Can You Keep a Dingo as a Pet in Australia?

Can you keep a dingo as a pet in Australia?

In some states, legally, yes. In others, no. Australia has no single national rule on keeping dingoes; each state and territory decides, and their laws pull in different directions. In some places the dingo is treated as a dog, in others as protected native wildlife that needs a licence, and in others as a pest that must not be kept at all.

Two things are true everywhere. First, taking a dingo from the wild is not a legal way to get one in any of the rules below. Second, being allowed to keep a dingo is not the same as a dingo being a good pet, which is covered further down. The RSPCA's position is that wild animals, even captive-bred ones, should not be kept as pets unless there is clear evidence they will have a good quality of life and their needs can be met.

Dingo pet laws by state and territory

Each row comes from that government's own page, checked 10 November 2026. Laws change, so confirm with the agency before you act.

This is a summary of official guidance, not legal advice. Local council rules can add further limits.

Where can you legally keep a dingo, and on what terms?

New South Wales

The NSW Government's native animals as pets page says it often gets questions about dingoes. Wild dingoes are protected on National Parks and Wildlife Service land, but “under the Companion Animal Act 1998, dingoes and dingo hybrids bred in captivity can be kept legally as pets in New South Wales. There are restrictions in some areas.” It tells you to contact your local council. The Companion Animals Act defines a dog to include the dingo and “a hybrid of any of those species”, so a pet dingo needs a microchip from 12 weeks and council registration from 6 months, the same as any dog. Across NSW, wild dogs, including dingoes, are listed as priority pests under the Biosecurity Act 2015, and the dingo is not protected under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.

Victoria

The Victorian Dingo Licence guide says “it is an offence to own a dingo without holding a relevant licence.” A Dingo Licence lets you keep dingoes for non-commercial purposes, as a companion or for non-commercial display, and buy, sell or transfer them only with other licence holders. The private wildlife licence page sets the enclosure standard, which must be built before you apply:

• At least 30 square metres for up to two dingoes, plus 10 square metres for each extra dingo over nine months old.
• Fences 3 metres high, or at least 2 metres with a 1 metre inward return at 45 degrees (or a full roof).
• A 1 metre mesh skirt at the base, or the fence anchored to a cement slab, to stop digging out.

The licence conditions also require a dingo to be restrained on a lead or harness whenever it is outside its enclosure, “even within a designated ‘off-lead’ area”, and never left unsupervised indoors with anyone under 16. When checked on 10 November 2026, vic.gov.au listed the maximum full fee for a one-year Dingo Licence, from 1 July 2026, as $207.20 (concession $103.60), charged pro-rata by month. The licence covers pure dingoes; hybrids are registered as dogs under the Domestic Animals Act 1994.

Western Australia

DPIRD's wild dog page says dingoes are native wildlife under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, and that an exemption order under section 271 means “no licenses are required to keep dingoes”. Wild dogs, including dingoes, are also declared pests across WA under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, and DPIRD says the Western Australian Organism List sets their keeping categories. DPIRD's guide to importing and keeping introduced animals lists the dingo, and dingo-dog hybrids, as exempt keeping animals (no keeping permit) that are also declared pests. We could not find a current official WA page that sets out council registration or other local rules for a pet dingo, so check with DPIRD and your shire or council before you commit.

Northern Territory

The NT Government's keeping dingoes as pets page says you must have a permit to keep protected wildlife, that dingoes “can't be taken from the wild”, and that you can only buy one from a legal source. It is a permit condition that dingoes are desexed (unless approved for captive breeding) and that Parks and Wildlife staff inspect your property. Its enclosure rules are similar to Victoria's: 30 square metres for two dingoes, 10 more for each extra one, and fences 3 metres high or 2.4 metres with an inward return. It also warns that if you move interstate you must check whether you can take your dingoes with you, which matters given the bans in Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia.

Where is keeping a dingo banned?

Queensland

Business Queensland lists the dingo as a category 3, 4, 5 and 6 restricted invasive animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014: “You must not keep it, feed it, give it away, sell it, release into the environment.” The Queensland Government's dingo overview adds that dingoes are native wildlife protected in most national parks, including K'gari. Business Queensland last updated its dingo page on 30 April 2026; check it for the current wording.

South Australia

PIRSA says “it is illegal to keep a dingo or part-dingo as a pet inside the Dog Fence in South Australia, unless you have a permit”, and that permits are generally only granted to high-security zoos and research facilities. Inside the fence, a dog that looks like a dingo or hybrid is treated as one, and the owner must prove it is not with a DNA breed test from a company that can test for dingo ancestry. The SA Dog and Cat Management Board asks people to report dingoes advertised for sale. North of the Dog Fence, PIRSA says dingoes are unprotected native wildlife. Its page does not say whether one can be kept as a pet there, so check with PIRSA before acquiring one.

Tasmania

Section 32 of the Nature Conservation Act 2002 makes the fox, wolf, dingo and mink, and any hybrid of them, restricted animals. Importing or possessing one needs the Secretary's prior written permission, which may only be given as part of a program to manage feral populations. Biosecurity Tasmania lists dingoes as prohibited entry.

Australian Capital Territory

We could not find an ACT Government page that says plainly whether a dingo can be kept as a pet. The ACT Government's Waragul page (Waragul is the Ngunnawal name for the dingo) says they are declared pest animals, and that the government is working to protect them as a native animal under the Nature Conservation Act 2014. The ACT's animal keeping rules require a licence for any animal not on its exempt list. If you live in Canberra, check with Access Canberra's animal regulation team before acquiring a dingo.

What is a dingo like to live with?

The research on pet dingoes is small but consistent. A study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2016) compared owner reports for 49 pet dingoes with thousands of domestic dogs using a standard behaviour questionnaire. Dingoes were significantly less trainable than both “ancient” and modern dog breeds, showed more stranger-directed and non-social fear than modern breeds, and were more prone to escaping and roaming.

A 2022 review in the journal Animals describes dingoes as “notoriously difficult to maintain in captivity” and summarises what modern owners report: extreme independence, lack of training focus, escaping, howling, distrust of strangers and destructive behaviour. It also notes that well-meaning owners often give up dingoes while they are still young, and that many are euthanised because they are so hard to rehome.

Government keeping guidance says the same in plainer words. The NT Government describes dingoes as active and inquisitive, able to bond very well with their family, but able to be aggressive toward other people and animals, skilled at digging, climbing and jumping, and very difficult to rehome once bonded. Other points worth knowing:

• Once-a-year breeding. A 1992 study in Wildlife Research found dingoes have one breeding period a year, with most matings in April and May. Business Queensland notes autumn, the mating season, is when wild dingoes are more active.
• Size. Business Queensland describes the dingo as up to 60 cm tall and up to 25 kg, usually red, ginger or sandy, with white feet and a white tail tip.
• Containment. The Victorian and NT enclosure rules above exist because ordinary backyard fences do not hold a dingo.
• Other pets. Business Queensland says wild dingoes attack and eat pets in urban fringe areas. A prey-driven canid and a cat, rabbit or chickens are a risky mix.

Where can you see dingoes instead?

If what you love is the animal itself, a dingo sanctuary is a better way to spend time with one. Two that run public visits:

• Dingo Sanctuary Bargo, south-west of Sydney, is run by the Australian Native Dog Conservation Society, a registered charity. It says it does not sell its dingoes to the public and does not recommend them as pets.
• Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and Research Centre, in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges, about 35 minutes from Melbourne's CBD, is run by The Australian Dingo Foundation, a registered charity focused on dingo conservation, research and education.

Both take bookings for visits; check their own websites for current days and times before you go. In the wild, never feed a dingo. The Queensland Government says feeding makes dingoes lose their fear of people and can lead to dangerous behaviour, and in national parks it is an offence.

Why adopting a dog is the better path for most people

If what draws you to a dingo is an athletic, alert, Australian-looking dog, rescue has plenty of them, with none of the licences, enclosures or legal risk. Kelpies, Australian Cattle Dogs and their crosses are listed by rescues across Australia, and a foster carer can tell you exactly how an adult dog behaves with fences, people and other pets. The RSPCA Knowledgebase recommends starting with rescue organisations and shelters.

• Browse Kelpies and Australian Cattle Dogs for adoption, and read the cattle dog puppies guide.
• If a listing says “dingo cross”, check your state's rule in the table above, and ask the rescue how the dog was identified. Our what breed is my rescue dog guide explains what DNA tests can and cannot tell you.
• Drawn to the wild look more generally? Wolf dogs in Australia covers the legal breeds that look like wolves.
• New to dogs? Start with the adopting a dog guide, the adoption readiness check, the what dog breed am I quiz and the dog cost calculator.

Find a dog near you

• Sydney: Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, mixed breed dogs and all dogs for adoption in Sydney
• Melbourne: Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, mixed breed dogs and all dogs for adoption in Melbourne
• Brisbane: Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, mixed breed dogs and all dogs for adoption in Brisbane
• Perth: Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, mixed breed dogs and all dogs for adoption in Perth
• Adelaide: Kelpies, Cattle Dogs, mixed breed dogs and all dogs for adoption in Adelaide

Read each listing for energy, size and how the dog lives with cats and children. That tells you more than any breed label.