Animal Infringements

Frankston City Council is committed to providing a safe environment for its people, pets, livestock and wildlife. Ensuring pet owners comply with the laws surrounding animal ownership helps to reduce the incidence of animal nuisances and animal attacks on people and other animals.

It is important to ensure your pets are registered so we can get them home to you if they become lost. Registration also assist us to investigate animal attacks and animal nuisance complaints made by the community.

You must also ensure your pets are properly confined to your property or walked on a leash at appropriate times and places.

There are many other requirements that animals owners have to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their pets and the wider community.

Select an option below

Pay my fine Dispute my fine Extension of time Pay by arrangement Go to court

Pay my fine

You can pay your infringement in four ways.

Step 1.Pay online

Using a Visa, Mastercard or debit card via the below link

Pay your infringement online

Step 2.Pay by phone

Using a Visa, Mastercard or debit card

Phone 1300 721 138

Please quote what type of infringement you wish to pay and the infringement number.

Step 3.Pay by mail

Attach cheque or money order to the payment portion of your notices and post to:

Frankston City Council
PO Box 490
Frankston 3199

Step 4.Pay in person

By cash, cheque, money order, EFTPOS or credit card (Visa or Mastercard). Present your infringement notices at any Council Customer Service Centre. For a list of Customer Service Centres, please visit our Visit Us page.

Dispute my fine

Grounds for appeal

You can appeal your fine if you believe any of the following:

the fine was contrary to law
mistaken identity (another person committed the offence)
special circumstances apply (homelessness, addiction etc. Click here for further information about Special Circumstances)
you must provide written evidence from a medical professional or case worker outlining your special circumstance
exceptional circumstances apply (medical emergencies)
you were unaware that you had been issued a fine (you had moved house and did not receive your mail – some conditions apply)

How to appeal your fine

Step 1.Gather all supporting information

You will need the infringement notice number and, for parking offences, the registration number of the vehicle involved in the infringement.

You must submit any application in relation to the infringement notice prior to the infringement notice being referred to Court by Council or lodged with Fines Victoria.

Step 2.Complete an Infringement Offence Review Application

Submit an online Internal Review application

Download and print an Internal Review application form(PDF, 39KB)

Infringement Offence Review Application form need to be fully completed and submitted as outlined on the form

The appeal process can take up to 90 days and you will receive a written response of the outcome. The fine will be placed on hold until an outcome has been decided.

The Infringement Act 2006 allows you to make one application for review. You will need to provide all relevant and supporting documentation. If extra information is required we will ask you to provide it. If you fail to provide the extra information by a due date, a decision will be made anyway.

It is an offence to provide false or misleading information. Further action may be taken if this occurs.

Appeal outcomes

After reviewing an appeal we may:

confirm the decision to serve an infringement notice and proceed with enforcement
withdraw the infringement notice and serve an official warning in place of the infringement notice
withdraw the infringement notice and take no further action
withdraw the infringement notice and refer the matter to the Court
waive all or any penalty reminder notice fees
approve a payment plan or refer the fine to Fines Victoria for a payment arrangement.

If your appeal is unsuccessful we will notify you. We will provide the next ‘due date’ for the infringement notice in that notification. You must complete one of the below actions before the ‘new due date’ of your fine:

pay your fine
apply for a Payment Plan
apply for a Payment Arrangement
elect to have the matter heard in court.

If you are eligible, an accredited organisation may apply to the Director, Fines Victoria for a Work and Development Permit (WDP) on your behalf. More information regarding WDP’s is available at Work and Development Permit (fines.vic.gov.au)

Extension of time

Pay by arrangement

Go to court

The person named on the infringement notice can request to have the infringement matter referred to the Magistrates' Court at any time before the fine is registered with Fines Victoria.

Requests must be in writing stating that you wish for your matter to be heard by a Magistrate in court. Please include the infringement notice number, your full name, date of birth and your current address at which the summons may be served.

Once it is received, our Prosecutions Team will review the request and make arrangements for the matter to be filed with the court. We will send you a notice informing you of the date of the hearing.

We cannot give legal advice about this process. We strongly recommend that you get independent legal advice before going to court.

The court process is not free. If the court decides in our favour, we will seek to recover any additional costs from you.

Once a hearing has been scheduled, you may request a delay (adjournment) by contacting the Magistrates' Court directly.

Once a court election is processed and a hearing is arranged the matter cannot be dealt with as an infringement and must now be dealt with by the court.

To apply to have your infringement referred to the Magistrates' Court, please use the below link:

Apply to refer infringement to court