melzawelza Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) I'm speaking only for NSW here - each State has different legislation. You do not need a 'Beware of Dog' sign to clear your dog if it bites a trespasser - it's already cleared in the legislation. Section 16 of the Act defines what a dog attack is but also says: (2) It is not an offence under this section if the incident occurred: (a) as a result of the dog being teased, mistreated, attacked or otherwise provoked, or (b) as a result of the person or animal trespassing on the property on which the dog was being kept, or © as a result of the dog acting in reasonable defence of a person or property, or (d) in the course of lawful hunting, or (e) in the course of the working of stock by the dog or the training of the dog in the working of stock. Keep in mind that people have a lawful right to come and knock on your front door so if you leave the dog in your front yard and it nails a girl guide coming to sell cookies or an electricity guy you are not going to be able to use that defence. Personally, I think putting a 'beware of dog' sign up is not a good idea. It's like you're admitting that your dog is something to be wary of. If something happened and someone tried to sue you I'm sure their solicitor would bring it up to try and swing it in their favour. If you want a sign warning people there's a dog without the potential for it to be used against you, I'd get a sign that says 'dog on property' or something like that. It depends on position of your house on you property. Council, Police, Utility all have right of access without risk of attack or injury. So gates separating the front half of the house from the rear are great - in our case we have double gate system which enables us to drive in and out and the front 1/3 or the property ( the house block is 1/2 acre) readily accessible. Police/Utility readers etc wouldn't be considered trespassers so it wouldn't really be a defense if the dog bit them regardless. Same as if you have a dog in the front yard and someone comes in to ring the doorbell and gets bitten - they aren't trespassing so you can't use it as a defense. Your set up is the ideal! Edited October 27, 2014 by melzawelza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I'm speaking only for NSW here - each State has different legislation. You do not need a 'Beware of Dog' sign to clear your dog if it bites a trespasser - it's already cleared in the legislation. Section 16 of the Act defines what a dog attack is but also says: (2) It is not an offence under this section if the incident occurred: (a) as a result of the dog being teased, mistreated, attacked or otherwise provoked, or (b) as a result of the person or animal trespassing on the property on which the dog was being kept, or © as a result of the dog acting in reasonable defence of a person or property, or (d) in the course of lawful hunting, or (e) in the course of the working of stock by the dog or the training of the dog in the working of stock. Keep in mind that people have a lawful right to come and knock on your front door so if you leave the dog in your front yard and it nails a girl guide coming to sell cookies or an electricity guy you are not going to be able to use that defence. Personally, I think putting a 'beware of dog' sign up is not a good idea. It's like you're admitting that your dog is something to be wary of. If something happened and someone tried to sue you I'm sure their solicitor would bring it up to try and swing it in their favour. If you want a sign warning people there's a dog without the potential for it to be used against you, I'd get a sign that says 'dog on property' or something like that. It depends on position of your house on you property. Council, Police, Utility all have right of access without risk of attack or injury. So gates separating the front half of the house from the rear are great - in our case we have double gate system which enables us to drive in and out and the front 1/3 or the property ( the house block is 1/2 acre) readily accessible. Police/Utility readers etc wouldn't be considered trespassers so it wouldn't really be a defense if the dog bit them regardless. Same as if you have a dog in the front yard and someone comes in to ring the doorbell and gets bitten - they aren't trespassing so you can't use it as a defense. Your set up is the ideal! Unless you have the sign removing implied access permission .If you have this sign then anyone entering without a warrant is trespassing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melzawelza Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I'm speaking only for NSW here - each State has different legislation. You do not need a 'Beware of Dog' sign to clear your dog if it bites a trespasser - it's already cleared in the legislation. Section 16 of the Act defines what a dog attack is but also says: (2) It is not an offence under this section if the incident occurred: (a) as a result of the dog being teased, mistreated, attacked or otherwise provoked, or (b) as a result of the person or animal trespassing on the property on which the dog was being kept, or © as a result of the dog acting in reasonable defence of a person or property, or (d) in the course of lawful hunting, or (e) in the course of the working of stock by the dog or the training of the dog in the working of stock. Keep in mind that people have a lawful right to come and knock on your front door so if you leave the dog in your front yard and it nails a girl guide coming to sell cookies or an electricity guy you are not going to be able to use that defence. Personally, I think putting a 'beware of dog' sign up is not a good idea. It's like you're admitting that your dog is something to be wary of. If something happened and someone tried to sue you I'm sure their solicitor would bring it up to try and swing it in their favour. If you want a sign warning people there's a dog without the potential for it to be used against you, I'd get a sign that says 'dog on property' or something like that. It depends on position of your house on you property. Council, Police, Utility all have right of access without risk of attack or injury. So gates separating the front half of the house from the rear are great - in our case we have double gate system which enables us to drive in and out and the front 1/3 or the property ( the house block is 1/2 acre) readily accessible. Police/Utility readers etc wouldn't be considered trespassers so it wouldn't really be a defense if the dog bit them regardless. Same as if you have a dog in the front yard and someone comes in to ring the doorbell and gets bitten - they aren't trespassing so you can't use it as a defense. Your set up is the ideal! Unless you have the sign removing implied access permission .If you have this sign then anyone entering without a warrant is trespassing Yep this is true. I'd be recommending having locked front gates too just to cover all bases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 this is my favourite: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now