Orders for a dog-free area

Following careful consideration of community feedback, the City of Greater Geelong Council has resolved to progress ongoing orders for a dog-free area at Ocean Grove Main Beach.

Council resolved to adopt the dog-free area as trialled in year two, while also further simplifying and improving the dog control orders.

Outside of the dog-free area on Main Beach, the summer season will be reduced by two months to increase opportunities for dog-walking on other areas of beach managed by the Barwon Coast Committee of Management.

The streamlined summer period of 1 December to 28/9 February, inclusive of Easter, also aligns with regulations of adjoining coastal jurisdictions. Signage will also be improved on site.

In response to feedback in Year 1 of the trial, the City has employed two additional Animal Management Officers to support monitoring and enforcement of ongoing Orders in all coastal areas across the municipality.

The dog free area is between 13W Hodgson St beach access stairs and the western end of Main Beach promenade. This accounts for approximately 805 metres of beach.

Barwon Coast and the City of Greater Geelong are working together on the trial, which began on 1 January 2021 after previous feedback highlighted the need for an area of beach to be set aside as dog-free all year round.

In total, 1,976 people provided feedback on the trial, with 1,139 people responding in year one and 837 in year two.

The new Dog Orders will now be referred to the Barwon Coast Committee of Management for final approval.

About Barwon Coast

Barwon Coast Committee of Management (Barwon Coast) is appointed by the Victorian State Government to manage 15kms of coastal land adjacent to Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads. The City of Greater Geelong (the City) is responsible for enforcing dog controls in this area under the Domestic Animals Act 1994. Barwon Coast contributes to the cost of the enforcement of the dog controls and runs education programs focused on improving community understanding of dog controls.

Further information

To help you make an informed response please read the ‘Dogs on Beaches’ web page on the Barwon Coast website which explains the current dog controls and the engagement processes that led to their development.

The personal information requested on this page is being collected by City of Greater Geelong and Barwon Coast Committee of Management for the purpose of the Barwon Coast Main Beach Dog Control Trial or any other directly related purpose. The information you share will only be disclosed to carry out a deeper analysis of the data* or as required to do so by law. Our privacy policy is available on our website. If you wish to alter any of the personal information you have supplied to City of Greater Geelong, please contact us by sending an email to privacy@geelongcity.vic.gov.au.

*In order to gain a deeper understanding of the data provided to the City and improve our services to you, we will disclose the information you provide to us with our partner Barwon Coast Committee of Management and to our consultant Kismet Forward which will carry out an analysis of the data.

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