Animal Welfare Reform

The Draft Animal Welfare Bill 2022

The release of the Draft Animal Welfare Bill 2022 marks an important step towards implementing the NSW Government's commitment to introduce modern animal welfare laws.

The Draft Animal Welfare Bill 2022 has been developed based on around 6,000 responses from the NSW community, received over two rounds of public consultation. Most recently, from August – September 2021, the NSW Government sought public feedback on the NSW Animal Welfare Reform: Discussion Paper, which set out the key proposals for the Draft Bill. We received over 4,800 responses to the Discussion Paper from a wide range of community members and stakeholders.

A Consultation Outcomes Report has been prepared, which summarises the feedback received during consultation and responds to the questions, issues or concerns raised.

Frequently Asked Questions respond to more common questions that arose as part of the consultation process.

Next steps in the process:

The Standing Committee on State Development has reviewed the Draft Animal Welfare Bill 2022 as part of the Inquiry into animal welfare policy in New South Wales. The NSW Government has provided a response to the Committee’s First report, which is available on the Parliament of NSW website.

The NSW Government is committed to delivering streamlined, modern animal welfare laws that are fit-for-purpose for all people who live and work with animals in NSW. The NSW Government is considering all stakeholder and community feedback provided on the Draft Animal Welfare Bill through the inquiry process, and will work towards developing draft regulations for public and stakeholder feedback – consistent with Recommendation 1 of the Committee’s First report.

There will be further opportunities for stakeholders and the community to have their say on the shape of our animal welfare laws.