Petme . Melbourne

Earn as a pet sitter in Melbourne

Keep up to 90% per booking. A$45-75 per night for boarding in Melbourne. A$20,000 vet protection on every booking.

Earn flexibly with Petme in Melbourne. Set your own rate in AUD, pick which dogs and cats to look after, and keep up to 90% of every booking. Petme charges pet owners 0%, which keeps repeat bookings sticky in Melbourne.

Apply as a sitter

Up to 90%

Kept per booking

A$45-75

Typical boarding in Melbourne

200K+

Pet owners on the platform

4.9 / 5

Average sitter rating

Local demand

Pet minding and dog walking demand in Melbourne

Melbourne runs on a busy work-and-commute rhythm, and that is exactly what keeps pet minding and dog walking in steady demand across the city. Inner suburbs like Fitzroy, Carlton, Richmond and Brunswick lean heavily towards apartments and terraces, where dogs need a midday walk while owners are in the office or on the tram into the CBD. Leafier pockets such as South Yarra and St Kilda bring a mix of houses with backyards, families with two working parents, and plenty of small and medium dogs plus a good share of cats. Dog walking, drop-in visits and weekday pet minding are the most requested services, so a local sitter rarely runs short of work.

Melbourne's calendar gives you natural busy periods to plan around. The Australian summer and the Christmas-New Year stretch is the big one, when owners head off on holidays and need dog minding or overnight stays for a week or more. Easter and the school holidays bring another lift, while weekday dog walking ticks along all year as a reliable base. You set your own rates and keep up to 90% of every booking with cashback, so you decide how hard to lean in. Start with a few regular walks in your own street, turn happy owners into recurring bookings, then scale up over the peaks or ease back when life gets full. The schedule bends around you.

Working locally means picking the patch you know. You might cover Fitzroy and Carlton on foot, take the short hop across to Richmond, or build a round through St Kilda, South Yarra and Brunswick. Most bookings begin with a meet-and-greet, so you and the owner can size each other up and sort out feeding, routines and house keys before anything is confirmed. From there the work is a comfortable mix of drop-in visits, walks, day minding and overnight stays, whatever suits you and the pets. Every booking carries A$20,000 vet protection in case something goes wrong, and payouts land fast once a stay wraps up, so you are never left chasing what you have earned as a pet minder.

Earnings

What you can earn in Melbourne

Sitters in Melbourne set their own rates. The ranges below reflect typical Petme bookings in the city.

A$45-75

Dog boarding . per night

A$25-40

Dog walking . per 30-minute walk

A$40-65

Doggy daycare . per day

A$25-40

Drop-in visits . per visit

A$50-90

House sitting . per night

Why owners book on Petme

Why Melbourne pet owners come back to the same sitter

0% owner fee builds repeats

Petme charges Melbourne pet owners 0%. Owners feel less checkout friction and rebook the same sitter for weekly walks and recurring boarding.

A$20,000 vet protection

Every booking includes up to A$20,000 in emergency vet expenses. Owners book with more confidence, and you work with less worry.

Cashback for owners

Pet owners earn automatic cashback on every booking. That drives repeat bookings and grows your recurring schedule.

In-app chat

Meet and greets, key handover, photo updates: all in chat. No SMS, no WhatsApp, no scattered threads.

How it works

Apply, verify, go live

Apply

Tell us about yourself, your pets, and your experience. The application takes about 10 minutes.

Get verified

Identity check with a government-issued ID, so owners can trust your profile before they book.

Go live, start booking

Set your rates and availability in AUD. Owners in Melbourne message you in chat. You decide which bookings to accept.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does a Petme sitter earn in Melbourne?

Boarding in Melbourne typically runs A$45-75 per night, walks A$25-40 per 30 minutes, daycare A$40-65 per day, drop-ins A$25-40 per visit, and house sits A$50-90 per night. You set your own rates. Petme charges pet owners 0%, so up to 90% lands with you.

Do I need an ABN to pet sit in Melbourne?

Small-scale pet sitting is typically reported as personal income from self-employment, and standard Australian income-tax rules apply. Many self-employed sitters register for an ABN. Confirm with an accountant for your specific situation.

When is GST registration required?

GST registration becomes mandatory once your self-employed turnover passes A$75,000 in a 12-month period. Most sitters starting out operate well below that threshold. Check the ATO guidance or speak to an accountant if you are close to it.

Do Melbourne sitters need to follow animal welfare laws?

Yes. Pet care in Australia is governed by state and territory animal welfare laws, which set minimum standards of care. Every Petme sitter is expected to meet those standards for the animals they look after.

When is peak demand in Melbourne?

Mid-December through late January (Christmas and the summer holidays) is the largest demand window. Easter and the school holidays produce smaller spikes. Recurring weekday walks and drop-ins stay steady year-round.

How does Petme compare to other platforms in Melbourne?

Petme charges pet owners 0% and you keep up to 90% of every booking. Other platforms commonly add a service fee on top of the sitter rate, which creates more checkout friction on repeat bookings. The Petme model means owners feel less price friction every time they rebook you.

Owners and sitters in Melbourne

Find a pet sitter in Melbourne Dog walking jobs in Melbourne Cat sitting jobs in Melbourne

Application takes 10 minutes

Once your identity verification is approved, your profile goes live and owners in your neighbourhood message you. You decide which bookings to accept.

Apply as a sitter