The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 6.4: Neighbour disputes 589 at all times and in all places. Guide dogs must be registered, but this is free (s 7 DA Act). Dog infringement notices The ‘parking ticket’ procedure applies to most offences under the DA Act. The notice is issued by a council officer and specifies the details of the dog or cat, the offence and the penalty. Animal trespass If your animals stray onto your neighbour’s land, it is likely that you will be responsible for any damage that they cause. It does not matter that you were not negligent or didn’t know what was happening. You have a defence where the act results from ‘an act of God’ (due to natural causes and which no human foresight could have guarded against, such as a wild storm blows your fences down) or the act of a stranger. Damage includes damage to land, crops, people and livestock (including mis-breeding in the case of livestock). If your neighbour tells you that your animals have strayed and you do not go and collect them, the law allows your neighbour to keep your animals until you have paid for any damage that they have caused. Animals on the highway People who own animals (including dogs) are under a duty to take reasonable care to see that their animals do not cause any damage by straying onto a highway. If reasonable care is not taken and damage results, the owner is liable to pay compensation. Noise Legislation reform The principal legislation that deals with the environment in Victoria – including noise – is the Environment Protection Act 2017 (Vic) (‘ EP Act ’) . The EP Act came into effect on 1 July 2021 and repealed the Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic). The EP Act has overhauled environmental protection laws in Victoria; this Act affects businesses and individuals. A key component of the new EP Act is the general environmental duty ( GED ). The GED requires you to reduce the risk of your activities harming the environment and/or human health. This duty applies to all Victorians. If you conduct activities that pose a risk to human health and/or to the environment, it is important that you understand those risks and you take reasonably practicable steps to eliminate or minimise them. There are many ways you can comply with the GED. For example: • consider the impact of noise or wood smoke on your neighbours; • keep your wastewater or septic system in good working order; and • manage risks when excavating, if you think your land might be contaminated. Under the EP Act, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria ( EPA ) (for contact details, see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter) now has increased powers to prevent harm to public health and the environment from pollution and waste. The EP Act has increased the maximum penalties for serious offences and distinguishes between corporate entities and individuals. Penalties for body corporates are now much higher, with an upper level of $1.6 million to $3.2 million. Individuals who commit aggravated EP Act offences can be imprisoned for up to five years. Other significant reforms that have been introduced by the EP Act include: • a new duty to notify the EPA of land contamin­ ated with ‘notifiable contamination’; • a new duty to notify the EPA of notifiable pollution incidents; • an overhaul of the waste regime; • a new duty to actively manage contaminated land; • a new three-tiered permissions regime; and • new obligations in relation to the prevention of unreasonable noise. For more information about the new EP Act, see Chapter 11.3: Environment and planning law. When noise is an issue Loud or persistent noise may be irritating, disturbing or unbearable; it may disturb sleep and cause stress. The law offers a variety of remedies; however, it is best to try talking first, particularly if neighbours are involved. Talking offers the best chance of a speedy and amicable resolution of a noise problem. Again, it may be helpful to get a third party or mediator involved to help sort out a solution to the problem (see ‘Resolving problems’, above).