VIC Infringement - is it allowed?

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Kbam

Well-Known Member
2 September 2018
16
0
71
i have a cat dog & mini horse....

a couple of council officers were doing council stuff in the nature reserve over the road...they walked past my house on their way back to the car and saw my mini horse were patting him for a while then left....

A week later I got a ph call from one of the council officers - she was a knob...

She started off by demanding my mini horse be removed or she’d come with police to get him, I’d go to court etc etc

Told her he had a special permit was ok to be there...calm down...

This woman had a bee in her bonnet...once she realised my horse was ok to be there....she said “right I saw a dog in your yard and a cat on the balcony as well - they better be registered...” all I heard was tap tap tap on the keyboard...she said “ yes your dogs registration is overdue - I’m issuing you a $320 fine for that....” then she said “can’t see a cat registered at your property- I saw your cat - there’s no cat on my system- that means your cats not registered - i’ll be issuing another $320 for that”....

Biartch....

This does not seem legal to me....

If you didn’t pay you car rego and your car was parked in your driveway - you wouldn’t expect a policeman would search the police database with your address because he saw the car parked when he drove past your house ...when he saw yep car un-registered on the computer- that’s a fine for you....

This council officer was literally walking past my house - saw a cat and dog in a securely fenced yard minding their own business...she then went back to her office typed my address into her computer to see if she could fine me...and did!

Seems a bit unfair...you don’t see council cruising the streets noting who’s got pets in the yard - then checking rego’s and issuing fines when they get back to the office....

Would it be some kind of privacy law breach perhaps? Miss using my personal info that’s stored on their system...I dunno

Interested to hear thoughts...
 

Rob Legat - SBPL

Lawyer
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16 February 2017
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Gold Coast, Queensland
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I wouldn't concentrate on the way your thinking is going. It's not a breach of privacy if they're 'doing their job' - no matter how much of a 'knob' they're being. It's like saying the police officer who thought I had a broken light was breaching my privacy by looking in the back seat and seeing the handgun and kilo of drugs in the back seat (a little extreme, but just to make my point clear).

The real problem is the way in which she's behaving. It's unfortunate, but not uncommon. The issue for you is that if she is correct about the dog and cat registration, that's on you. Breaching the law is breaching the law, regardless. And if she is an animal control officer with the council then she's likely to be simply doing her job.

My suggestion would be:
1. Fix up the dog and cat registration immediately - before you receive the fines.
2. If you receive the fines, write a letter of complaint to the council fully explaining the circumstances and the woman's rudeness, apologising for the lapse in dog and cat registration, informing them that the error has been corrected, and requesting that the fines be waived in the circumstances.
3. Hope that you receive a sympathetic ear.
 

Kbam

Well-Known Member
2 September 2018
16
0
71
I wouldn't concentrate on the way your thinking is going. It's not a breach of privacy if they're 'doing their job' - no matter how much of a 'knob' they're being. It's like saying the police officer who thought I had a broken light was breaching my privacy by looking in the back seat and seeing the handgun and kilo of drugs in the back seat (a little extreme, but just to make my point clear).

The real problem is the way in which she's behaving. It's unfortunate, but not uncommon. The issue for you is that if she is correct about the dog and cat registration, that's on you. Breaching the law is breaching the law, regardless. And if she is an animal control officer with the council then she's likely to be simply doing her job.

My suggestion would be:
1. Fix up the dog and cat registration immediately - before you receive the fines.
2. If you receive the fines, write a letter of complaint to the council fully explaining the circumstances and the woman's rudeness, apologising for the lapse in dog and cat registration, informing them that the error has been corrected, and requesting that the fines be waived in the circumstances.
3. Hope that you receive a sympathetic ear.

Haven’t been on this site for years....it’s privacy principal 2 and there’s something in the domestic animals act that sets out the way they can ID animals - from memory...get this tho ...the knob fined me and came back a week later with a summons....like I said a knob...I guess you’ve just gotta wait til they go too far ....ie issue a fine and charge on summons for the same offence a week later....charge withdrawn - fine withdrawn - human rights in tact and not punished twice for the same offence ....Suck it council...ha