Rehoming a Pet Safely

Rehoming a Pet can be a heartbreaking decision, but it is sometimes necessary; make sure to prioritise the animal’s well-being, screen adopters carefully, to secure a stable, loving home.

The Hard Facts about Rehoming a Pet

There are 3 options for Rehoming a Pet

1. Rehome your own pet: You are able to choose the person who will become the new owner of your pet. You will be able to ask the new owner to give you updates.
2. Surrender to an Animal Rescue: Rescues are at capacity because they are taking more and more pets from the pounds in NSW and other states. If you surrender to a rescue, you may receive an update from the rescue, but for privacy, you will never know the new owner. Most rescues do not charge a surrender fee at present; however, a donation is greatly appreciated.
3. Surrender to a pound - LAST RESORT: In FY 2024/2025, NSW Pounds euthanised 6,508 cats and dogs, 17.5% of all intake of 36,978 animals. (Pound Data OLG). You will never know what happened to your beloved pet. RSPCA kill rate is 30%. AWL -1%. There also may be a 'wait list' and a surrender fee to pay.

Let us help you rehome your pet safely. Go to our Step by Step Rehoming page.

When you're rehoming a pet, you are legally obligated to verify that the buyer is 18 years or older before transferring the animal.

Adoption Application

Standardised questions about pet ownership and lifestyle help you to match your pet with a new owner and their family.

There are questions about energy level, pet size, outdoor shelter, vet and food options, family size, noise levels, whether there are any children, secure fencing, and how long the pet will be alone.

Change of Ownership

A manual document can be signed by both parties and lodged with your Local Council in person, by post or via email.

OR you can transfer the Ownership online at the NSW Pet Registry by sending an Invitation to transfer to the new owner. You will need their email address linked to their account.

Bill of Sale

Agree on the adoption conditions beforehand, e.g., Return Policy, Refund Policy, whether the pet must be desexed or can be desexed within X weeks, what happens if the pet becomes sick within the first 72 hours, etc.

Safeguard your pet and yourself by having both parties sign a Bill of Sale and discuss the conditions beforehand.

Checking a buyer's ID is a standard practice and offers several benefits:

• Age Restrictions: By law in NSW and many other Australian jurisdictions, you cannot rehome a cat or dog to anyone under the age of 18.
• Transfer of Ownership: When officially transferring pet ownership (such as through the NSW Pet Registry), the seller and buyer must provide accurate legal names and details.
• Scam and Fraud Prevention: Just as buyers use ID to verify legitimate breeders, adopters use buyer ID to ensure they are dealing with genuine individuals, preventing scams and protecting the safety of the animal.

Where to safely advertise

There are several programs available to safely rehome a pet.

• PetStar Australia has a step-by-step program that follows the RSPCA website sales guidelines for pets.
• PetRescue has a program called Home2Home. Your pet will appear within a rescue's platform and be listed as "Assisted Rehome".

Other organisations offering support

• RSPCA has several programs:
  Homelessness Program, Crisis Support Programs, Community Outreach, and Seniors for Seniors Program.
  RSPCA NSW Crisis Support Programs helpline via phone at (02) 9782 4408 or via email at pr***********@**********rg.au.
• Paws & Recover, Apply for Care form on the website and pay a nominal fee for foster care and in-home feeding/care. For a person on a pension or welfare, or experiencing verifiable financial hardship, this is currently $10 per day for one pet or $15 per day for two or more pets for foster care, or $15 per day for in-home feeding. FOSTER CARERS are also needed. https://www.pawsandrecover.com/apply-for-care

Pitfalls with advertising on social media and other platforms

• No microchip. You don't know if the pet is stolen, and you can't check the details of the pet.
• Lack of information regarding temperament and suitability. Many posts on social media contain the reason for rehoming but not enough about the pet's needs, personality and temperament.
• 'Free to good home' posts can attract unscrupulous people.
• No Bill of Sale, so there is no agreement on important issues like refund, return, and sudden sickness.
• No Change of Ownership. Often, the pet is not put into the New Owner's name on the NSW Pet Registry or another state.
• Posts/advertisements do not contain 'standard' information; age, breed, sex, desexing status, etc., and microchip number, BIN or RON.
• No Adoption Application to help the Old Owner gather important information about the potential new owner, e.g. hours of work when the pet will be left alone, who will care for the pet if there is an emergency, etc.?
• It is easy to be scammer using Social Media posts.