Keeping hens · State rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Western Australia, Australia?

In Western Australia you may not own stock unless registered as an owner; DPIRD says that applies from 50 poultry. You're exempt only with fewer than 50 poultry, fewer than 10 emus and ostriches, and no other stock.

Read from 11 official sources69 passages quotedChecked October 26, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Conditions apply

State keeping rule

Not established

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule identified

A sourced reading of the law in Western Australia, Australia, not legal advice. Local bylaws and zoning, property or tenancy rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local rules before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Western Australia

Applies to: Owners and purchasers of poultry and other stock in Western Australia under regulation 7 of the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management (Identification and Movement of Stock and Apiaries) Regulations 2013 (consolidation listed as current on 26 October 2026).

Outside this finding's scope

  • The small-flock exception needs all three conditions together: fewer than 50 poultry, fewer than 10 emus and ostriches in any combination, and owning or purchasing no other species of stock.

What the checked sources say

  • A person must not own or purchase stock unless registered as an owner of stock. DPIRD says poultry means domestic chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea fowls, quails, pigeons, pheasants and partridges, and that the requirement applies if you own 50 or more of these birds in any combination.
  • DPIRD says owners already registered for other livestock do not need to register separately for poultry but are encouraged to update their registration to include poultry, emus or ostriches. It also encourages anyone who sells eggs or poultry meat for human consumption to register whatever the flock size; that is a recommendation, not the legal threshold.
  • DPIRD says applications go to the Brands Registration Office and are not active straight away, registration lasts 3 years once approved, and one or more property identification codes (PICs) are issued for the properties you nominate to run your stock on.

Thresholds

  • 50 or more poultry in any combination of the listed species.
  • 10 or more emus and ostriches combined.

Exemptions and their limits

  • The registration requirement does not apply to a person who owns fewer than 50 poultry and fewer than 10 emus and ostriches (in any combination) and is not an owner or purchaser of any other species of stock; all conditions must be met.

Authority: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Brands Registration Office

Fee: DPIRD’s 2026/27 fees booklet lists $90.83 for an application for registration as owner of stock and $90.83 for renewal, with GST shown as exempt.

The official wording

  • Biosecurity and Agriculture Management (Identification and Movement of Stock and Apiaries) Regulations 2013 10 Jul 2025 Current 00-j0-00

    Consolidated Version table · Checked

  • A person must not own or purchase stock unless the person is a registered owner of stock.

    r7(1) · Checked

  • Subregulation (1) does not apply to a person who owns or purchases emus, ostriches or poultry if — (a)the person owns — (i)fewer than 50 poultry; and (ii)fewer than 10 emus and ostriches (in any combination); and (b)the person is not an owner or purchaser of any other species of stock.

    r7(2) · Checked

  • Poultry includes domestic chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea fowls, quails, pigeons, pheasants and partridges. The requirement to register applies if you own 50 or more of these birds, in any combination.

    Opening threshold guidance · Checked

  • If you've already registered with the department as an owner of livestock (cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, deer, goats, camelids, donkeys, camels, buffalo), you do not need to register separately for poultry, however, you're encouraged to update your registration to include poultry, emus or ostriches.

    If you have already registered · Checked

  • Anyone who sells eggs or poultry meat for human consumption, regardless of how many birds they own is encouraged to register to support notification and tracing for the purpose of food safety.

    Who needs to register? · Checked

  • Once approved, your registration is valid for 3 years.

    How long does my registration last and how do I renew? · Checked

  • your application is submitted to the Brands Registration Office for processing. Your application is not active straight away.

    How long does registration take? · Checked

  • For applications for registration as an owner of stock, one or more property identification codes (PICs) will be issued to indicate the properties that you have nominated to run your stock on.

    What will I receive once I am registered? · Checked

  • 2026/27 Fees and Charges

    page 5 header · Checked

  • Memo Reg Fee (excl. Fee (incl. Service or Product GST $ Line Code GST) $ GST) $

    page 5 table column headings · Checked

  • Application for registration as owner of stock including: 90.83 Exempt 90.83

    page 5, Stock and Apiaries Fees, RR006 · Checked

  • Application for renewal of registration as owner of stock, 90.83 Exempt 90.83

    page 5, Stock and Apiaries Fees, RR007 · Checked

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-10-26

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Conditions apply to this finding

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence, within the limits listed under “Outside this finding’s scope” below.

Jurisdiction: Western Australia

Applies to: Inspectors’ directions under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (consolidation of 28 May 2026, listed as current on 26 October 2026) and DPIRD’s description of mandatory housing orders for poultry in a defined area.

Outside this finding's scope

  • DPIRD’s page describes when a mandatory housing order may be made; it does not show that one applies now. Voluntary housing recommendations are not enforced.
  • Whether any mandatory housing order applies now was not established.

What the checked sources say

  • An inspector may direct a person in control of an animal (any living or previously living thing other than a human being, plant or micro-organism) to restrain, muster, round up, yard or otherwise move or handle it, or to remove it to an inspection point, quarantine facility or other place for inspection or treatment. An inspector may also direct a person in control of an organism or other thing regulated under the Act to keep it in their possession, or leave it at a place, until further directed. An organism includes any living thing other than a human, but whether chickens are an organism or other thing regulated under the Act for these two directions was not established.
  • DPIRD says that if H5 bird flu occurs in WA poultry, a mandatory housing order may be implemented for all poultry within a defined area, with the boundary specified when the Chief Veterinary Officer issues it. It says voluntary housing recommendations are not enforced, and that poultry welfare standards must be met whatever the housing structure.
  • Whether a mandatory housing order applies now was not established; check DPIRD’s voluntary housing for poultry page. DPIRD says voluntary or mandatory housing is issued by the Chief Veterinary Officer, and its boundary is specified when it is issued.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

  • Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 28 May 2026 Current

    Consolidated Version table · Checked

  • organism means — (a)a living thing, except a human being or part of a human being; or

    section 6, organism · Checked

  • (1)An inspector may —

    section 67(1) · Checked

  • (i)direct a person who is or appears to be in control of an animal to restrain, muster, round up, yard, draft or otherwise move or handle the animal or to remove the animal to an inspection point, quarantine facility or other place for inspection or treatment; and

    section 67(1)(i) · Checked

  • (k)direct a person who is or appears to be in control of an organism or other thing regulated under this Act to keep that organism or other thing in the possession of that person until further directed by the inspector; and

    section 67(1)(k) · Checked

  • (l)direct a person who is or appears to be in control of an organism or other thing regulated under this Act to leave that organism or other thing at an inspection point, quarantine facility or other place until further directed by the inspector.

    section 67(1)(l) · Checked

  • In the event of an outbreak of H5 bird flu in poultry in WA, a mandatory housing order may be implemented to increase biosecurity for all poultry within a defined area.

    What scenarios would trigger voluntary or mandatory housing in WA? · Checked

  • The geographic boundary of the voluntary or mandatory housing is specified when it is issued by the Chief Veterinary Officer.

    Does voluntary or mandatory housing apply statewide, regionally or in a defined area? · Checked

  • Voluntary housing recommendations are not enforced – they are recommendations for the protection of your flock and the WA poultry industry.

    How much notice will producers receive? · Checked

  • Regardless of the type of structure, poultry welfare standards must be met.

    What is an acceptable housing structure? · Checked

  • animal means a living or previously living thing except a human being, plant or micro‑organism, and includes —

    section 6, animal · Checked

Small-flock welfare minimums

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Western Australia

Applies to: Part 5 of the Animal Welfare (Poultry) Regulations 2024, which applies to poultry, including chickens, bred, reared or kept in captivity, privately kept flocks included. The WA legislation register listed the 1 July 2025 consolidation as current on 26 October 2026; Part 5 commenced on 1 July 2025.

Outside this finding's scope

  • The substrate requirement does not apply to laying hens to which Part 2 or 3 applies (laying hens kept for commercial poultry production and continually housed in cages in a shed, among other cage provisions). Those commercial cage provisions are not presented as private-flock standards.
  • The lighting and darkness exceptions apply only to the requirements they name.
  • The scientific-use and lack-of-actual-control defences apply only when all their conditions are met.

What the checked sources say

  • Responsible persons include poultry owners, people with care, supervision, custody or control, their employer where applicable, and people owning, using, managing, controlling or operating the place or vehicle. A thing or area is appropriate according to the birds’ welfare, safety and health, considering all relevant circumstances, including species and environment.
  • Indoor poultry housing must have appropriate firefighting equipment maintained for and accessible from the place where birds are housed.
  • Captive poultry must have access to appropriate loose or friable substrate to peck, forage or scratch, except laying hens governed by Part 2 or Part 3. For those provisions, a laying hen is a female chicken aged at least 18 weeks, excluding a breeding chicken; the relevant cage provisions concern commercial production.
  • Where indoor poultry have outdoor access, the outdoor area must have appropriate shade, shelter minimising predator threats, a foraging/scratching area, and suitable access points allowing normal posture without hitting their edges. This is a condition on an outdoor area where access is provided.
  • Birds must not be illuminated continuously for 24 hours, except birds under seven days kept under a heat lamp or in a brooder. A brooder is a heated structure for raising young poultry.
  • When illuminated, birds under four days need at least 20 lux at bird level; birds aged four days or more need at least 10 lux, subject to the veterinary exception below. Bird level means the height of the head when the bird stands normally.
  • The 10-lux exception requires a veterinarian to consider lower light necessary to control pecking or cannibalism for the shortest necessary period, provide instructions and guidance, oversee and evaluate the lighting, and remain contactable.
  • Dark means all artificial lighting is off. Birds under seven days that are not under a heat lamp or in a brooder need at least one continuous dark hour in every 24 hours. Birds must not remain continuously dark for 24 hours, except birds under seven days kept under a heat lamp or in a brooder.
  • The general darkness rule requires at least six hours total and one continuous four-hour period in each 24 hours, subject to the following exceptions. It excludes birds under seven days, laying chickens under 16 weeks, and breeder poultry under 16 weeks. Laying chickens here means chickens managed for egg production, excluding breeding chickens; breeding poultry means birds managed for breeding whether or not mature or male.
  • The six-hour/four-hour rule also has exceptions on the day birds are removed from a shed for pick-up, including slaughter, and where the departure reduces or prevents huddling or clumping during high temperatures. During a disease outbreak, departure also requires a veterinarian to consider it the shortest necessary period to control or eliminate the outbreak, give instructions and guidance, oversee and evaluate lighting, and remain contactable.
  • A responsible poultry owner or person owning, using, managing or controlling the place or vehicle has a defence where another person had actual care, supervision, custody or control when the alleged offence occurred and the accused took reasonable steps to ensure proper treatment and care.
  • The scientific-use defence requires the accused to be an appropriately licensed scientific establishment or its staff member or student, have animal-ethics approval under the scientific use code, use the poultry in accordance with the licence and approval, and act humanely.

The official wording

  • Animal Welfare (Poultry) Regulations 2024 1 Jul 2025 Current 00-c0-00

    Consolidated Version table · Checked

  • (b)Part 5 — on 1 July 2025;

    r2(b) · Checked

  • This Part applies to poultry ( captive poultry ) bred, reared or kept in captivity.

    r20 · Checked

  • poultry means any of the following — (a)birds in the family Phasianidae, including — (i)partridges; and (ii)quails; and (iii)pheasants; and (iv)chickens; and

    r3 poultry definition, paragraph(a) · Checked

  • person responsible , for poultry, means any of the following — (a)the person who owns the poultry; (b)the person having care, supervision, custody or control of the poultry; (c)if a person referred to in paragraph (b) is a member of staff of another person — that other person;

    r3 person responsible(a)–(c) · Checked

  • (d)the person who owns, uses, manages or controls the place or vehicle where the poultry are located; (e)the person who is responsible for the operation of the place at which the poultry are located;

    r3 person responsible(d)–(e) · Checked

  • a thing or area is appropriate for poultry if it is appropriate for the welfare, safety and health of the poultry, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including the poultry’s species and the environment in which the poultry are kept or live.

    r4 · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry that are housed indoors must ensure that appropriate firefighting equipment is maintained for, and accessible from, the place where the poultry are housed.

    r21 · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry must ensure that the poultry have access to substrate that is appropriate for the poultry.

    r22(1) · Checked

  • Subregulation (1) does not apply to captive poultry that are laying hens to which Part 2 or 3 applies.

    r22(2) · Checked

  • substrate means loose or friable material for poultry to peck, forage or scratch.

    r3 substrate definition · Checked

  • If captive poultry housed indoors have access to an outdoor area, a person responsible for the poultry must ensure that the outdoor area has all of the following areas that are appropriate for the poultry —

    r23 opening · Checked

  • (a)shaded areas; (b)sheltered areas that minimise threats to the poultry from predators; (c)an area that allows the poultry to forage and scratch;

    r23(a)–(c) · Checked

  • a number of access points from indoor housing that are high and wide enough to allow the poultry to enter and leave the outdoor area with a normal posture without hitting the edges of the access point.

    r23(d) · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry, other than captive poultry that are less than 7 days of age and kept under a heat lamp or in a brooder, must ensure that the place where the poultry are kept is not illuminated for any continuous period of 24 hours.

    r24(1) · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry that are less than 4 days of age must ensure that, when the place where the poultry are kept is illuminated, it is illuminated with a light intensity of at least 20 lux at bird level.

    r24(2) · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry that are at least 4 days of age must ensure that, when the place where the poultry are kept is illuminated, it is illuminated with a light intensity of at least 10 lux at bird level.

    r24(3) · Checked

  • bird level means the height of the bird’s head when the bird is standing normally;

    r3 bird level · Checked

  • brooder means a heated structure for raising young poultry;

    r3 brooder · Checked

  • Subregulation (3) does not apply if a veterinarian — (a)considers a light intensity of less than 10 lux at bird level for a period is necessary to control the captive poultry from pecking or eating each other; and

    r24(4)(a) · Checked

  • (b)considers the period is the shortest period necessary to control the captive poultry from pecking or eating each other; and (c)provides instructions and guidance to the person who illuminates the place or the person responsible for the captive poultry for the period; and

    r24(4)(b)–(c) · Checked

  • (d)oversees and evaluates how the place is illuminated by the person who illuminates the place or the person responsible for the captive poultry; and (e)is able to be contacted by the person who illuminates the place or the person responsible for the captive poultry.

    r24(4)(d)–(e) · Checked

  • dark , for a place, means all artificial lighting is turned off in the place;

    r25(1) · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry that are less than 7 days of age, other than captive poultry that are kept under a heat lamp or in a brooder, must ensure that, in every 24‑hour period, the place where the poultry are kept is dark for at least a continuous period of 1 hour.

    r25(2) · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry, other than captive poultry that are less than 7 days of age and kept under a heat lamp or in a brooder, must ensure that the place where the poultry are kept is not dark for any continuous period of 24 hours.

    r25(3) · Checked

  • A person responsible for captive poultry must ensure that, in every 24‑hour period, the place where the poultry are kept is dark for — (a)at least 6 hours in total; and (b)at least 1 continuous period of 4 hours.

    r25(4) · Checked

  • Subregulation (4) does not apply if — (a)the captive poultry are — (i)less than 7 days of age; or (ii)laying chickens that are less than 16 weeks of age; or (iii)breeder poultry that are less than 16 weeks of age;

    r25(5)(a) · Checked

  • laying chicken — (a)means a chicken reared, kept and managed for egg production; but (b)does not include a breeding chicken.

    r25(1) · Checked

  • the act or omission constituting the offence against subregulation (4) occurs on the day on which the captive poultry are being removed from a shed for pick up; or

    r25(5)(b) · Checked

  • the act or omission constituting the offence against subregulation (4) occurs to reduce or prevent the captive poultry huddling or clumping during periods of high temperatures in the place; or

    r25(5)(c) · Checked

  • pick up , in relation to live poultry — (a)means removing the live poultry from the shed where the poultry are kept; and (b)includes removing the live poultry from the shed for slaughter;

    r3 pick up · Checked

  • the act or omission constituting the offence against subregulation (4) occurs during an outbreak of disease and a veterinarian — (i)considers the period of the contravention is the shortest period necessary to control or eliminate the outbreak; and

    r25(5)(d) opening–(i) · Checked

  • (ii)provides instructions and guidance to the person who illuminates the place or the person responsible for the captive poultry for the period; and

    r25(5)(d)(ii) · Checked

  • (iii)oversees and evaluates how the place is illuminated by the person who illuminates the place or the person responsible for the captive poultry; and (iv)is able to be contacted by the person who illuminates the place or the person responsible for the captive poultry.

    r25(5)(d)(iii)–(iv) · Checked

  • breeding , in relation to poultry, means poultry reared, kept and managed for the purposes of breeding poultry, whether or not the poultry are sexually mature or male;

    r3 breeding · Checked

  • laying hen — (a)means a female chicken that is at least 18 weeks of age; but (b)does not include a breeding chicken;

    r3 laying hen · Checked

  • laying shed means a building or structure in which 1 or more laying hens are caged for the purpose of commercial egg production;

    r3 laying shed · Checked

  • This Part applies to laying hens — (a)kept for commercial poultry production; and (b)continually housed in cages in a shed.

    r14 · Checked

  • the person responsible for poultry who is charged either — (i)owns the poultry; or (ii)owns, uses, manages or controls the place or vehicle where the poultry are located;

    r29(a) · Checked

  • another person has care, supervision, custody or control of the poultry when the act or omission alleged to have constituted the offence occurs; and

    r29(b) · Checked

  • the person charged takes reasonable steps to ensure that the poultry are properly treated and cared for when the other person has the care, supervision, custody or control of the poultry.

    r29(c) · Checked

  • the person charged uses the poultry for scientific purposes; and (b)the person charged is a scientific establishment, or a member of staff or a student of a scientific establishment, that holds a licence authorising the use of the poultry for scientific purposes; and

    r28(a)–(b) · Checked

  • the animal ethics committee of the scientific establishment has given approval, in accordance with the scientific use code, for the person to so use the poultry; and

    r28(c) · Checked

  • (d)the person charged uses the poultry in accordance with the licence and approval; and (e)the person charged uses the poultry in a humane manner.

    r28(d)–(e) · Checked

Rules on keeping poultry

Not established from the sources checked

Jurisdiction: Western Australia

Applies to: Statewide rules on keeping chickens at a property in Western Australia.

Outside this finding's scope

  • No statewide permission or ban on keeping chickens was found in the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, stock identification regulations and Animal Welfare (Poultry) Regulations 2024 provisions read. Local laws and planning rules were not read, and who sets them was not established.

What the checked sources say

  • DPIRD says that if you suspect any strain of avian influenza, or see signs of disease or death consistent with it in your flock, you are legally required to report it.

The official wording

  • If you suspect any strain of avian influenza, or see signs of disease or death consistent with avian influenza in your flock, you are legally required to report it.

    How to report avian influenza · Checked

Selling eggs in Western Australia, Australia? →Licence, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: Registration

Elsewhere in Australia

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Western Australia, Australia?
Registration: conditions apply. The finding covers: Owners and purchasers of poultry and other stock in Western Australia under regulation 7 of the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management (Identification and Movement of Stock and Apiaries) Regulations 2013 (consolidation listed as current on 26 October 2026). 50 or more poultry in any combination of the listed species. 10 or more emus and ostriches combined. Outside this finding's scope: The small-flock exception needs all three conditions together: fewer than 50 poultry, fewer than 10 emus and ostriches in any combination, and owning or purchasing no other species of stock. Exemptions and their limits: The registration requirement does not apply to a person who owns fewer than 50 poultry and fewer than 10 emus and ostriches (in any combination) and is not an owner or purchaser of any other species of stock; all conditions must be met. Authority: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Brands Registration Office.
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Western Australia, Australia?
The sources we read don't settle it, and we haven't identified who decides. Check your local rules before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Western Australia, Australia?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

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