets registered in the Merri-bek area, up from 18,809 in the 2020-2021 financial year.

Lechte questioned officers at last week’s council meeting over the huge windfall from the fines, and said the justice group wants to see accountability.

“I think the consensus is that everyone would like fines refunded and ideally given apology letters,” he said.

“People are stressed out, there are vulnerable people in the community affected and something’s obviously gone wrong with a process change. It’s kind of like robo-debt for pets.”

The council said 86 per cent of residents had paid their registration renewals before infringements were issued and that the higher number of fines issued “may be in part been due to the significant increase in new pet owners during the pandemic receiving renewal notices for the first time”.

“It’s really important that our records are up-to-date, so our staff have been working hard to call those who have not responded to infringement notices,” said Panopoulos.

“In many cases, they have moved and didn’t receive the notice or their pet is now sadly deceased. In those cases, we are withdrawing infringements and updating our records.”

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