Animal Management

Alice Springs Town Council’s Rangers pro­vide infor­ma­tion and assis­tance on respon­si­ble pet own­er­ship, ani­mal reg­is­tra­tion, live­stock own­er­ship and stray pet collection. 

Pet reg­is­tra­tion

Council’s Rangers encour­age res­i­dents to be respon­si­ble pet own­ers by being aware of respon­si­bil­i­ties in rela­tion to your pet, oth­er people’s pets, neigh­bours and the gen­er­al public.

Rangers strong­ly rec­om­mend own­ers de-sex their pets to avoid indis­crim­i­nate breed­ing that can result in unwant­ed, aban­doned and neglect­ed ani­mals. Own­ers are also encour­aged to microchip their pets to ensure the best method of iden­ti­fi­ca­tion for return­ing lost animals.

Please noti­fy Coun­cil of any change to con­tact details or address so pet reg­is­tra­tion details are up to date on the Rangers’ database.

How to reg­is­ter pets

All dogs and cats over the age of 6 months must be reg­is­tered with Alice Springs Town Council.

Reg­is­tra­tion fees will vary, depend­ing on whether your pet is micro-chipped and/​or de-sexed. Please click below for detailed information.

Detailed infor­ma­tion

Dog/​Cat Reg­is­tra­tion – Cur­rent to 30/06/2025

Step 1: Choose Reg­is­tra­tion Type

Annu­al Reg­is­tra­tion (for pets with­out a microchip)

· Entire (not sterilised)

· De-sexed (ster­ilised)

Life­time Reg­is­tra­tion (for pets with a microchip)

· Entire (not sterilised)

· De-sexed

. Trans­fer from anoth­er Council

. Trans­fer with­in Alice Springs Town Council

. Dogs/​Cats under 10 years of age

. Dogs/​Cats 10 years of age and older

Life­time Reg­is­tra­tion — to be desexed with­in 6 months (ster­ilised)

Step 2: Pro­vide Nec­es­sary Documentation

Annu­al Registration

· Proof of ster­il­i­sa­tion (if applicable)

· Statu­to­ry Dec­la­ra­tion (if applicable)

Life­time Registration

· Microchip num­ber (if applicable)

· Proof of ster­il­i­sa­tion – if already sterilised/​desexed (if applicable)

· Proof of pre­vi­ous reg­is­tra­tion (for transfers)

Change of own­er­ship with­in Alice Springs Town Council

. Pro­vide details of a pre­vi­ous reg­is­tra­tion with the Alice Springs Town Council.

. Pro­vide the microchip number.

. Pro­vide a statu­to­ry Dec­la­ra­tion stat­ing that the ani­mal was obtained legally.

. Pro­vide writ­ten approval for the change of own­er­ship from the pre­vi­ous owner.

Step 3: Com­plete Reg­is­tra­tion at Civic Centre/​online: Alice Springs Town Coun­cil website

Attend the Civic Cen­tre Recep­tion Desk to com­plete your Ani­mal Registration.

Or com­plete an online Appli­ca­tion for Reg­is­tra­tion of Dog and/​or Cat.

Ken­nel Licence — Com­plete Reg­is­tra­tion at Civic Centre

(required if you have more than 2 dogs or more than 2 cats reg­is­tered to your property)

· Proof of reg­is­tra­tion for more than 2 dogs or more than 2 cats

Step 4: Pay­ment (cur­rent to 30^th June 2025)

Annu­al Reg­is­tra­tion Fees

· Entire (not ster­ilised): $168.00 (Pen­sion­er Con­ces­sion: $84.00)

· De-sexed (ster­ilised): $66.00 (Pen­sion­er Con­ces­sion: $36.00)

Life­time Reg­is­tra­tion Fees

· Entire (not ster­ilised): $348.00 (Pen­sion­er Con­ces­sion: $161.50)

· De-sexed (ster­ilised): $155.00 (Pen­sion­er Con­ces­sion: $72.50)

· Trans­fer from anoth­er Coun­cil: $57.00

· Trans­fer with­in Alice Springs Town Coun­cil: $22.00

· Dogs/​Cats 10 years of age and old­er: $78.00 (De-sexed), $174.00 (Entire)

Ken­nel Licence Fees

· New Appli­ca­tion: $210.00 (Pen­sion­er Con­ces­sion: $84.00)

Step 5: Receive Reg­is­tra­tion Tag (annu­al registrations)

Attach the num­bered tag to your dog/cat’s col­lar. The tag will be valid up to 30 June each year.

Reg­is­tra­tion forms must be com­plet­ed in-per­son at Alice Springs Town Coun­cil, 93 Todd Street or via eSer­vices links above. Please direct enquiries to Coun­cil Rangers on (08) 8950 0500.

Under Council’s Ani­mal Man­age­ment By-Laws, if there are three or more dogs or cats in one house­hold, a ken­nel licence must be obtained.

Lost pets

Domes­tic ani­mals found wan­der­ing at large are tak­en to the Ani­mal Shel­ter. While every effort is made by Coun­cil Rangers to locate own­ers, this process can be expe­dit­ed by ensur­ing your pet is reg­is­tered with Coun­cil, micro-chipped and your con­tact details are current.

Mem­bers of the pub­lic who find lost ani­mals should call the Ranger Unit on (08) 8950 0500 to organ­ise col­lec­tion. If you wish to drop it off at the Ani­mal Shel­ter your­self, please call 0490 393 825 pri­or to ensure there is some­one onsite to meet you.

If you’ve lost your pet and want to see if it’s at the shel­ter you can email a pho­to of your lost pet to animalshelter@​astc.​nt.​gov.​au with your name and con­tact infor­ma­tion. A mem­ber of our Shel­ter Team will then have a look and ensure that we’re keep­ing an eye out.

Infringe­ments

Infringe­ment notices for wan­der­ing pets col­lect­ed by Rangers may be issued. If your pet is impound­ed, a fee is required to be paid pri­or to release of your pet. Addi­tion­al fines may be incurred if the ani­mal is unreg­is­tered. If your pet is found to be unreg­is­tered, you will be required to pay for reg­is­tra­tion, infringe­ment, plus impound­ing fee, pri­or to release of your pet. Main­te­nance fees may also be charged by the Ani­mal Shelter.

Unclaimed ani­mals become the prop­er­ty of the Alice Springs Town Coun­cil and may be dis­posed of, after a 48 hour peri­od. Please ensure your pet is reg­is­tered with Council.

Per­mits to keep oth­er animals

The keep­ing of live­stock in res­i­den­tial areas is not per­mit­ted under North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry Gov­ern­ment leg­is­la­tion. For fur­ther infor­ma­tion, con­tact the NTG Depart­ment of Pri­ma­ry Indus­try and Resources on (08) 8951 8111 or vis­it the NTG web­site here.

To keep any oth­er ani­mals or exot­ic pets with­in the Alice Springs town­ship, per­mis­sion must first be sought from Coun­cil. Enquiries can be direct­ed to Council’s Rangers on (08) 8950 0500.

To keep native ani­mal species, please enquire to NTG Parks and Wildlife on (08) 8951 8250.

Dog attacks

All dog attacks are inves­ti­gat­ed by Council’s Rangers – please report to (08) 8950 0500.

Ani­mal Man­age­ment By-laws

For infor­ma­tion on Council’s Ani­mal Man­age­ment By-laws, click below.