A 24-HOUR cat curfew in Frankston will be rolled out by 2027 if council’s proposed animal management plan proceeds.
Frankston Council’s Domestic Animal Management Plan has been released for community consultation. Among the measures proposed are a 24/7 cat confinement order, which will be rolled out between 2026 and 2027 after an amnesty period and education campaign.
Frankston Council’s current cat curfew requires cats to be secured to a resident’s property between dusk and dawn. The draft DAMP read “findings from a 2021 community survey of 764 participants indicated strong support for responsible pet ownership. 73 percent of respondents supported the confinement of cats to their owner’s property at all times. “The leading reason for supporting a cat curfew was the protection of native wildlife.”
The DAMP reads that the document will “provide the strategic framework for council’s delivery of animal management services across Frankston City over the next four years. “We acknowledge the benefits of pet ownership for health and wellbeing, the importance of ensuring animal welfare, and the need to protect the community and local environment from nuisance caused by dogs and cats. The DAMP is designed to strike a balance between the needs of pet owners and those of the broader community.”
The DAMP also contains measures for dogs, including the development of a Dogs in Public Places Policy to “guide the assessment, designation, and design of free roam and dog-prohibited areas on council-managed land.”
Submissions on the DAMP close on 7 September. To take part in community consultation visit engage.frankston.vic.gov.au/DAMP2025.
First published in the Frankston Times – 12 August 2025