How to report a barking dog in Brisbane

The rule

Under Brisbane’s Animals Local Law 2017, you must not keep an animal that causes a noise nuisance. Animal noise is a nuisance if it unreasonably disrupts or gets in the way of daily activities at neighbouring premises or nearby homes.

When the council investigates, it considers:

• complaints from other neighbours;
• how often and how intensely the dog barks;
• whether it barks for more than 6 minutes in total in any hour between 7am and 10pm;
• whether it barks for more than 3 minutes in any 30-minute period between 10pm and 7am.

Before you complain

The council asks you to tell the owner first. Owners often don’t know their dog is a problem. If you’d rather not talk in person, the council has a barking dog letter template on its animal noise page, or use our barking dog letter generator.

Then give the owner time. If the barking carries on after at least 28 days, you can file a complaint. Use those weeks to note dates and times on the printable bark diary.

How to lodge a complaint

• Online, with the council’s barking dog form.
• By phone on 07 3403 8888.
• In writing to Brisbane City Council, GPO Box 1434, Brisbane Qld 4001.

You’ll need:

• the exact address of the dog: street number and name, suburb and postcode. Without it, the council can’t investigate;
• a description of the dog, such as its breed and colour;
• when the barking happens and how it disrupts your day;
• your phone number, email and home address.

The noise diary

After you complain, the council sends you an animal noise nuisance diary by mail or email, and contacts the owner to encourage them to fix it. You don’t have to start the diary straight away.

• If the barking stops being a nuisance within 14 days, you don’t need to fill it in.
• If it hasn’t, complete the diary and submit it online.
• Record at least 7 days in a row. Leave out days and times you weren’t home.
• Be as detailed as you can about the noise and how it disrupts your day.

What happens next

1. The council’s Animal Services team contacts you to talk it through.
2. If there is enough information, it contacts the owner about ways to reduce the noise.
3. It investigates whether the Local Law has been broken, and may visit your home to understand the problem.
4. If an ongoing nuisance is confirmed, it may offer the owner education and issue a Compliance Notice. An owner who doesn’t act may get an infringement notice.

If the council finds no breach, it tells you it won’t take further action.

Will the owner know it was you?

The council says it does its best to keep your identity confidential, but your details may be disclosed if the case leads to enforcement or court.

Keep a record

The council’s diary covers only the times you are home, and asks for detail. Left near a shared wall or window, DogQuiet logs each bark it hears with the time, how long it lasted and a short clip, and makes a PDF report. It is an approximate record, not proof: it can miss a bark or log another sound. Use it to help fill in the diary accurately, not to replace it.

Other places

The general steps, the evidence officials ask for and when to call the police are in how to report a barking dog.

Sources

Official pages this guide is based on, all read in October 2026:

1. Brisbane City Council. Animal noise complaints. brisbane.qld.gov.au/animals-and-pets/animal-fines-and-complaints/animal-noise-complaints
2. Brisbane City Council. Report it: Barking dog complaint. brisbane.qld.gov.au/online-services/animals-and-pets/report-it-barking-dog