Can a body corporate force residents to use the fire stairs for pet exits?

It is important – nay, crucial – to clarify what we may mean by 'pet protocol'. If we mean it is a policy, aspirational approach, a 'vibe' or a 'house rule', none of those things are generally enforceable.

That said, if we mean a so-called 'protocol' that is part of the by-laws registered with the Titles Office, that may be a different story and may indeed have enforceability.

For the purposes of this exercise, I am going to assume the 'protocol' in question is of the former, not the latter, variety.

While committees can impose conditions on keeping animals, legislative changes from 1 May 2024 put parameters on those conditions. Refer to s169B of the BCCM Act and, in particular, subsections (4) and (6) for the details about how those conditions might (and might not) be imposed. The conditions must be reasonable. While the legislation gives some examples, it does not specifically say that your situation is unreasonable. It may well be. Equally, it may be that carrying the animal by stairs is reasonable in the very specific circumstances of your scheme. I am aware of previous adjudicators' orders that have looked at this very issue. Factors such as the physical ability of occupiers to use the stairs and the size of the animal they are carrying would be taken into account: there is a world of difference, for example, for someone to be asked to take their chihuahua from the 2nd floor and someone asked to take their great dane from the 10th floor.

Perhaps you may want to come back to us with a little more clarification, noting the points above, and we could potentially offer more insight based on that. At the moment it seems you have a committee intent on not being as 'pet friendly' as they could. In my experience, there are ways to deal with that.

This is general information only and not legal advice.