Leaving your pet with someone you don’t know can be scary. The app you use decides whether that person has been police-checked, trained by vets, and insured — or just signed up with a photo and a smile.
Why Picking the Right App Really Matters
It’s easy to just grab the cheapest option and hope for the best. But your dog, cat, or rabbit needs more care than that.
Think about what you’re actually handing over when you leave your pet with someone:
If your pet gets hurt or goes missing while in a sitter’s care, you’re the one left dealing with it — the stress, the vet bills, and the heartbreak. The app that connected you may or may not help, depending on what their terms and conditions say. That fine print matters a lot more than any star rating.
Most pet owners only find out an app has problems after something bad has happened. The best thing you can do is check how an app works before you book — not after.
Regulated vs Unregulated Pet Sitting Platforms — What’s the Difference?
Not all pet sitting apps are built the same. One of the biggest differences between them is whether they operate as a regulated platform — with enforceable standards, mandatory checks, and real accountability — or an unregulated platform that simply connects buyers and sellers with little more than a profile and a star rating.
An unregulated platform is basically a noticeboard. Anyone can sign up, create a profile, and start taking bookings. The platform makes money from each booking but carries minimal responsibility for what happens. If something goes wrong, the pet owner is largely on their own.
A regulated platform sets and enforces minimum standards before a sitter can ever appear. That means mandatory identity checks, defined conduct requirements, and proper accountability structures — so pet owners know exactly who is coming through their door.
Why It Matters for Your Pet
When a platform is unregulated, the only thing standing between your pet and a potentially unsuitable sitter is a star rating — which, as we explain below, can be faked. There’s no minimum standard of care, no mandatory training, and no reliable way to know who is really turning up.
On a regulated platform like PetCloud, every sitter must pass a live biometric police check before they appear on the platform. Sitters have access to vet-approved animal care training. And the platform is built with genuine accountability — not just a terms-and-conditions document designed to protect the company.
Before you book, ask:
Is the sitter identity check live and government-verified — or can they just upload a document themselves? Is animal care training offered or required? If something goes wrong, who is accountable? Does the platform have enforceable standards, or just guidelines?
On PetCloud, the answers are clear. Live DVS biometric check. Vet-approved training. Australian-owned and operated with local accountability. That’s what a regulated platform looks like.
The Big Safety Question You Need to Ask
Here’s the most important question to ask any pet sitting app: “How do you actually know who is looking after my pet?”
The Problem With Letting Applicants Upload Their Own Checks
Some apps let sitters upload a police check document themselves. That sounds okay — but there’s a big problem. Documents can be faked, edited, or just really old. A check from three years ago tells you nothing about who that person is today.
This is where PetCloud is very different.
Live Biometric Police Checks — The Same System Banks Use
PetCloud uses something called the Document Verification Service (DVS). This is the same identity check used by Australian banks, the tax office, and government agencies. Sitters have to verify their real identity — like their passport or driver’s licence — against a live government database. There’s no document to fake. No PDF to upload. Either your identity checks out or it doesn’t.
This isn’t optional on PetCloud. Every single sitter has to pass it. No exceptions.
Without naming platforms — some of the largest house sitting platforms in Australia don’t even do a police check before that person has access to stay in your home while you’re away.
Are the Sitters Actually Trained?
A police check tells you a person hasn’t done anything criminal. That’s good. But it doesn’t tell you if they know how to spot a sick dog, give medication, or handle an emergency. Being safe and being skilled are two different things.
PetCloud: Real Training, Approved by Vets
PetCloud is the only Australian pet sitting app that gives sitters access to a proper, vet-approved training course. It covers things like pet first aid, what to feed animals, how to read animal behaviour, and what to do in an emergency.
And because PetCloud is partnered with Greencross Vets — Australia’s biggest vet group — both pet sitters and pet owners can access vet video consults 24/7, around the clock, at affordable rates. That means if something seems off with your pet at 2am on a Sunday, you or your pet sitter doesn’t have to wait until Monday morning. Real vet advice is available any time, day or night.
A trained sitter on PetCloud knows what a healthy pet looks like — and what an unwell pet looks like. Catching a problem early can be the difference between a small vet visit and a really serious one.
Website Onboarding Does Not = Animal Care Training
Some platforms claim their sitters go through training. But website onboarding in how to take bookings — and how to use the platform — is not animal care training. There’s no vet-approved course, no animal first aid, no behaviour training, and no emergency protocols built into how sitters are prepared. Knowing how to set up a profile is very different from knowing what to do if a dog stops breathing. PetCloud‘s vet-approved training covers real animal care skills — built into the sitter’s preparation from day one.
Self-Declared Skills Does Not = Training
Some sitters describe their own experience in a profile. No credentials are verified by the platform. There’s no training offered, no check on what they actually know, and no vet involvement. For a sick, elderly, or anxious pet, putting them in the hands of someone with no formal training is a serious risk.
ID Checks Does Not = Training in Animal Care
Verifying someone’s identity tells you who they are — not whether they know how to care for your pet. Many sitters are travellers passing through — they may have no experience with certain breeds, medical conditions, or emergencies. If something goes wrong, there is very little to fall back on.
“Vetted” does not = police checked and trained. A platform can claim its sitters are vetted while doing nothing more than confirming an email address or checking a profile photo. Always ask specifically: has this person passed a live police check, and have they completed certified animal care training?
What Can Go Wrong — and Has
These aren’t hypothetical risks. Here are real, reported incidents from some platforms that show what happens when safety standards fall short.
In 2017, in Sydney NSW, a pug named Otis sustained a serious injury while in the care of a pet sitter found through an online platform. The case resulted in an animal cruelty charge. Read the reported article here.
In 2024, in Brisbane QLD, a grieving pet owner named Michael Rogers publicly shared on social media that his two-year-old Bulldog Freya died after being taken on a lengthy walk during extreme heat. His post urged other pet owners to exercise great care when selecting pet sitters. The platform was the same one as above. This tragedy is a reminder of why thorough vetting and proper training standards matter when choosing who cares for your pet. Read the original post here.
In January 2026, A Current Affair broadcast a report involving an alleged robbery by a house sitter booked through an online platform, where a Gold Coast pet owner returned home to find thousands of dollars’ worth of belongings missing. Again, this sitter was booked through the same platform.
In every one of these cases, the underlying cause is the same: not knowing enough about who the sitter really is, and not having trained, accountable people in place when things go wrong. PetCloud‘s live biometric police checks, vet-approved training, and 24/7 vet video access exist specifically to close these gaps.
Can You Actually Trust Those 5-Star Ratings?
Before we show you how the apps compare, there’s something important you should know: star ratings can be bought.
The Guardian reported that contractors can be hired to create hundreds of five-star reviews on platforms like Trustpilot, Google, and ProductReview — the exact sites many Australians check before picking a pet sitter — to make a business look more popular than it really is. A rating of 4.9 out of 5 with thousands of reviews sounds great. But it might mean nothing at all.
Star ratings are not the same as real trust
When you’re choosing who looks after your pet, a shiny star rating is one of the least trustworthy things to look at. Reviews can be faked. But a live biometric police check can’t. A vet-approved training certificate can’t. A partnership with Australia’s biggest vet group can’t.
Don’t ask “how many stars does this app have?” Ask “what can I actually check and verify about the people looking after my pet?”
What Real, Trustworthy Credentials Look Like
This is exactly why PetCloud was built around things you can actually verify — not star ratings that anyone can buy:
None of these can be bought from a fake review website. They’re real or they’re not. That’s what genuine trust looks like — and it’s what makes PetCloud different from apps that just compete on star counts.
When you’re comparing pet sitting apps, don’t just look at the overall star rating. Look at how the app checks its sitters. Is the ID check done live, or does the sitter just upload a document? Is there real animal care training? Who stands behind the sitter’s skills? PetCloud is the only Australian app where all three answers are solid.
Our Pick: The Best Pet Sitting App in Australia
When you look at what actually matters — who are these sitters, how do you know, and do they know how to look after your pet properly — one app is in a league of its own:
PetCloud is Australia’s best pet sitting app. Not because it’s the biggest. Because it was built with your pet’s safety first. Live biometric police checks. Vet-approved training. A partnership with Greencross Vets. A mobile app made for Australian pet owners. And a belief that looking after someone’s pet is a serious job — not just a side gig.
If you want to feel truly at ease when you leave your pet, PetCloud is the right choice. Don’t just take our word for it — read reviews from real pet owners across Australia who have trusted PetCloud to care for their pets.
Ready to find your pet’s care team for life?
Join thousands of Australian pet owners who know their pets are in safe hands. Police-checked. Vet-approved. Properly trained.
Australia’s most trusted pet care app is ready when you are.
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