RSPCA Victoria Inspectors are on the frontline rescuing and protecting animals that need help. Our Inspectors are in your community 24/7, protecting animals from cruelty and neglect, and helping those that are lost or in dangerous situations. Our Inspectorate receives over 10,000 reports of cruelty every year, and they travel over 1.1 million kilometres investigating these reports.
We believe that prevention is best. Wherever possible our Inspectors try to support people to achieve good animal welfare. But where necessary our team will hold cruelty perpetrators to account. RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate prosecutes more than half of all the animal cruelty cases heard in Victorian courts every year.
RSPCA Victoria and the law
RSPCA Victoria is the only not-for-profit agency with the power to enforce legislation under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (POCTAA) and Part 4 of the Domestic Animals Act 1994 (DAA). These pieces of legislation govern the circumstances where our inspectors can investigate or intervene.
The cost of the Inspectorate
In FY22 it cost over $6.9 million to operate the RSPCA Victoria Inspectorate. This includes legal costs, caring for rescued animals and undertaking large scale operations. The work is varied, but it never stops. There is always an animal that needs help, so community support is vital.
The RSPCA Victoria Inspectorate received $2.3M in support from the Victorian government and rely on funding from the generous community through donations, fundraising and events to cover the $4.6M shortfall. Your donation supports the Inspectorate to continue to help as many animals as possible.
RSPCA Victoria and our Memorandum of Understanding
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is in place between RSPCA Victoria and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). This MoU sets out RSPCA Victoria’s and DEECA’s agreement on a range of matters, including the type of animal welfare cases that RSPCA Victoria is responsible for investigating.
