VicPAH Code of Conduct

1 Acknowledgement of Country

2 Purpose and Values of VicPAH

3 VicPAH is sex positive and restricted to adults only.

4 VicPAH supports wearing of fetish gear and presenting in pet identities.

5 Scope

6 Aims of this policy

7 Member and participant rights and responsibilities

8 Affirmative Consent

9 Unacceptable conduct

9.1 Harassment

9.2 Discrimination

9.3 Bullying

9.4 Non-consensual offence

9.5 Reporting unacceptable conduct

10 Promoting positive behaviour and inclusivity

10.1 Orientation for new members

10.2 Promotion

10.3 Accessibility

11 Enforcement of this policy

12 Feedback

13 Review details

  1. Acknowledgement of Country

Victorian Pups and Handlers Inc acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters, and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.

  1. Purpose and Values of VicPAH

Victorian Pups and Handlers Inc (VicPAH) is a not-for-profit incorporated association social group whose mission is to engage, elevate and educate the Victorian pet play community with a focus on support and celebration. VicPAH is committed to supporting the community’s mental health and reducing social isolation through animal role play.
VicPAH that aims to be recognised as a leading Australian pet play community because of the enthusiastic engagement of our members and the level of service we provide.

  1. VicPAH is sex positive and restricted to adults only.

VicPAH acknowledges that all people have a right to enjoy happiness as sexual beings and that consensual sexual activity is not shameful or wrong. Participation in VicPAH events may expose participants to discussions of sexually explicit ideas. Because of the possibility of exposure to sexually explicit content, VicPAH is an adult only group. Online content and social events are restricted to people over the age of 18 years of age.

  1. VicPAH supports wearing of fetish gear and presenting in pet identities.

VicPAH acknowledges that fetish wear, regardless of the form that it takes, is appreciated by enthusiasts for a range of reasons. Whether fetish, fashion, sensuality or aesthetic, if dressing up and identifying as pets matters to you, you are welcome in VicPAH.

  1. Scope

This policy applies to:

  1. Aims of this policy

VicPAH is committed to providing a safe, accommodating, respectful and fun environment for participants free from all forms of discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment.
All people involved with VicPAH are required to treat others with dignity, courtesy and respect.


VicPAH strongly supports, affirms, and celebrates people’s right to identify with multiple communities and we recognise and understand that people’s intersectional experiences can place them at a higher risk of discrimination and victimisation, with resulting negative effects on health and wellbeing.
This policy aims to enforce protections against unacceptable behaviour and embed proactive positive behaviours that support the principles of VicPAH.

  1. Member and participant rights and responsibilities

All members of VicPAH and anyone who participates in VicPAH events are entitled to:

All members and participants must:

Additional responsibilities of committee members, event organisers and title holders

Committee members, event organisers and title holders must also:

  1. Affirmative Consent

VicPAH promotes and enforces an affirmative consent policy at all events as consistent with Victorian law.
Affirmative consent means you need to get consent before touching someone.

Consent can be given verbally, or in other circumstances by a deliberate gesture. For instance, if you are on a dance floor and you ask if you can touch someone, they may nod agreement. In some play scenes, a person may not be able to give a verbal response because of a gag or they cannot nod because of a restraint. In those cases, consent can be given through a thumbs-up or similar affirmative gesture.

A person who is incapacitated cannot give consent.
Consent that has been given may be revoked at any time.
Just because you have consented at the beginning, does not mean that you can't revoke consent or change your mind while you're in the middle of something. In play, on a dance floor or in a dark room, there are many ways you can revoke consent in the moment, including:

If someone says ‘no’ to you (or non-verbally indicates to you that their consent is withdrawn) you must stop immediately.
Do not assume that a person's sexual orientation aligns with yours. Always seek affirmative consent.

Just because someone is dressed up in their outfit, that doesn't mean they consent to doing anything with you. For example, just because you may like to be touched when you are wearing your gear, you cannot assume that someone else wants to be touched or that they want to touch you.
At VicPAH events you must treat everyone with respect and communicate just as you would want to be treated yourself.

Why is this important?

  1. Unacceptable conduct

Harassment, discrimination and bullying are unacceptable at VicPAH and are unlawful under the following legislation:

Persons found to have engaged in such conduct might be counselled, warned, disciplined, or prevented from participation in the activities of VicPAH. They may also be expelled (without a refund in case of paid events) at the discretion of the organisers.

  1. Harassment

VicPAH endeavours to provide a harassment-free experience for all, regardless of age, race, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, personal beliefs, fetish interests, neurodiversity, employment (including sex work) or religion. VicPAH has a zero-tolerance policy toward harassment of participants in any form. Harassment of any kind is considered a serious breach of this policy.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

Participants asked to stop harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately. ‘No’ means ‘no’ – if you are asked by another individual to leave them alone then you must respect their wishes.
All incidents of harassment – no matter how large or small or who is involved – require event organisers and committee members to respond quickly and appropriately – and discretely where required to preserve confidentiality.

VicPAH recognises that comments and behaviour that do not offend one person can offend another. This policy requires all members and participants to respect other people’s limits.
A single incident is enough to constitute harassment – it doesn’t have to be repeated.

  1. Discrimination

VicPAH is committed to diversity and inclusion. This policy is aimed at actively addressing stigma and discrimination in all its forms including homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ageism, and ableism.
Discrimination is treating, or proposing to treat, someone unfavourably based on a personal characteristic protected by the law, such as age, race, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, personal beliefs, fetish interest, neurodiversity, employment or religion.

Discrimination can occur:

Directly, when a person or group is treated less favourably than another person or group in a similar situation because of a personal characteristic protected by law (see list below).

For example, a person at an event is harassed and humiliated because of their race
or a person is denied entry because they are too fat.

Indirectly, when an unreasonable requirement, condition or practice is imposed that has, or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging people with a personal characteristic protected by law (see list below).

For example, admission to an event requires participants to purchase an alcoholic drink, thereby excluding people who do not drink alcohol for religious reasons.

Protected personal characteristics under Federal discrimination law include:

It is also against the law to treat someone unfavourably because you assume they have a personal characteristic or may have it at some time in the future. 

  1. Bullying

If someone is being bullied because of a personal characteristic protected by equal opportunity law, it is a form of discrimination.
Bullying can take many forms, including jokes, teasing, nicknames, emails, pictures, text messages, social isolation, or unfair work practices.
Under Federal law, this behaviour does not have to be repeated to be discrimination – it may be a one-off event.

Behaviours that may constitute bullying include:

Bullying is unacceptable in VicPAH.

  1. Non-consensual offence

In the context of private play or a private scene, individuals negotiate and agree to their own limits and to what behaviour is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Because play between participants, or individual behaviour, at VicPAH events may be observed by others who have not consented to observe that play or behaviour, VicPAH has a policy of minimising possible offence to others through disallowing certain overtly offensive behaviour. The following is prohibited at VicPAH events:

  1. Reporting unacceptable conduct

At all VicPAH events, there will be a nominated ‘Safety Officer’ or committee member clearly identified by some visual means whose role is to deal with Incidents at the event.
Individuals experiencing harassment or having a conflict with another participant should cease further interaction and contact the Safety Officer or any VicPAH committee member, who will handle all reports discretely.

Participants at VicPAH events can make a report either personally or anonymously. Reports can also be made via VicPAH’s Incident Reporting System. With a web form on our website. Anonymous reports cannot be followed up directly but will be investigated and recorded and action may be taken to prevent a recurrence.

When taking a personal report, the Safety Officer or committee member will ensure participants are safe and cannot be overheard. Once safe, the participant will be asked to explain what happened and the context. This can be upsetting but will be handled as respectfully and sensitively as possible. People reporting incidents can bring someone to support them. All information about the complaint can be kept confidential. You won’t be asked to confront anyone and we won’t tell you who you are.

The Safety Officer or committee member will also be happy to help complainants make contact with hotel/venue security, local law enforcement (with discretion and acknowledgment of issues of unequal policing), local support services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist people to feel safe for the duration of the activity. We value your attendance.

  1. Promoting positive behaviour and inclusivity

VicPAH is proud to welcome all pet play enthusiasts and those who wish to learn more about the rubber community, and we acknowledge we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of participants at our events. To that end, VicPAH will take active steps to make all participants feel welcome, to run inclusive events and to build a diverse and representative community.

  1. Orientation for new members

VicPAH will, from time to time, hold orientation events for new members. These may be either online events or face to face events.

Where practicable, events may include an orientation session prior to the event so that newcomers can familiarise themselves with the venue and discuss expectations for the event.
Orientation sessions also provide an opportunity to get to know other people who are new to the scene as well as the names of someone more experienced who they can go to if they have questions or would like support.

  1. Promotion

VicPAH will actively seek to portray diverse members of our pet play community online and in promotional material so that people from diverse backgrounds can envisage themselves participating in our events.
This does not mean that every piece of promotional material will display all possible people. Rather, it means that, over time and on balance, the impression created through VicPAH promotional material is that there are all sorts of people involved in VicPAH and that everyone who has an interest in pet play is welcome.

  1. Accessibility

Wherever practicable, VicPAH will hold events at venues that are wheelchair accessible. Venue accessibility will be noted in promotional material.
VicPAH will endeavour to provide spaces at events with low sensory stimulation, or ‘chill-out spaces’, where it is comfortable for people to talk quietly away from loud music and party lighting.

Where event participants have particular needs or feel uncomfortable attending events, wherever practicable, VicPAH will provide priority access for those participants.
VicPAH acknowledges that, despite best endeavours, it may not always be possible to meet a person’s particular needs for participation.

  1. Enforcement of this policy

VicPAH strongly encourages anyone who believes they have been discriminated against, bullied, harassed or victimised to take appropriate action by contacting a member of the committee or the Safety Officer at events.
Participants who observe behaviour at a VicPAH event that appears contrary to this policy are welcome to discuss their concerns with a member of the committee or the Safety Officer.

Failure to abide by this policy may result in the following:

The Safety Officer at events is primarily responsible for participant safety and enforcing this policy. Questions regarding safety or application of the policy should be directed to the Safety Officer or to members of the VicPAH committee.  
The enforcement policy for report handling during an event is set out in the VicPAH Incident Management and VicPAH Dispute Resolution Policies and Procedures.

  1. Feedback

VicPAH welcomes constructive criticism and comments on how to make our group more inclusive equitable and representative. If you have any feedback or a query about this policy or need more information, please contact any member of the VicPAH committee.
You can always email the committee at bark@vicpah.org.au 

  1. Review details

This policy was adopted by VicPAH on 10/11/2024

This policy was last updated on 10/11/2024

Victorian Pups and Handlers

Code of Conduct