Dog attacks are on the rise in Australia. The most recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show dog-related hospital admissions more than doubled in the eight years to 2021.

Over 2021–22 in Australia, there were more than 9,500 cases of attacks where a person was bitten or struck by a dog.

In response, some governments are introducing tougher penalties for dog attacks. In November 2025, for example, the South Australian government introduced fines of up to A$25,000 for people whose pet attacks and seriously injures or kills a person or animal.

But reactive enforcement like this can’t prevent tragedies. Something that might be able to help is an Australian canine brain bank. This would be a key step in developing genetic tests that could identify high-risk animals before they ever bite.

In March 2020, 90-year-old Ada Holland was killed by three unregistered dogs on Collingwood Beach in Vincentia, New South Wales. Her death prompted a coronial inquiry which heard that just a week before the fatal attack, the same dogs had attacked another person. However, inadequate council procedures failed to prevent the subsequent tragedy.

During the

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