Pet approvals in a QLD body corporate: how to apply, decide, and set conditions

In Queensland, keeping a pet in a community titles scheme is governed by the scheme's by-laws, made under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (BCCM Act) and its regulation module (most commonly the Standard Module). The default by-laws in the modules take the same shape most registered by-laws do: an occupier must not bring or keep an animal on the lot or common property without the body corporate's written approval.

That single sentence produces more disputes than almost any other by-law — usually because one side assumes the body corporate can simply say no, and the other assumes approval is automatic. Neither is right.

What the by-laws can — and cannot — say

A by-law about animals is valid only within the limits the Act sets:

• A by-law must not be oppressive or unreasonable (s 180 of the BCCM Act). Adjudicators have consistently held that a blanket "no pets" by-law fails this test — a prohibition that ignores the circumstances of the animal and the scheme is unreasonable, and an occupier can have it declared invalid. A scheme can regulate pets; it cannot ban them outright.
• Assistance animals cannot be excluded. The Act protects a person with a disability who relies on a guide, hearing or assistance dog: no by-law can exclude the dog, and no approval is needed to keep one. The body corporate may ask for evidence that the dog is a certified assistance animal, but that is where its role ends.
• Approval must not be unreasonably withheld. Where a by-law requires approval, the decision has to be made on the merits of the particular animal in the particular scheme — not on a general policy, a past bad experience with a different dog, or a preference for a pet-free building.

How the approval process works

1. The occupier applies in writing to the body corporate — describing the animal (type, breed, size) and, ideally, how it will be kept.
2. The committee decides. Pet approval is ordinarily not a restricted issue, so the committee can approve or refuse without waiting for a general meeting. It should decide within a reasonable time — silence is itself a ground for dispute.
3. Approval may carry conditions (see below), and both the decision and its conditions should be recorded in writing and kept with the scheme's records.
4. Refusal must come with reasons. A bare "no" invites an adjudicator to find the refusal unreasonable.

Conditions that are generally reasonable

Adjudicators routinely uphold conditions along these lines:

• the animal is kept within the lot, and on a leash or carried while on common property;
• the occupier cleans up after the animal and prevents noise or nuisance to other occupiers;
• the animal's waste is disposed of properly, and damage it causes to common property is repaired at the occupier's cost;
• approval applies to the specific animal, not to pets in general — a new pet needs a new approval.

Conditions that effectively make keeping the pet impossible — a weight limit no ordinary companion animal meets, or a requirement to carry a large dog across all common property — risk being found unreasonable, just like a refusal.

When can approval be refused?

Refusal can be justified where the specific animal poses a real problem the by-laws are entitled to manage: a documented history of aggression, an animal genuinely unsuited to the lot, or a species that local law prohibits. What does not hold up before adjudicators: refusing because the scheme "has always been pet-free", because other owners object in principle, or because the committee fears setting a precedent — each of those is a policy answer, not an assessment of the animal.

Tenants and pets — two gates, not one

A tenant in a community titles scheme passes through two approvals: the lessor's (under Queensland tenancy law, which requires a landlord to respond to a pet request within a set time and limits the grounds for refusal) and the body corporate's by-law approval. A landlord's consent does not override the by-laws, and a body corporate approval does not override the tenancy agreement. Practical order: get the lessor's position first, then apply to the body corporate.

If the request is refused or ignored

The dispute path runs through the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM):

1. Internal dispute resolution — put the complaint to the committee in writing and give it a chance to respond.
2. Conciliation through the Commissioner's office — most pet disputes settle here.
3. Adjudication — an adjudicator can declare a by-law invalid, overturn an unreasonable refusal, or approve the animal subject to conditions. Orders are binding.

Keep the paper trail: the application, the decision (or the silence), and any conditions offered. Adjudications turn on what was actually asked and answered.

Common mistakes

1. Relying on a blanket ban — a "no pets" by-law is the single most commonly invalidated animal by-law in Queensland.
2. Deciding by policy instead of on the animal — refusals must engage with the specific application.
3. Not answering at all — an ignored request can be treated as an unreasonable withholding.
4. Approving verbally — unrecorded approvals resurface years later as disputes about what was agreed.
5. Forgetting assistance dogs are different — asking one to go through "the pet process" invites a discrimination complaint on top of a by-law dispute.

How StrataPilot handles this

StrataPilot's pet registration workflow keeps the whole process on the record: an owner submits the registration with the animal's details and photo, the committee's executives are notified and approve or refuse with their conditions captured in the decision note, the owner is notified of the outcome automatically, and every registration — pending, approved, or refused — stays visible to the committee so approvals never live in someone's inbox.

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This guide is general information about Queensland legislation, current as at the "last updated" date above — it is not legal advice. For decisions that matter, check the current BCCM Act and your scheme's regulation module, or ask the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management.