28/08/2026
THE POCTA PROCESS NEEDS AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
This is no longer just about prong collars.
It is about whether Parliament and the people of NSW were given an accurate account of how proposed section 22A was developed.
Parliament was told that Professional Dog Trainers of Australia (PDTA) was consulted about the proposed ban.
We were not.
PDTA received no meeting, no briefing, no request for evidence and no opportunity to explain the practical consequences before the Bill was drafted — despite the parliamentary petition expressly calling for qualified and experienced professional dog trainers to be consulted.
Since PDTA challenged this claim, responses have referred broadly to community feedback and submission numbers. But that does not answer the question:
Who was specifically consulted about banning prong collars, and when?
If consultation records exist, publish them. If they do not, correct the record.
There is also a significant inconsistency in the proposed legislation.
Government dog handlers, including Australian Defence Force members, are not subject to the proposed prohibition in the same way as ordinary dog owners. Yet section 22A provides no regulated professional pathway and no disability exemption.
If this equipment is inherently cruel in every circumstance, why are government handlers treated differently?
If it can be responsibly used by trained and accountable government handlers, why can’t an appropriately regulated pathway exist for qualified professionals and people with disability?
Section 22A should be paused and its development independently investigated.
That investigation should establish who was consulted, what evidence was relied upon, how the claim that PDTA was consulted arose, whether disability impacts were properly assessed, and why safeguards applied to government handlers could not support a regulated civilian pathway.
Animal welfare deserves serious, evidence-based policy.
People with disability deserve to be heard.
Parliament deserves an accurate record.
Section 22A should not proceed until these questions are answered.
HELP US DEMAND ANSWERS
Share this post and contact your NSW MP calling for section 22A to be paused until the consultation process has been independently investigated.
