Dog Control Act 1996

Registration and registration fees

37: Territorial authority to set fees

You could also call this:

"Councils can charge dog owners fees, but they must be fair and reasonable."

When you own a dog, you have to pay fees to the territorial authority. The territorial authority sets these fees, and they must be reasonable. They can decide to charge lower fees for some dogs, like neutered dogs or working dogs.

The territorial authority can also charge lower fees for dogs that are under a certain age, or for people who can show they are responsible dog owners. If you register your dog late, you might have to pay an extra fee, but this extra fee cannot be more than 50% of the normal fee. The territorial authority must think about the costs of registering and controlling dogs when they set the fees.

If some territorial authorities work together, they can set different fees for different areas, depending on the costs in each area. The territorial authority must tell the public what the fees are before the start of each registration year, by putting a notice in a newspaper. If they forget to do this, or make a mistake, you still have to pay the fees and follow the rules. Any changes to the fees will only happen at the start of a new registration year. You can find more information about how territorial authorities work together in section 7.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM375163.


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38: Registration fee for certain dogs registered on or after 2 August, or

"Lower dog registration fees for dogs registered after 2 August"

37Territorial authority to set fees

  1. The dog control fees payable to a territorial authority shall be those reasonable fees prescribed by resolution of that authority for the registration and control of dogs under this Act.

  2. Any resolution made under subsection (1) may—

  3. fix fees for neutered dogs that are lower than the fee for dogs that have not been neutered:
    1. fix fees for working dogs that are lower than the fee for any other dog, and may limit the number of working dogs owned by any person which qualify for lower fees under this section:
      1. fix different fees for the various classes of working dogs:
        1. fix fees for dogs under a specified age (not exceeding 12 months) that are lower than the fee that would otherwise be payable for those dogs:
          1. fix, for any dog that is registered by any person who demonstrates to the satisfaction of any dog control officer that that person has a specified level of competency in terms of responsible dog ownership, a fee that is lower than the fee that would otherwise be payable for that dog:
            1. fix by way of penalty, subject to subsection (3), an additional fee, for the registration on or after the first day of the second month of the registration year or such later date as the authority may fix, of any dog that was required to be registered on the first day of that registration year:
              1. fix a fee for the issue of a replacement registration label or disc for any dog.
                1. Any additional fee by way of penalty fixed under subsection (2)(f) shall not exceed 50% of the fee that would have been payable if the dog had been registered on the first day of the registration year.

                2. In prescribing fees under this section, the territorial authority shall have regard to the relative costs of the registration and control of dogs in the various categories described in paragraphs (a) to (e) of subsection (2), and such other matters as the territorial authority considers relevant.

                3. Where any 2 or more territorial authorities have formed a joint standing or joint special committee in accordance with section 7, the resolution of that committee under subsection (1) may fix different fees in respect of dogs kept in the different districts, having regard to the costs of registration and dog control in the districts concerned.

                4. The territorial authority shall, at least once during the month preceding the start of every registration year, publicly notify in a newspaper circulating in its district the dog control fees fixed for the registration year.

                5. Failure by the territorial authority to give the public notice required by subsection (6), or the occurrence of any error or misdescription in such public notice, shall not affect the liability of any person to comply with this Act or to pay any fee that is prescribed by the territorial authority under subsection (1).

                6. No increase in the dog control fees for any year shall come into effect other than at the commencement of that year.

                7. This section shall come into force on the day on which this Act receives the Royal assent.

                Compare
                • 1982 No 42 s 49
                • 1990 No 27 s 44