Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
#1
Anything,Anytime,Anywhere
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: The Magic Roundabout
Posts: 8,141
Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
I have a friend who had a Moreton Bay Regional Council employee/agent enter her yard without the person's knowledge. A complaint was then raised with the house occupier about the number of cats she has inside (which is another story, as their own online information and paperwork says she had under the legal amount)..... My question to those in the MBRC area is, do council employees/agents have the right to enter a closed yard without permission or notification? Has anyone had any experience with MBRC, or other, employees/agents entering their yard?
#2
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
I have a friend who had a Moreton Bay Regional Council employee/agent enter her yard without the person's knowledge. A complaint was then raised with the house occupier about the number of cats she has inside (which is another story, as their own online information and paperwork says she had under the legal amount)..... My question to those in the MBRC area is, do council employees/agents have the right to enter a closed yard without permission or notification? Has anyone had any experience with MBRC, or other, employees/agents entering their yard?
#3
Spud
Joined: Feb 2011
Location: Avoca Beach
Posts: 565
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
If one of the neighbours had complained to council about the number of cats and/or the conditions in which they may be being kept, then I suspect the council would have the right to investigate under the cruelty to animals act.
It would depend upon if and what allegations were made I guess. Hard to say without knowing the facts.
It would depend upon if and what allegations were made I guess. Hard to say without knowing the facts.
#4
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
Surely if the police were investing a crime they would need a warrant to search a property unless they had reason to believe a crime was in progress or someone was in imminent danger of grievous harm or death. Doesn't the same standard apply to coucil inspectors?
#5
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
Warrants aren't always necessary - sometimes 'Reasonable grounds to suspect that ' is all that's needed. But it very much depends on the offence and the powers of arrest and search attached to the offence.
I'm really not inclined to think that investigating the number of cats on a premises would come with any sort of power of entry.
S
#6
Anything,Anytime,Anywhere
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: The Magic Roundabout
Posts: 8,141
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
If one of the neighbours had complained to council about the number of cats and/or the conditions in which they may be being kept, then I suspect the council would have the right to investigate under the cruelty to animals act. It would depend upon if and what allegations were made I guess. Hard to say without knowing the facts.
#7
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
Surely the council would know how many cats your friend had by checking the licensing register?
#10
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
Not sure about council workers, but meter readers definitely can by state government legislation. So I would assume there will be a law for certain council workers to do the same. Electric meters used to be read by council employees.
#11
Anything,Anytime,Anywhere
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Joined: Jan 2004
Location: The Magic Roundabout
Posts: 8,141
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
Not unless the gate is secured with a locking device, then meter-readers take an average reading. Her other concern was that she was told by neighbours that they were apparently going from window to window peering into the house.
#12
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
Are they sure it wasn't the RSPCA - they can enter any property if there are reports of animal neglect or cruelty. Maybe they were looking inside to see if there were any distressed animals.
#13
Re: Council entry to private property in Caboolture.
It was covered under the gas act down here in Melbourne.
I would climb over gates in certain circumstances, especially if I hadn't been in somewhere for a year or more. I definitely used to go in with dogs if I felt like taking one on, as that added interest to a boring day. I did all of Broadmeadows on a regular basis for 16 years and had to go inside most of the wash houses around there. Got a lot of personal satisfaction out of going in with supposed savage dogs. Wimps most of them, in 90 pct of cases. Little/small dogs are far far more difficult to get to back down, I promise you.
Basically what I'm saying if the gate was locked we could still go in, by law. One thing I forgot to add..... If I did climb over, I would be making a lot of noise and calling out numerous times all the way "Gas and Fuellllll" very very loudly. That was to alert the owner or more specifically, let me know if there were new dogs around. It also alerted the neighbours I was in the street to unlock their gates.
Was the council worker calling out ?
Last edited by ozzieeagle; Oct 26th 2015 at 2:54 am.