Cat’s out of the bag: Wollongong Pet Connection is award-winning!
Exciting news! Our Animal Care and Impounding Services have been nationally recognised for pioneering innovation in pet care.
Earlier this month, Council received the Excellence in Innovation in Animal Management award from the Australian Institute of Animal Management (AIAM).
The award recognises the success of Council’s Animal Care and Impounding Services model – known as the ‘Wollongong Pet Connection’ – following NSW RSPCA’s withdrawal from impounding services. It particularly puts a spotlight on the foster care program, collaborative work with animal welfare organisations and strong marketing strategy.
Launched in 2024, it has been deemed an innovative success with the rehoming of more than 700 pets to date.
Project Director of Animal Care and Impounding Services Daniel Kennedy praised his team for not only the accolades but their commitment to an important community cause.
“We’re so grateful to be acknowledged by our peers at a national level. To think this program didn’t exist 18 months ago and now we’re here celebrating its wins is quite humbling,” he said.
“My team are passionate about what they do, so this award is a lovely reminder that what we’re doing here is making an impact. And in more ways than one.”
Image: Daniel Kennedy (right) accepting the Award from AIMA on behalf of Wollongong City Council.
What is the Wollongong Pet Connection?
In April 2024, RSPCA NSW withdrew its impounding services from Wollongong City Council as part of a broader, statewide transition. Instead of opting for a traditional approach to animal management, Council developed a virtual service model.
The current model uses private boarding facilities and a local veterinary clinic as an interim location for pets. This operates alongside a foster care program, rehoming initiative with a scaled adoption fee structure and a dedicated Facebook page.
Since its inception, it has significantly improved animal welfare outcomes and increased community engagement. This has resulted in the adoption of over 700 pets (so far) and nearly 250 registered foster carers.
Wollongong recognised by peers as industry leaders
Daniel and his team also presented at the 2025 AIAM workshop to share insights into the implementation and innovative nature of the service model.
In front of around 100 people from councils and animal welfare organisations, the presentation covered Council’s innovative approaches to animal care and impounding services, community partnerships, desexing and microchipping programs, foster care initiatives, and strategies for improving rehoming outcomes.
“This was an exciting presentation because it also acted as a reflection on how far we’ve come,” Daniel said.
“We showcased our learnings and emphasised the importance of collaboration with all stakeholders. Particularly why we chose the model we did when it hadn’t been done before.
“It was a humbling experience too as we had people come up to us afterwards to ask questions and seek support. We had some people say that we’re being viewed as industry leaders in this space and that’s really encouraging for our team.”
Image: Pop-up stalls at community events is an important part of the program and helps the team chat to residents all things animal adoption and foster care.
Social media a key for connection
This program has exemplified what it means to use social media for good!
The ‘Wollongong Pet Connection’ Facebook has garnered more than 2,800 followers creating a community hub to share lost pets and promote those in need of a home. In the last 12 months, the page has accumulated more than 1.09M views and 16,000+ interactions.
Daniel said the online community has played a huge part in the success of our animal care and rehoming service.
“We’ve heard some incredible adoption stories that begin with just seeing an adorable pet on Facebook or they were tagged in a post by family and friends,” he said.
“Because of the reach of social media, we’ve had pets find their fur-ever home in places outside of Wollongong. We’ve also been able to get lost pets to their home in real time. We also get to celebrate together when a long-time pet stayer finds their family!
“So, I’d like to thank everyone who has shared, tagged, liked or commented on a post since we launched. We couldn’t do it without you.”
Council is committed to continuing this program for our community and actively seeking new opportunities to enhance the service, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that every animal has the best chance to find a safe, loving, and permanent home whenever possible.
If you’re looking to foster or adopt a pet or want to help spread the word, you can check out Council’s website or follow ‘Wollongong Pet Connection’ on Facebook.
Image: A few success stories shared on the Wollongong Pet Connection Facebook page.
Read more
- Finding a home for Fido
- Sweetest goodbye as Banjo finds a new home
- Microchipping a must to reunite lost pets
Want more Council news?
Visit our News page to find out what's happening in your community, or sign up for e-news.