Posted on December 18, 2019 by

ALERT – Review of Impounding Act 1993

The State Government has announced the first comprehensive review of the Impounding Act 1993 (Act) since its commencement on 1 July 1993.

The Act was introduced as companion legislation to the Local Government Act 1993 and aims to protect public health, safety and amenity in public spaces by giving councils and other public land managers powers to impound abandoned and unattended articles and animals left in public places and on private property.

The Office of Local Government (OLG) has released a Discussion Paper about the review of the Act for public comment. The Discussion Paper asks a series of strategic and operational questions to inform the review of the Act.

The substance of the feedback that the OLG is seeking from the community is about whether the Act remains effective for managing stray animals and other items left unattended or abandoned in public places, given matters such as emerging technologies and the ever-changing use of public spaces in New South Wales.

The feedback on the Discussion Paper will help to ensure that the Act remains fit for purpose in future and will inform the next stages of the review process into 2020, including any proposals for reform.

Lindsay Taylor Lawyers is considering lodging a submission with the OLG for the purposes of the review. We invite our clients to contact us with any comments that they may have about the operation of the Act that we may include in our submission.

The deadline for lodging submissions with the OLG is 5:00pm on 20 March 2020.

The Discussion Paper can be viewed here. Further information about the review can be viewed here.

To discuss this blog, provide any comments on our intended submission, or generally seek advice about impounding or any other matter, please contact Carlo Zoppo, Partner on 8235 9705 or Sophia Urlich, Lawyer on 8235 9708.

One reply on “ALERT – Review of Impounding Act 1993”

  1. DG says:
    January 13, 2020 at 7:29 am

    The current provisions of the Impounding Act as they relate to one rural landowner’s livestock breaking through fences and entering a neighbour’s property are ineffective.

    eg During the current drought our neighbour is deliberately allowing his starving cattle to break though our boundary fence and enter our land causing damage and destruction to gardens, water supplies etc. Apparently our only recourse is to impound them etc. As we do not run cattle we do not have yarding facilities and no means to drove, catch nor impound ‘straying’ cattle.

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