The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government is boosting the record investment in improving animal welfare outcomes with 2 additional initiatives worth over $20 million, including a $15.6 million digital renovation of the NSW Pet Registry and a new $5 million grant program for animal rehoming organisations.
Minister for Local Government Wendy Tuckerman said the grant program was available for approved rehoming organisations in NSW for funding of up to $100,000 to improve rehoming outcomes and reduce euthanasia rates.
"The Liberal and Nationals Government is committed to improving the welfare of animals, and we know that rehoming organisations have an important role to play," Mrs Tuckerman said.
"In recent years we've seen significant improvements in the rehoming of companion animals in NSW and a substantial drop in euthanasia rates, however we will continue to work hard to bring those numbers down even further.
"Approved rehoming organisations support the companion animal management activities of councils, often relying on the efforts of volunteers, with this new grant program set to make it easier for those groups to continue their work."
Mrs Tuckerman also said the new $15.6 million digital Pet Registry is part of the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government's commitment to strengthening animal welfare standards and promoting responsible pet ownership.
"The NSW Pet Registry will be a state-of-the art, user-friendly portal, making it easier for vets, owners and rehoming organisations to ensure animal details are up to date and allowing delay-free transfers of ownership," Mrs Tuckerman said.
"This will be a game-changer for NSW, assisting in future animal welfare enforcement activities and helping us reunite lost pets with owners faster.
"This investment will ensure that whenever there's a new cat or dog coming into the family, it will be quick, simple and secure."
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said the Office of Local Government and Department of Customer Service are working together on the upgrade, with a pilot program currently underway involving up to 10 breeders and 50 new pet owners.
"Under the Pet Registry pilot, breeders can easily enter litters of puppies and kittens, vets can add microchip numbers, and owner transfers are instant," Mr Dominello said.
"It's giving us valuable insights as we build the new system, which will be a secure end-to-end digital solution for pet registration.
"The new pet registry will also reduce paperwork and make it faster and easier to update and track critical information like change of address and ownership transfers, while providing real-time reminders for regulatory requirements like desexing."
The pilot runs until June and the first phase of the new online Pet Registry is expected to be rolled out across the Ssate from the end of 2023.
Both programs bring the total investment by the Liberal and Nationals Government in animal welfare and rehoming work to over $60 million in the 2022-2023 financial year alone.
Get more information on Companion Animal Welfare Grants.
