The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-24 · by Benita Kolovos and Bertin Huynh
Victoria's premier plans to amend the state’s food safety laws to allow dogs in pubs and restaurants, following a trend seen in Europe where pet-friendly venues are common. Currently, dogs can only dine outside at limited venues, which requires patrons like Steph and Paul to plan their outings accordingly due to the restrictions. The announcement comes as part of Labor's campaign promises ahead of November’s election, aiming to make public spaces more inclusive for dog owners while leaving it up to individual venues to decide if they permit pets inside.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
“It’s really lovely – in wintertime, you go with your dog, there’s a fire, it’s really cozy,” she said.
asserted
she → ’ → dog
Now, they may be able to do the same in Melbourne with their cavoodle, Rupert.
uncertain
they → do → cavoodle
On Thursday, the Victorian premier announced that if Labor was re-elected in November, it would amend the state’s food safety laws to overturn the ban on dogs in venues.
asserted
it → announce → venues
Currently, dogs are only allowed to dine with their owners outside in limited circumstances in Victoria, with councils largely responsible for enforcing the rules.
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councils → allow → rules
“Not being able to go into some pubs with our dog is the difference between us going in or not,” Steph said.
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Steph → go → dog
Though the new parents are aware pets in pubs may not be for everyone.
“There is the exception of large dogs that are potentially scary for younger children and I do understand the issue in that space, but certainly for small, fluffy dogs, it’s hard to understand [why not],” Paul said.
“Kids are more disruptive than dogs, to be honest,” Steph added.
uncertain
Steph → be → dogs
For, Zeke, whose family owns six King Charles Cavaliers, including one-year-old Daisy, it requires planning ahead,
“I have to check before I go,” he said.
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he → own → Daisy
“It always has to be outside, in the beer garden, but a lot of pubs are not allowed.”
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lot → have → pubs
Carroll said the change shows the government is moving “with the times”.
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government → say → times
“All over Europe, pubs have been pet friendly for years – decades, in fact,” he said.
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he → say → fact
“What’s been shown in Europe is that pubs that are pet friendly and allow dogs benefit everyone – the economy grows, they become more family friendly, and everyone has a great time.”
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everyone → show → time
The government said it will be up to individual venues if they want to permit pets and it will conduct consultation to determine where exactly they will be allowed.
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they → say → consultation
“Publicans decide the music, the menu and the crowd.
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Publicans → decide → music
They should get to decide whether dogs are allowed inside,” it said.
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it → get → ?
At the Royal Botanic Gardens on Thursday morning, everyone Guardian Australia approached was supportive of the policy.
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Australia → approach → policy
Phillip currently picks where to dine out based on whether his tibetan terriers, Pebbles and Mickey, can join him.
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terriers → pick → him
“They just sit at the table and watch us eat,” he said.
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he → sit → table
And I think if people got their dogs under control, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
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it → think → control
The group had been pushing for clearer guidelines around pets, which she said will benefit both publicans and patrons.
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she → push → publicans
“A lot of us don’t have children, so your dog is your child.
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dog → have → children
To be able to bring them to the pub to enjoy all of the things the pub has to offer, is really cool,” she said, accompanied by her French bulldog Mack.
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she → bring → bulldog
Friends Gemma and Anna were also supportive – though they don’t think it will be enough to change people’s vote.
“If I wasn’t going to vote for Labor, it wouldn’t switch my vote,” Anna said.
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Anna → think → vote
Carroll also announced if re-elected, Labor would scrap legislate for venues to have an “automatic right” to stay open until 3am.
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venues → announce → am
“The red tape and the hurdles they have to go through to get to 3am, to be frank, is ridiculous,” he said.
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he → have → 3
He also committed to reducing the wait time for standard liquor licences from 11 weeks to six, allow staff under 18 to clear tables and consider more underage gigs at pubs and venues.
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staff → commit → pubs
Earlier in the week, Labor also announced plans to create live music precincts and committed funding to the arts and regional beer tourism and festivals.
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Labor → announce → arts
It comes off the back of two polls released this month that show Labor’s primary vote has sunk to between 24 and 25%.
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vote → come → %
Opposition leader Jess Wilson said she didn’t have a problem with seeing pubs open later – or for dogs in pubs – but the announcements would do little to improve consumer confidence.
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announcements → say → confidence
“Just because you open the pub to 3am doesn’t mean you’re going to see another pint being bought.
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pint → open → 3
So we want to make sure that we actually fix our economy here,” she said, noting the Coalition’s plan to reduce tax burden on businesses.
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she → want → businesses
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