The cat threat abatement plan is set to be finalised by the end of the year, with state and territory leaders agreeing to it in principle.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is poised to release more details about the upcoming plan, which aims to cut the number of feral cats to protect the nation's wildlife.
Although the new plan focuses on the threat of feral cats, Minister Plibersek said the scheme will also encourage cat owners to manage their pets properly to prevent them from killing native wildlife.
It is estimated that roaming pet cats kill 546 million animals a year, including 323 million native animals, according to research conducted by the Australian National University.
There are up to 5.6 million feral cats in Australia, which kill, on average, more than 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, and 1.1 billion invertebrates each year.
"They played a role in Australia's two latest extinctions ... They are one of the main reasons Australia is the mammal extinction capital of the world," Ms Plibersek said.
The cat threat abatement plan will not force state governments to adopt the new rules. However, it will require them to work with the federal government to reduce cats' devastating effects on native wildlife.
This means state governments could pass laws that allow local governments to impose new restrictions on pets.
"As well as managing the vast numbers of feral cats, we [the federal government] will also work with state and territory governments to encourage responsible pet ownership," she said.
Some of the new rules in the draft plan include night-time curfews for pet cats, desexing and registration requirements, household limits on cat numbers and cat-free suburbs for native wildlife hotspots.
Rules surrounding cat ownership vary across states and territories.
Victorian councils can order cat owners to keep pets inside during specific hours.
The ACT has laws that require all cats born after July 2022 to be contained on their owner's property, while 17 suburbs near wildlife hotspots require all cats to be contained.
NSW and Western Australia do not have any laws that prevent cats from leaving their home.
