Domestic Animals Amendment (Rehoming Cats and Dogs and Other Matters) Bill 2025

Dear All

The Domestic Animals Amendment (Rehoming Cats and Dogs and Other Matters) Bill 2025 has passed both Houses of the Victorian Parliament. While the Bill mainly focuses on creating a new authorisation and regulatory framework for pet rehoming organisations, an additional amendment introduced by the Animal Justice Party during the Legislative Council debate on 16 October 2025 makes a change to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003.

This amendment ensures that the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act does not prevent the placement or burial of animal remains in places of interment. In practice, this gives cemeteries the discretion to allow the burial or placement of pet remains, including ashes, within existing graves or in designated sections. The amendment does not require cemeteries to provide this service but removes the legal restriction that previously limited it.

For cemetery trusts, the change will mainly involve reviewing local policy, operational processes, and community expectations. Your cemetery can decide whether to allow pet interment based on site capacity, environmental and health requirements, and the administrative processes for managing these interments.

The Bill received final agreement on 29 October 2025 and will become law once it receives Royal Assent, expected later in 2025. While most parts of the Bill have a delayed start date of 10 April 2027, it is likely that the amendment to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 will commence earlier because it does not need detailed regulations before taking effect.

Until the Domestic Animals Amendment (Rehoming Cats and Dogs and Other Matters) Bill 2025 receives Royal Assent and the amendment to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 formally commences, the current legislation remains in force.

This means that:

• The Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003 still prohibits the burial or placement of animal remains in places of interment.

• Cemetery trusts and operators are not authorised to approve or action any requests for pet interment or the placement of pet ashes.

• No operational or policy changes should be made until formal notification of the amended Act is issued, either through publication in the Victorian Government Gazette or formal advice from the Cemeteries and Crematoria Regulation Unit.

Once the amendment takes effect, the Department is expected to provide guidance material outlining how the new provisions should be applied. Until that time, all requests for pet interment must continue to be declined under the current legal framework.