A micro-chip carries a number unique to your dog. This is very similar to a supermarket barcode reader. A microchip is a transponder, which means it responds to a scanner. It is not a transmitter and has no power source. Shown here in actual size (---), about the size of a grain of rice, the micro-chip is implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades. The procedure of micro-chipping is harmless and is as painless as a standard injection.
Farm working dogs, kept solely or principally for the purposes of herding or driving stock are exempt from the requirement to be micro-chipped. Other types of working dogs must still be micro-chipped. Dogs (apart from the working farm dog exception) registered prior to 1 July 2006 will not need to be micro-chipped.
Farmers must specify a dog is a working farm dog when registering it and council may require proof of this. If it is discovered that the dog is not used solely or principally for herding or driving stock the owner will be subject to legal proceedings for falsifying their registration application. No other working dog category is exempt.
When scanned, this microchip will provide the unique number which, if checked against the National Dog Database, will provide your contact details as a reliable way to identify your dog from any other dog, for the rest of its life.