Brisbane Council Launches Bid to Have Household Pets Counted in Census Data. ABC News 23/10/25

[Deeds]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-23/qld-household-pet-census-data-bid-brisbane-city-council-lgaq/105920168

[DogsAndTheMob]

I suspect that they’d get inaccurate responses from people with unregistered dogs or more animals than allowed by council ordinances.

 

From the POV of councils, I’d be worried that state governments might use the data to impose new Key Performance Indicators such as % of animals registered, with associated penalties. I worked in data and I saw my state’s bureaucrats develop and use KPIs in similar ways to justify withholding funding.

[tdierikx]

A couple of years ago (2023) Victoria held a "pet census" which was purported to be an exercise in just finding out what types of pets people had and what services they used in relation to them. The census was voluntary, and received around 30,000 responses in total... out of a state population of approximately 6.5 million (approximately 2.5 million households). The data produced/extrapolated only came from a small slice of that 30,000, coming from only around 5,000 responses that had been received as part of a targetted focus group and verified as "real" responses to the questions. Various levels of government swore blind that the pet census was designed to only get a better idea about the numbers and types of pets owned in the state, and what services were used in relation to them.

 

Interestingly, there were some very stupid questions posed in said census, such as how many times an owner walked or had their pet fish groomed... so one could be forgiven for calling the data produced not exactly accurate or even valid.

 

Fast forward to this year, and many Victorian councils are reviewing their domestic animal management plans (DAMPs) and what do we see starting to factor into the process... pet census data being used to further restrict pet numbers/types per household, doorknocking to check pet registrations, and other restrictive practices designed to make pet ownership harder. Very few have used the data to try to provide more services for pets that may be housed in those LGAs.

 

Food for thought...

 

T.