Background

By-laws are local laws created by Council to manage issues specific to areas under our care and control – from pets to waste, trees and signage.

Some By-laws are in place to protect the comfort and safety of our community while others seek to prevent damage to local government land.

We review our By-laws every 7 years to ensure they meet the current needs of our community and to meet our obligations under the Local Government Act 1999. There are some things we cannot create by-laws for, for example, things that are the responsibility of state or federal government.

We currently have six By-laws that cover the below areas:

1. Permits and Penalties
2. Moveable Signs
3. Local Government Land
4. Roads
5. Dogs
6. Cats

We are proposing to add an additional By-law for Livestock and Bee Management.

We’d like your help to review our proposed changes to existing By-laws and proposed new By-law. What do you think? Have we got the balance right?

Community engagement closes at 5pm on Tuesday 22 July 2025.

Summary of Proposed Changes

By-law 1. Permits and Penalties

The purpose of this By-law is to set out a framework for when Council permission is required to carry out certain activities. Council is purposing minor changes to align the By-law with current case law and future technologies.

To view a summary of the changes please read the Summary of Changes document or compare the existing By-law to the proposed By-law.

By-law 2. Moveable Signs

The purpose of this By-law is to regulate portable signs e.g. A-Frames for businesses to ensure they are safe, well placed and do not affect public access or amenity. Council is purposing minor changes to align the By-law with safety standards as well as current case law and future technologies.

To view a summary of the changes please read the Summary of Changes document or compare the existing By-law to the proposed By-law.

By-law 3. Local Government Land

This By-law sets out how people use parks, reserves and other Council land — covering activities like events, camping, fires, drone use, and vehicle access — to ensure public safety, amenity, and environmental care.

Council is proposing minor changes including refinement of definitions, clarification of terms, and editorial updates to improve understanding and ensure alignment with current legislation.

To view a summary of the changes please read the Summary of Changes document or compare the existing By-law to the proposed By-law.

By-law 4. Roads

The purpose of this By-law is to regulate activities and behaviour on roads and verges including obstructions, animals, camping, and waste. Council is proposing two key changes to the existing By-law for Roads, including:

• New restrictions on bin placement and timeframes for bins being placed in the road reserve. The reason for this is Council receives complaints about residents leaving bins out for extended periods of time, causing issues around tidiness and blocking carparks and pedestrian access.
• A new section to allow Council to stop people from damaging Council flora and fauna in its road reserves.

To view a summary of the changes please read the Summary of Changes document or compare the existing By-law to the proposed By-law.

By-law 5. Dogs

The purpose of this By-law is to manage dog ownership within the Adelaide Hills Council area ensuring responsible pet ownership. Council is proposing minor changes including refinement of definitions, clarification of terms, and editorial updates to improve understanding and ensure alignment with current legislation.

To view a summary of the changes please read the Summary of Changes document or compare the existing By-law to the proposed By-law.

By-law 6. Cats

The purpose of this By-law is to manage cat ownership within the Adelaide Hills Council area ensuring responsible pet ownership. Council is proposing minor changes including refinement of definitions, clarification of terms, and editorial updates to improve understanding and ensure alignment with current legislation.

To view a summary of the changes please read the Summary of Changes document or compare the existing By-law to the proposed By-law.

By-law 7. Domestic Livestock and Bee Management (new)

Adelaide Hills Council is seeking community feedback on a proposed new By-law to manage the keeping of livestock, roosters and bees in township areas.

This new By-law responds to ongoing community concerns and complaints regarding noise, odour, and nuisance arising from these animals in residential settings. It aims to protect the amenity, safety and wellbeing of residents while continuing to support responsible animal keeping through a clear, permission-based framework. The By-law will require residential properties within designated townships to seek approval to have livestock, roosters and bee hives. This approval process will not incur a fee to residents.

This new By-law is being proposed to bring Council in-line with industry codes and recommendations about animal ownership within townships and to assist with reducing the number of nuisance complaints received by Council, regarding ownership of these animals within closely located residential properties.

To review the proposed new By-law please read the Summary of Changes document.

We invited feedback from our community on proposed changes to our existing By-laws and the proposed new By-law for domestic livestock and bee management between Wednesday 1 July and Tuesday 22 July 2025.

A total of 316 participants provided feedback on the proposed changes to By-laws and proposed new By-law. Participation was through online and hardcopy feedback forms, emails and one customer request/complaint.

When reviewing the level of interest in providing feedback across the seven By-laws, the 2 By-laws that received the highest amount of feedback were the proposed new By-law No. 7 Domestic Livestock and Bee Management (280 responses) and proposed changes to By-law No. 4 Roads (88 responses).

Feedback across all seven By-laws showed a general lack of support for rules, regulations and over-governance that restrict residents’ way of living and the choices they can make within their own properties.

By-law No. 7 Domestic Livestock and Bee Management

Majority of respondents who provided feedback on By-law No. 7 were not in support of the proposed By-law. When detailing why they didn’t support the By-law, many mentioned the importance of maintaining the character of the Adelaide Hills, supporting sustainable communities and maintaining the hills way of life which livestock, roosters and bees are a part of. Others also mentioned that the By-law was unnecessary or over-governance.

Respondents highlighted the importance of bees and the role they play in food security, the food supply chain and a healthy environment and expressed that they did not support the restriction around bees within Adelaide Hills townships. While roosters and livestock did feature in commentary against the proposed By-law, this was to a lesser extent and closely matched by commentary in support of these rules.

By-law No. 4 Roads

Feedback provided against or stating concerns for the proposed changes to By-law No. 4, focused on concerns around timeframes for bins on the kerbside being too restrictive and not taking into consideration personal circumstances of residents, people who rely on support to place bins on the kerbside, weather, distance from houses, lack of streetlights and more. Many respondents asked for an extended timeframe for bin placement and collection.

When considering feedback about verge maintenance, respondents showed concern for the hinderance these changes would put on residents who are maintaining their own verges due to overgrowth, weeds and bushfire risk.

Comments in support of changes to By-law No. 4 discussed support for rules around bin timeframes and placement due to bins being left out all week, improved accessibility and incorrect placement being an ongoing issue. Comments also stated support for protection of verge-side vegetation, nets and habitats.

You can view the Engagement Outcomes Report by selecting the button below or under the Document Library.