Code of Practice

GOVERANCE DOCUMENT

Version 1.0 - effective 19th April 2026

Sets out how ITBR members are expected to behave towards each other, buyers, animals and the organisation. By joining or renewing ITBR membership, members agree to be bound by this Code in its entirety.

PREAMBLE

About this document

The ITBR Code of Practice sets out the minimum standards of accommodation, management, care, and operational practices that all ITBR members must meet. These standards apply to all animals under a member's care, including breeding animals, puppies, kittens, and retired breeding stock, across all four ITBR registry types, Full Registry, Extension Registry, Heritage Certificate parent animals, and Developing Breed Program animals.

This Code of Practice has been developed to meet or exceed the requirements of all applicable Australian state and territory legislation. Members are responsible for monitoring and complying with current legislation in their jurisdiction.

SECTION 1

HOUSING AND ACCOMMODATION

1.1 General Requirements — All Animals

All housing must protect animals from extremes of temperature, wind, rain, and direct sun.
All housing must be structurally sound, escape-proof, and free from hazards that could cause injury.
All housing must be kept clean and hygienic — enclosures must be cleaned daily and disinfected regularly.
All animals must have access to a dry, comfortable resting area with appropriate bedding.
All housing must provide adequate ventilation without creating draughts.
Temperature within housing areas should be maintained between 15–30 degrees Celsius where practicable.

1.2 Dogs — Space Requirements

Each adult dog must have a minimum floor area of 4m² of exclusive space.
All dogs must have access to an outdoor exercise area of at least 10m² per dog.
Dogs must not be kept continuously confined in crates or small enclosures.
Whelping bitches must have a separate, quiet whelping area from 7 days prior to their due date.
Puppies must not be moved from the whelping area before 4 weeks of age except for veterinary treatment.

1.3 Cats — Space Requirements

Each adult cat must have a minimum floor area of 2m² of exclusive space.
Cats must have access to elevated resting areas, hiding spots, and environmental enrichment.
Entire (undesexed) cats must be securely contained and must not be permitted to roam freely outdoors.
Queens with kittens must be provided with a separate, quiet queening area from 7 days prior to their due date.
Kittens must not be separated from their mother before 8 weeks of age except for veterinary treatment.

SECTION 2

FEEDING, WATER, AND NUTRITION

All animals must have access to clean, fresh water at all times.
All animals must be fed a nutritionally balanced diet appropriate to their species, breed, age, size, and reproductive status.
Breeding and lactating animals have significantly increased nutritional requirements — members shall ensure appropriate adjustments are made.
Body condition of all animals must be monitored regularly and diet adjusted as required.

SECTION 3

HEALTH CARE AND VETERINARY REQUIREMENTS

3.1 General Health Care

All animals must receive appropriate preventative veterinary care including vaccination, parasite prevention, and dental care.
Members must have access to a 24-hour emergency veterinary service.
Any animal in pain, distress, or poor health must receive veterinary attention without unnecessary delay.
Sick animals must be isolated from healthy animals to prevent disease transmission.

3.2 Vaccination Requirements

Dogs — minimum: C3 (Canine Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus) — initial puppy series and ongoing boosters. Puppies must receive at least their first vaccination before leaving the breeder's care at a minimum of 8 weeks old.

Cats — minimum: FPV, FHV-1, and FCV — initial kitten series and ongoing boosters. Kittens must receive at least their first 2 vaccinations at or before 12 weeks of age and before leaving the breeder's care.

3.3 Parasite Prevention

All animals must be maintained on an appropriate internal and external parasite prevention program year-round.
Puppies and kittens must be wormed at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks of age at minimum.

3.4 Identification — Microchipping

All puppies must be microchipped before 8 weeks of age.
All kittens must be microchipped before 8 weeks of age.
Microchip numbers must be registered with the relevant state or territory companion animal registry.
Microchip numbers must be submitted to ITBR at the time of litter or certificate registration.

SECTION 4

EXERCISE, ENRICHMENT, AND SOCIALISATION

All adult dogs must have access to a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise daily.
All puppies must be appropriately socialised from birth using positive, reward-based methods only.
Members shall provide buyers with documentation of the socialisation program their puppy or kitten has undergone when requested.
All animals must have access to appropriate toys, enrichment activities, and opportunities to engage in natural behaviours.

SECTION 5

Pedigree Registration Types

5.1 Overview

There are 4 registration types when applying for pedigrees with ITBR. These include the full registry, extension registry, heritage certificate and developing breed registry. Each pedigree type has a different requirement for the individual or litter to be registered with ITBR. Members who require assistance determining the appropriate registry type for their animal or litter are encouraged to contact ITBR prior to submitting an application.

5.2 Full ITBR Pedigree

Full ITBR pedigrees means you the individual has full traceable heritage (4 generations or more) with ITBR.

Requirements for registration: Individual Animals Applying for a Full Pedigree

Pedigree from one of our trusted breeding organisations, list can be found on our website under ‘Recognised Organisations for Pedigree Transfer’.
Genetic testing results relevant to the specific breed, full list can be found on our website under ‘Minimum Health Testing Dogs’ or ‘Minimum Health Testing Cats’ (any result can be used for breeding but carriers will require to have more careful mate selection as per the ‘ITBR genetic compatibility guidelines’).

Litters Applying for Full Pedigrees

Both parents have full ITBR registered pedigrees (mains) – if own both parents
If only own the queen/bitch they must have a full ITBR registered pedigree (mains) and the sire must meet the requirements seen on the ‘ITBR stud agreement’ and submit this signed form with the litter registration
Genetic testing results (specific to the chosen breed, found on the ‘Minimum Health Testing Dogs’ or ‘Minimum Health Testing Cats’ documents) have been submitted with the litter registration and are compatible as per the requirements stated on ‘ITBR genetic compatibility guidelines’

5.3 Extension ITBR Pedigree

Extension ITBR pedigrees mean the individual has partial traceable heritage (less than 5 generations) with ITBR.

Requirements for registration:

Individual Animals Applying for an Extension Pedigree

Pathway 1 – Holds a partial pedigree with another breeding organisation

Extension pedigree equivalent from one of our trusted breeding organisations, list can be found on our website under ‘Recognised Organisations for Pedigree Transfer’.
Genetic testing results relevant to the specific breed, full list can be found on our website under ‘Minimum Health Testing Dogs’ or ‘Minimum Health Testing Cats’ (any result can be used for breeding but carriers will require to have more careful mate selection as per the ‘ITBR genetic compatibility guidelines’).

Pathway 2 – Doesn’t have traceable heritage but is a purebred

Dogs: two tests are required. (1) A breed composition test (Orivet Geno Pet Dog Breed Identification Test Kit, orivet.com.au) to confirm the breed claimed. Individuals are assessed against breed standards, a perfect 100% result is not required, particularly for breeds with small gene pools. (2) A crossbreed genetic health panel (Orivet Geno Pet Crossbreed Profile or Embark full health panel) to screen for genetic conditions across the animal’s full genetic background, not only those specific to the claimed breed. Only breed-specific conditions appear on ITBR documents; the full panel is held on the ITBR file.
Cats: breed composition DNA testing is not required and is not accepted as a registration criterion. Cat breed composition tests lack the scientific accuracy required for reliable registration decisions and no provider is currently endorsed by ITBR for this purpose. Instead, breed assessment for cats under Pathway 2 is based on five photographs (see below) assessed by ITBR against the physical characteristics of the breed claimed. Cats must also complete a crossbreed genetic health panel the Orivet testing is called, My CatScan
Five photographs of the animal (front, back, top, and both side views), taken within 3 months of application. For dogs: required if the animal is 12 months or older; not required if under 12 months. For cats: required for all Pathway 2 applications regardless of age, as photographs are the primary basis for breed assessment by ITBR. Cats must be a minimum of 9 months of age at the time of application under Pathway 2 — adult coat, structure, and conformation are required for a meaningful breed assessment. Photographs must clearly show the animal’s full coat, structure, head shape, and any breed-distinguishing features. Poor quality or partial photographs will delay assessment.
Health certificate from your veterinarian saying the animal is of sound health and suitable for breeding purposes within the last 6 months (if older than 12 months old)
Genetic testing results relevant to the specific breed, full list can be found on our website under ‘Minimum Health Testing Dogs’ or ‘Minimum Health Testing Cats’ (any result can be used for breeding but carriers will require to have more careful mate selection as per the ‘ITBR genetic compatibility guidelines’).

Litters Applying for Full Pedigrees

Both parents have an ITBR extension registered pedigree (mains) – if own both parents
If only own the queen/bitch they must have a ITBR extension registered pedigree (mains) and the sire must meet the requirements seen on the ‘ITBR stud agreement’ and submit this signed form with the litter registration
Genetic testing results (specific to the chosen breed, found on the ‘Minimum Health Testing Dogs’ or ‘Minimum Health Testing Cats’ documents) have been submitted with the litter registration and are compatible as per the requirements stated on ‘ITBR genetic compatibility guidelines’
Offspring will then be placed on the extension registry type which is one more than the parent with the lower extension registry type (ie Bitch/Queen – Extension Pedigree, Generation 2 and Sire – Extension Pedigree, Generation 4, offspring will be registered as Extension Pedigree Generation 3, which is 1 more than the bitch/queen as it has the pedigree with the less traceable heritage)
Offspring which are generation 5 of heritage will be moved onto the full registry type (this is the goal for all breeding programs which has extension registry animals

5.4 Heritage Certificate

ITBR heritage certificates mean the individual comes from pedigree parents of 2 different breeds. This is only accepted for first generation crosses and ALL offspring produced are placed on limited registries.

Requirements for registration:

Individual Animals Applying

Individuals animals can’t apply for this registry types as all parent animals must be pedigree, ITBR don’t accept 2nd generation crosses unless apart of a developing breeding program (as seen in Section 5.5)
Parents animals hoping to be used to produce a 1st generation cross must go through the same process an extension or full pedigree type as seen in section 5.2 and 5.3 and then the below rules apply when apply to register the litter

Litters Applying for Full Pedigrees

Both parents have an ITBR full or extension registered pedigree (mains) – if own both parents
If only own the queen/bitch they must have a ITBR full or extension registered pedigree (mains) and the sire must meet the requirements seen on the ‘ITBR stud agreement’ and submit this signed form with the litter registration
Genetic testing results (specific to both parents breeds, found on the ‘Minimum Health Testing Dogs’ or ‘Minimum Health Testing Cats’ documents) have been submitted with the litter registration and are compatible as per the requirements stated on ‘ITBR genetic compatibility guidelines’
Offspring will then be placed on the heritage certificate registry type which highlights their heritage
All offspring produced will be sold on a limited registry regardless of heritage, these offspring can not be used for further breeding under ITBR and to be sold to pet homes only

5.5 Developing Breed Registration

ITBR developing breed registration means the individual comes from a specific cross breeding program which has the intention of developing a new breed.

Requirements for registration (before applying for parent or offspring registration),

Pathway 1 – Applying for a new developing breed

Submit an ITBR Register a Developing Breed Application (the more detail and specific the submission the more likely it to be accepted)
Pay associated fees (listed on the ITBR website under the Fee Schedule for that year)
Then register your parent animals
Each breeder is then required to submit a Developing Breed Annual Progression Report to ITBR

Pathway 2 – Asking for approval to join a developing breed

Complete an ITBR Join a Developing Breed Application form
ITBR committee will access if the breeder has the same values and goals as the existing developing breed program
When accepted details will be shared between the breeders who are a part of the program to ensure maximum genetic diversity is maintained
Then register your parent animals
Breeder will be required to submit a Developing Breed Annual Progression Report

Individual Animals Applying

Individuals animals will be required to undergo the same process as the extension and full registry types as seen in section 5.2 and 5.3 (specific to the particular crosses outlined in their developing breed application)

Litters Applying for Full Pedigrees

Both parents have an ITBR full or extension registered pedigree (mains) – if own both parents
If only own the queen/bitch they must have a ITBR full or extension registered pedigree (mains) and the sire must meet the requirements seen on the ‘ITBR stud agreement’ and submit this signed form with the litter registration
Genetic testing results (specific to both parents breeds and highlighted in their developing breed application, found on the ‘Minimum Health Testing Dogs’ or ‘Minimum Health Testing Cats’ documents) have been submitted with the litter registration and are compatible as per the requirements stated on ‘ITBR genetic compatibility guidelines’
Offspring will then be placed on the developing breed registry type until all the requirements of the developing breed program have been met and then they will be transferred to the full registry type.
All offspring produced will be sold on a limited registry to pet homes. Retained offspring can be registered on the main registry. Breeders can only sell puppies on main registry to breeders who are accepted by ITBR to join the developing breed program.

5.6 Main vs Limited Registration

Main registration means the animal comes with breeding and showing rights. Limited registration means the animal can not be bred from or shown. These individuals can not have any offspring registered with ITBR.

SECTION 6

BREEDING MANAGEMENT

6.1 Pre-Breeding Requirements — All Registry Types

Before any mating occurs under any ITBR registry type, members must ensure:

Both animals have completed all applicable compulsory DNA health tests for their breed and registry type.
Genetic compatibility has been confirmed in accordance with the ITBR Genetic Compatibility Guidelines (found on our website).
Both animals are in good health and fit for breeding, confirmed by veterinary assessment within the last 12 months.
Both animals meet the minimum and maximum age requirements for breeding.
Inbreeding coefficient (COI) has been considered to try to achieve maximum genetic diversity in your breeding program.
For Heritage Certificate breedings: both parents must be registered on the ITBR Full or Extension Registry and genetic compatibility must have been assessed against conditions relevant to both base breeds. This will be checked by ITBR upon litter registration.
For Developing Breed Program breedings: the mating must be within the scope of the approved breeding plan.
A stud agreement has been completed and signed by both parties before the mating occurs (if the breeder does not own both parents). Stud agreements must be submitted with litter registrations.

6.2 Whelping and Queening

Whelping and queening animals must be monitored closely and must have access to veterinary assistance without delay if required.
Members must maintain accurate whelping and queening records.
No queen or bitch can have more than 3 caesareans, upon their third they must retire from their breeding career regardless of age or number of litters previously had.

SECTION 7

RECORD KEEPING

7.1 Required Records

Members must maintain the following records and make them available to ITBR upon request:

Individual records for each breeding animal including name, ITBR registration number, registry type, microchip number, date of birth, breed or breed cross, DNA health testing records, vaccination records, and breeding history.
Litter records including sire and dam details, date of mating, date of whelping or queening, number born alive and stillborn, and individual microchip numbers.
For Heritage Certificate litters: records of both parent breeds, their registry status, and all health test results for both parents.
For Developing Breed Program litters: records required by the approved breeding plan plus annual progression data.
Sale records for each animal sold or transferred: new owners name and contact details. 7.2 Retention of Records
All records must be retained for a minimum of 5 years from the date of the record.
Records must be stored securely and must be accessible for inspection by ITBR or relevant authorities upon request.

SECTION 8

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

8.1 Member Operational Obligations

Members must maintain current ITBR membership to access ITBR databases, listing services, and registry functions.
Members must notify ITBR within 30 days of any change to their contact details, prefix name, or breeding operation.
Members must sign the current ITBR Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct and Code of Practice upon registration. By signing this document, you understand you must abide by the current and updated forms of these documents. The most recent form of these documents always being available on the ITBR website.
Members must notify ITBR immediately if their state registration, council registration, or Breeder Identification Number is suspended, cancelled, or under investigation.

8.2 Public Breeder Directory

ITBR publishes a public breeder directory on the ITBR website, updated on the first business day of each month. The directory lists all current ITBR members and includes:

Member name and prefix
Suburb and state
Phone number and email address
Website and social media handles (where provided)
Registered breeds
For Developing Breed Program participants: the developing breed name and program status

Members consent to the publication of this information as a condition of ITBR membership. Members who wish to use a business name rather than their personal name must notify ITBR in writing. The directory will be updated to reflect any changes within the monthly cycle.

SECTION 9

STATE AND TERRITORY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Members must comply with all applicable state and territory legislation in their jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the breeder to be up to date with their specific requirements. Some of the these requirements include;

NSW: Breeder Identification Number (BIN) required. Cap of 20 female adult dogs on new premises from November 2024. All cats must be desexed and microchipped before sale unless sold to an approved breeding establishment.
VIC: Domestic Animal Business (DAB) registration required for 3–10 fertile female animals not members of an applicable organisation. Commercial Dog Breeder approval required for more than 10 fertile female dogs.
QLD, SA, WA, TAS, ACT, NT: Members must comply with their applicable state or territory legislation and contact ITBR for current requirements if requiring assistance.

SECTION 10

AMENDMENTS AND REVIEW

This Code of Practice is a living document reviewed annually (at the minimum) to reflect changes in legislation, veterinary science, and best practice standards. Implementation will occur immediately when changes are made to this document and updated on our website for breeders reference. Any changes can be discussed with ITBR directly.