New South Wales Consolidated Acts

COMPANION ANIMALS ACT 1998 - SECT 5

5 Definitions

(1) In this Act:
"approved animal welfare organisation" means any of the following:

(a) the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New South Wales,

(b) the Animal Welfare League NSW,

(c) the Cat Protection Society of NSW,

(d) any other organisation approved by the Director-General by order published in the Gazette.

"approved breed assessor" means a person or body approved for the time being by the Director-General to carry out breed identification assessments in relation to dogs for the purposes of Division 6 of Part 5.
"approved form" means:

(a) the form (if any) approved by the Director-General for the purposes of the provision in relation to which the expression is used, or

(b) if no such form is approved by the Director-General, the form approved by the local authority for the purposes of the provision in relation to which the expression is used.

"approved temperament assessor" means a person or body approved for the time being by the Director-General to carry out temperament assessments in relation to dogs for the purposes of Division 6 of Part 5.
"assistance animal" means an animal referred to in section 9 (Disability discrimination-guide dogs, hearing assistance dogs and trained animals) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth, but does not include a working dog.

Note: That section refers to a guide dog, a dog trained to assist a person in activities where hearing is required and any other animal trained to assist a person to alleviate the effect of a disability.

"authorised officer" means:

(a) an employee of a local authority authorised by the local authority for the purposes of this Act, or

(b) a police officer.

"cat" means an animal of the species Felis catus, whether or not domesticated.
"companion animal" means each of the following:

(a) a dog,

(b) a cat,

(c) any other animal that is prescribed by the regulations as a companion animal.

Note: The fact that an animal is not strictly a “companion” does not prevent it being a companion animal for the purposes of this Act. All dogs are treated as companion animals, even working dogs on rural properties, guard dogs, police dogs and corrective services dogs.

"corrective services dog" means a dog that is being used on official duty by a correctional officer (within the meaning of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 ).

Note: This Act contains special exemptions for corrective services dogs. Because this definition requires that the dog is being used on official duty by a correctional officer, the exemptions apply only when the dog is “on duty”.

"council" means:

(a) the council of an area under the Local Government Act 1993 , or

(b) the Lord Howe Island Board in relation to Lord Howe Island (the Lord Howe Island Board’s "area" for the purposes of this Act), or

(c) the Western Lands Commissioner in relation to the Western Division of the State (the Western Lands Commissioner’s "area" for the purposes of this Act).

"council pound" means:

(a) a public or private pound established by a council under the Impounding Act 1993 , or

(b) any other place approved by a council as a place for the holding of animals for the purposes of this Act.

"dangerous dog" means a dog for the time being the subject of a declaration by an authorised officer of a council or a court under this Act that the dog is dangerous.
"desexed" means rendered permanently incapable of reproduction.
"Director-General" means the Director-General of the Department of Local Government.
"disability" has the same meaning as in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth.
"dog" means an animal (of either sex, or desexed, and whether or not domesticated) of a species with the scientific name Canis familiaris, Canis lupus familiaris, Canis lupus dingo, Canis familiaris dingo or Canis dingo, or a synonym of any of those names, and including a hybrid of any of those species.

Note: The Wild Dog Destruction Act 1921 continues to apply to dingoes in the Western Division within the meaning of the Crown Lands Act 1989 . Section 26 of the Wild Dog Destruction Act 1921 creates an offence if a person has in the person’s possession any dingo or half-breed dingo without the written authority of the Wild Dog Destruction Board.

"exercise a function" includes perform a duty.
"function" includes a power, authority and duty.
"Fund" means the Companion Animals Fund established by this Act.
"identification information" means the information prescribed by the regulations as the identification information for a companion animal.
"identified companion animal" means a companion animal that is identified as referred to in section 70 (1).
"local authority" is defined in section 6.
"owner" is defined in section 7.
"police dog" means a dog that is being used by a police officer on official duty.

Note: This Act contains special exemptions for police dogs. Because this definition requires that the dog is being used by a police officer on official duty, the exemptions apply only when the dog is “on duty”.

"pound operator", in relation to a council pound referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of that term, means the person or body that manages or has control of the pound.
"property" means land or premises and includes, for the purposes of Part 7A, a building or structure of any description (such as a shed) or a vehicle or vessel.
"public place" means:

(a) any pathway, road, bridge, jetty, wharf, road-ferry, reserve, park, beach or garden, and

(b) any other place,

that the public are entitled to use.
"Register" means the Register of Companion Animals provided for by this Act.
"registered" means registered under this Act.
"registered owner" of a companion animal means the person shown in the registration information entered on the Register as the registered owner of the animal (and in the case of joint registered owners means each of those joint registered owners).
"registration information" means the information prescribed by the regulations as the registration information for a companion animal.
"restricted dog" is defined in section 55.
"sell" includes transfer ownership of the property in an animal by any means, including by gift.
"veterinary practitioner" has the same meaning as in the Veterinary Practice Act 2003 .
"working dog" means a dog used primarily for the purpose of droving, tending, working or protecting stock, and includes a dog being trained as a working dog.

(3) Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.