Short answer
Check the licence first — pet boarding need a licence for some work and not other work. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 931 Australian pet boarding in this directory, only 10.5% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 3.1% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Pet Boarding handle boarding kennels and catteries, dog daycare, pet sitting, dog walking and in-home pet minding. This is what to check before you leave your animal with someone, and what the evidence says about the category as a whole.
Pet Boarding are licensed for some work and not others
Most councils require a boarding kennel or cattery to be registered or permitted, and several states publish codes of practice that set minimum space, temperature and veterinary requirements. Daycare, walking and pet sitting are largely unregulated. In every case the useful questions are about supervision, vaccination and what happens when an animal is unwell.
Your council can confirm whether a kennel or cattery is registered. State codes of practice for boarding establishments are published by the agriculture or animal welfare department.
What 931 Australian pet boarding actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For pet boarding:
| What we checked | Pet Boarding | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 10.5% | 21.5% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 63.2% | 59.2% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 3.1% | 7.7% |
| Website responded when we checked | 80.5% | 81% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 86.3% | 81.1% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 46 | 39 |
What goes wrong with pet boarding
- No vaccination requirement, so your animal shares a kennel with unvaccinated ones
- No vet arrangement, so an illness waits until you are back
- Animals left unsupervised overnight in a facility described as monitored
What to ask before the work starts
- Are you registered with the council, and which vet do you use?
- What vaccinations do you require, and how often is someone on site overnight?
- What will you do, and whom will you call, if my animal becomes unwell?
A pet boarding business who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median pet boarding business in this directory has 46 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the pet boarding are
Melbourne (43), Sydney (34), Perth (25), Canning Vale (22), Brisbane (21), Penrith (17). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best pet boarding business in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do pet boarding need a licence in Australia?
- Sometimes. Most councils require a boarding kennel or cattery to be registered or permitted, and several states publish codes of practice that set minimum space, temperature and veterinary requirements. Daycare, walking and pet sitting are largely unregulated. In every case the useful questions are about supervision, vaccination and what happens when an animal is unwell.
- How do I check a pet boarding business's licence?
- Your council can confirm whether a kennel or cattery is registered. State codes of practice for boarding establishments are published by the agriculture or animal welfare department.
- What percentage of Australian pet boarding have a verifiable ABN?
- 10.5% of the 931 pet boarding in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 21.5% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a pet boarding business have?
- The median pet boarding business here has 46. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare pet boarding near you
931 pet boarding, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
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