Dog Beaches and Off-Leash Dog Parks in Perth: The Rules

Last checked: 22 October 2026. Every rule below links to the WA law, council, park authority or transport page it comes from. Greater Perth is split between many local councils, and each one decides where dogs can run off the leash, so read the signs when you arrive and check your own council’s list (how to find it).

The short answers

• Where can my dog be off the leash? Only in a dog exercise area set by your council (Dog Act 1976, sections 31 and 32). Everywhere else in public, your dog must be on a leash no longer than 2 metres (Dog Regulations 2013, regulation 27).
• Where are the dog beaches? Hillarys Dog Beach, Peasholm Street in Scarborough, North Floreat, Swanbourne, South Cottesloe and South Beach in Fremantle, among others. Many others ban dogs, including the main beaches at Cottesloe and Scarborough. More below.
• Are dogs allowed in Kings Park? Yes, on a lead of 2 metres or less at all times, but not on the raised section of the Lotterywest Federation Walkway, at events, or in playgrounds and cafes (Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority).
• Can dogs go on Transperth? No, only approved assistance dogs (Transperth).
• Does my dog need registering? Yes, with your council from 3 months of age, and it must be microchipped by then too (Dog Act, sections 7 and 21). A year costs $20 for a sterilised dog, $50 for one that isn’t (WA Government).
• What are the fines? $200 on the spot for a dog off the leash outside an exercise area, a dog on a beach or other place where dogs are banned, an unregistered dog, a dog without its tag, or no microchip. A dog that chases or attacks a person or animal costs $200, or $400 if it injures them (Dog Regulations, regulation 33). In court it’s up to $5,000, or $10,000 for an attack that injures (Dog Act).

The WA rules in every council

These come from the Dog Act and Dog Regulations, so they apply across WA:

• On a leash in public. Your dog must be “held by a person who is capable of controlling the dog”, or tied up for a short time, on a leash no longer than 2 metres (Act, section 31; Regulations, regulation 27).
• Off the leash only in a dog exercise area, and even there someone responsible for the dog must stay close by, able to control it and carrying a leash (Act, section 32).
• Collar and tag. In public your dog must wear a collar with its council registration tag (Act, section 30).
• Greyhounds stay on the lead, even in a dog exercise area, and no more than two per person (Act, section 33). Pet greyhounds don’t need a muzzle (WA Government, Stop Puppy Farming).
• Restricted breeds and declared dangerous dogs (dogo Argentino, fila Brasileiro, Japanese tosa, American pit bull terrier, pit bull terrier, presa Canario) wear a muzzle and stay on a leash held by someone 18 or over whenever they’re out of their enclosure, so never off the leash, even in a dog exercise area (Act, sections 31(4) and 33GA; Regulations, regulation 4).
• Playgrounds: no single WA distance. Kings Park keeps dogs 10 metres away (BGPA terms), Stirling 5 metres (City of Stirling), and councils such as Fremantle and Cambridge ban dogs from them.
• Pick up the poo. Councils set this fine in their own local laws: $100 in Stirling, $200 in Fremantle (City of Fremantle local law).

Registration and microchip

Register with the council where your dog lives. The state sets the fees (Dog Regulations, regulation 17; WA Government):

• Sterilised: $20 for 1 year, $42.50 for 3 years, $100 for life
• Not sterilised: $50 for 1 year, $120 for 3 years, $250 for life
• Pensioners pay half.

One-year and three-year registrations end on 31 October (Act, section 15), so renew before then in the year yours runs out. A dog registered for the first time after 31 May pays half for the months to 31 October. A microchip is required from 3 months unless a vet certifies it may harm the dog’s health (section 21).

Sterilising isn’t required yet. A 2021 law will make it compulsory by 2 years of age, with exemptions, for dogs not already registered when it starts. The state’s page still says “when these laws commence” (Stop Puppy Farming).

Find your council’s dog exercise areas

Find your council on the state’s MyCouncil map, then look for “dog exercise areas” on its website. Councils start from opposite defaults:

• Off the leash in most parks unless listed: the City of Stirling and the City of Melville let dogs off in parks and reserves not on their restricted lists.
• On the leash unless listed: in Fremantle, Cambridge and Cottesloe, your dog stays leashed anywhere not marked as a dog exercise area.

Where to go: parks

• Kings Park: on a lead, never tied up or left in a car, and not inside Rio Tinto Naturescape, at events (Australia Day and Anzac Day included) or within 10 metres of a playground. Bring bags: the park doesn’t provide them (BGPA).
• Bold Park: dogs may walk the trails on a lead of 2 metres or less at all times (BGPA, Bold Park).
• Ozone Reserve, East Perth, and Victory Terrace Dog Park, Claisebrook: fenced off-lead dog parks run by the City of Perth. Ozone Reserve has lights for after-dark runs. The Claisebrook site lacks water, so bring some (City of Perth). The City also lists Wellington Square, Totterdell Park and JH Abrahams Reserve as exercise areas (City of Perth Rangers).
• Stirling’s fenced dog parks: Carine Regional Open Space, Charles Riley Memorial Reserve (North Beach), Dianella Regional Open Space, Inglewood oval (Mount Lawley) and Princess Wallington Reserve (Balga). No food or toys, and no more than two dogs per person. Herdsman Lake and Star Swamp are on-leash only (Stirling).
• Lake Monger: the off-leash spot is the Galup Dog Exercise Area, between Lake Monger Drive and the freeway. A fence keeps dogs off the road, with a double gate and a dog water bowl, but it isn’t fully enclosed (Town of Cambridge).
• South Perth Foreshore: the City of South Perth’s dog exercise map shows the off-lead, on-lead and no-dog stretches; anywhere not marked off-lead or no-dog means on the lead. Keep dogs 5 metres from playgrounds. Comer Reserve in Como is an off-lead park for small dogs of 10 kg and under (City of South Perth).

Dog beaches

North to south, from each council’s own page:

• Hillarys Dog Beach (City of Joondalup): off-lead all year. The horse beach just north has its own times. The rest of the foreshore from Burns Beach to Marmion bans dogs, though they may use the coastal path on a lead (City of Joondalup).
• City of Stirling: Peasholm Street dog beach in Scarborough, Trigg Beach between Kathleen and Bennion streets, and North Beach between Castle and Margaret streets. All its other beaches ban dogs (Stirling).
• Town of Cambridge: North Floreat Beach and South City Beach are off-leash; the main City Beach and Floreat Beach ban dogs (Town of Cambridge map, 2020: check the signs).
• Swanbourne Beach (City of Nedlands): off-leash, except the signposted stretch in front of the Swanbourne Beach development (City of Nedlands).
• Town of Cottesloe: South Cottesloe, from the small groyne at Beach Street to Mosman Beach, and Grant Street Beach at the north end, which is closed to dogs from 10 am to 4 pm between October and March (Cottesloe dog beaches). Every other Cottesloe beach bans dogs (designated areas).
• City of Fremantle: off-lead on the northernmost 209 metres of Leighton Beach and on South Beach between Douro Road and Scott Street. Port Beach, the rest of Leighton and the south end of South Beach ban dogs (Fremantle policy, in force from August 2026).

On the river, the City of Melville keeps dogs off its foreshore reserves, Point Walter and Bicton Baths included, except on a leash between Flannagan Road and Canning Bridge (Applecross) and Queens Road and Cranford Avenue (Mount Pleasant) (Melville).

National parks

Pets are generally banned from WA’s national parks and conservation reserves: they stress native animals, 1080 fox baits are fatal to them, and they risk snake bites. Taking one in is an offence. The exceptions: approved assistance animals, designated dog areas (on a lead unless signed as an exercise area) and driving through, without stopping, when there’s no other route, with your dog inside the car (Parks and Wildlife Service).

Rottnest Island: no dogs without the Rottnest Island Authority’s permission; the on-the-spot fine is $200 (Rottnest Island Regulations, regulation 41).

Walking several dogs

Apart from greyhounds, the Dog Act sets no number: each dog in public must be held by someone capable of controlling it (section 31). Councils can add limits, like the two-dog rule in Stirling’s fenced dog parks, and the Town of Cambridge requires a Dog Training Licence for formal training on its open spaces (Town of Cambridge). They can also limit how many dogs you keep at home: the City of Perth allows two per household in residential areas (City of Perth).

Snakes, ticks and heat

• Snakes come out to bask in spring and summer; if you see one, keep your dog away (Town of Cottesloe). Tiger and brown snakes cause most venomous bites in Australian dogs. Around Perth that means dugites, a brown snake that lives in coastal dunes and bushland, and tiger snakes, often seen near water and wetlands (DBCA). Signs include sudden weakness or collapse (it may then seem to recover), shaking, vomiting and trouble breathing. If you think your dog has been bitten, keep it calm and quiet and go to a vet straight away, calling ahead (RSPCA). Keep a dog first aid kit in the car.
• Ticks: taking your dog to northern WA? Ask your vet about a tick product that repels and kills ticks: the brown dog tick spreads ehrlichiosis there (DPIRD). See how to check your dog for ticks.
• Heat: walk at the coolest times of day, keep off hot sand and concrete, and never leave your dog in a car (RSPCA). See heatstroke in dogs.

What to bring

• A leash no longer than 2 metres: you must carry one even in an off-leash area (section 32).
• Poo bags. Kings Park doesn’t provide them.
• Water, especially for Victory Terrace Dog Park.

Puppies: ask your vet when yours is ready for busy dog beaches and parks; see bringing home a puppy.

Off-leash manners

Off the leash, your dog must be under “effective control”, which Melville explains as: it “will come back when called at all times”. Cambridge adds that dogs “must not chase or harass any person, animal, or bird”. More in our dog park etiquette guide.

Dog parks in other Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

FAQs

Can I take my dog on the train in Perth? No. Only approved assistance dogs may travel on Transperth, in a marked coat or harness, with the handler carrying the dog’s photo ID card. “No other animals are allowed on any of our services or facilities” (Transperth), so buses, ferries and stations are out too.

Can dogs go on Cottesloe Beach? Not the main beach. Dogs are allowed only at South Cottesloe and at Grant Street Beach, which is closed to dogs from 10 am to 4 pm between October and March (Town of Cottesloe).

When is dog registration due in WA? One-year and three-year registrations end on 31 October (Dog Act, section 15). A lifetime registration lasts as long as your dog does and costs $100 if it’s sterilised (Dog Regulations).

What if my dog runs off? Call your council’s rangers: they collect wandering dogs and scan the microchip to find you (City of Fremantle). Getting your dog back from the pound costs money, for example $100 plus $24 a day in the City of Perth. Then report the lost or found dog free on FurFam: your report gets its own page to share.

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