Frustrated Sunshine Coast residents have flooded community forums after dog owners were hit with $333 fines for overdue registrations, sparking accusations their local council’s system is “unfair” and overly “punitive”.
The backlash follows a warning issued by Noosa Council last month advising owners with registrations overdue between June 1 and November 30, 2025, to renew or risk a fine.
Since then, Noosa Facebook community boards have erupted with complaints, with some posts attracting more than 200 comments from residents claiming they never received registration renewal notices and questioning the size of the penalties.
In a statement to Sunshine Coast News, Noosa Council said registration was a legal requirement, “irrespective of whether or not the owner has been given a renewal notice”.
Council’s acting local laws manager Clint Irwin said Noosa had about 10,000 registered dogs and more than 95 per cent of owners kept registrations up to date.
“It’s a small minority of dog owners who have not renewed their dog registration over a two-year period and it is these owners that have recently received a fine,” he said.
A total of 576 fines have been issued in the past month.
Mr Irwin said registration fees helped fund animal management services including responding to roaming dogs, dog attacks and reuniting lost pets with owners.
Among those caught up in the dispute is Noosa resident Daniella Sansom, who said she was stunned when a fine arrived in the mail for her cavoodle, Flash.
She told Sunshine Coast News she had not received any registration renewal notice.
“I got the fine in the post for $333 saying it was for failing to register my dog,” she said.
“How is a fine $333 when a dog registration is around $50? “It is completely out of proportion.”
Ms Sansom said she had previously opted to receive notices by email but believed the system had failed.
“I now know that email is not a guaranteed delivery method,” she said.
“They can get lost, end up in junk mail or be accidentally deleted. I’ve received no correspondence for a year and a half.”
She said the issue was not about avoiding registration fees and she had previously paid them when prompted.
“I’m happy to pay a late payment fee, admin fees,” she said. “But the way they are trying to make money is very distasteful.
“I haven’t hurt anybody, I’ve not committed a crime. It is so punitive and they are clearly attempting to raise extra money.”
When Daniella received the fine and contacted the council, she was advised there was no flexibility to cancel the penalty, despite back-paying her registration and also this year’s fee.
“I love living in the community. I just do not feel really like this is the type of community that we want. Council is there to represent our needs and organise us, but not to try to take advantage.”
Ms Sansom has launched an online petition calling on the council to introduce a multi-step reminder system before fines are issued.
As of Monday afternoon, the petition had attracted more than 250 signatures.
The petition argues council should send reminders through multiple methods including email, text message and post before issuing infringement notices.
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Another resident caught up in the fallout, Rob Bower, said he was also fined after failing to receive renewal notices.
With two dogs registered, Mr Bower said he was left facing double the penalty.
“We registered them and didn’t think anything more of it and then got no reminders,” he said.
Mr Bower said he lodged a written request asking the council to review the fines, but was told it was “very difficult for council to reverse a fine once issued”.
“I have two issues. One, we didn’t get an invoice at all,” he said. “When rates come due, you get those.
“The second thing is the size of the fine… it’s ridiculous.”
He said the issue could be avoided with a stronger reminder system before penalties were issued.
The issue has also drawn attention from within the local government organisation itself, with councillor Jess Phillips revealing she had also received a $333 fine linked to her late dog.
In a public Facebook post, Cr Phillips said the issue was about confidence in the system.
“Local government is the closest level of government to the community,” she wrote.
“When the basics don’t work properly, it chips away at trust.”
Cr Phillips urged residents to formally report issues through council channels so recurring problems could be properly identified and addressed.
“Reporting helps us see patterns, understand where pressure points are and make decisions based on what is actually happening across the shire,” she wrote.
The Change.org petition can be found here.
