Pound facility change FAQs

1 August 2025.

The move was determined by the RSPCA’s change in business model when Council was advised the RSPCA would no longer be providing pound facilities to Victorian councils.

Council was required to tender for a new facility. Following the public tender process, Animal Aid was awarded the contract.

Animal Aid is located at 35 Killara Road, Coldstream.

Phone: 8756 1300
Email: admin@animalaid.org.au

Animal Aid provides a purpose-built shelter facility, including a cattery and dog kennels, and offers adoption facilities for a wide range of animals. It also offers a range of services including a vet clinic, pet boarding, grooming services and dog training.

Animal Aid has been providing animal welfare services for more than 75years, with original founders Alexander and Stella Grierson beginning their journey in animal welfare work in 1938 and formalising the trust in 1948.

If your animal is found outside of your property during business hours by a Council officer from 1 August 2025, and we can’t contact you, it will be taken to Animal Aid.

If your animal is registered and wearing its registration tag, officers will attempt to contact you before it is taken to the pound. If we cannot contact you, the animal will be taken to Animal Aid the same day to ensure it is safely housed until you can collect it.

Animals that were impounded and taken to the RSPCA prior to 1 August 2025 remain at the RSPCA and will need to be reclaimed from the RSPCA.

Owners can collect their animal Monday to Saturday, 9am-4.30pm, and Sundays and public holidays, 11.30am-3.30pm.

Animal Aid cannot reunite you with your animal if it is not registered.

Please be prepared to register your animal at the time of collection or online before you pick up your pet, via Animal Registration and Renewal.

No. Animal Aid was chosen as the best provider for Monash following an open and public tender process.

We will send a text message to registered animal owners. We also will be communicating the changes via the Monash Bulletin that is distributed to all residents, and via social media, our on-hold messages and news items on our website.

We will also be advising vet clinics and domestic animal business owners within Monash of the change.

We don't want your pet to end up at the pound. 

• Make sure your animal is registered with Council.
• Make sure your contact details are up to date in Council records.
• Ensure your animal has a lifetime registration tag attached to its collar. If you need a replacement tag (which is free of charge), please contact Council at Animal Registration and Renewal.
• You should also ensure that your pet’s microchip is registered to you and that your contact details are correct. Microchips are scanned to help identify your animal and reunite them with you, however the registry is not linked to Council records and may differ. Registered microchip agencies include:
  • Central Animal Records
  • Australasian Animal Registry
  • Global Micro Animal Registry
  • Petsafe.com.au
• Do a boundary walk of your property and make sure fences are secure and gates can be secured.
• If you have a cat that likes the outdoors, consider installing a cat enclosure or cat fencing.

You can register your animal with Council via our website at Animal Registration.

All dogs and cats in Monash aged over three months must be microchipped and registered. The animal registration period runs from 10 April to 9 April each year. Registrations must be renewed annually by 10 April. If you do not register a pet, you may be subject to a fine.

If you find a lost dog or cat, it must be contained within a property or area within the City of Monash for us to be able to collect it.

There must be someone present at the location at the time of collection.

If you have found a lost cat or dog, contact Council’s Animal Management team on 9518 3555.

Please contact Council on 9518 3555.

Your animal registration pays for individualised registration tags for each dog and cat, meaning we can reunite you quickly if they are lost.

It also pays for dog poo bags and dispensers at off-leash reserves and pound facilities.

It also helps pay for animal management staff to support the collection and return of stray animals to owners and to patrols streets and parks, and for fit-for-purpose vehicles.