Cats and dogs frequently asked questions

cannot be imported to Australia in accordance with the . Hybrid cats include, but are not limited to:

Please contact the Department of the Environment and Energy on +61 2 6274 2678 or email for more information.

When submitting an application to import to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, you must state the breed of your cat and sign a declaration stating that it is not an ineligible breed.

The following pure breeds cannot be imported into Australia under the legislation of the Department of Home Affairs :

Please contact the Department of Home Affairs on +61 2 6264 1111 or 131 881 (within Australia) for more information. Domestic/non domestic hybrids (e.g. dog-wolf crosses) are also prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to:

Please contact the Department of the Environment and Energy on +61 2 6274 2678 or email for more information.

When submitting an application to import to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, you must state the breed of your dog and sign a declaration stating that it is not an ineligible breed.

No. An import permit will not be refused based on an animal’s age. Please seek advice from your veterinarian if you’re concerned about the animal’s age and how they may handle the journey and quarantine in Australia. Your veterinarian can advise if you need to change the animal’s care to prepare them for travel.

Older cats and dogs may be more likely to dehydrate on long flights. Dehydration can have severe adverse effects such as renal failure.

You can provide food and water in the transport crate for the journey to Australia. Discuss the best way to do this with the airline and your veterinarian. Depending on the containers you use, you may need to train your animal to use them before departure (e.g. dripping water dispensers). Any food arriving with your animal will be destroyed in Australia.

If you’re concerned about how your animal will handle the trip, arrange for them to arrive in Australia early in the week. This will help staff settle them into their accommodation and, if required, arrange early veterinary attention.

Provide the quarantine facility with any special information they may need to care for your animal.

Yes, provided the animal meets all Australian import conditions. Discuss your animal’s ability to cope with travel and quarantine with their veterinarian before deciding to send them to Australia.

You must inform the department if your cat or dog has any medical conditions when you apply for an import permit. The veterinary medical form must be completed by your veterinarian and submitted with the import permit application.

If your cat or dog has been diagnosed with a medical condition after the import permit has been granted, please notify the department as soon as possible. This will ensure your animal’s welfare and medical requirements are met while in our care. Additional fees may be charged if your animal requires a higher level of care.

An approved country is any country, administrative region or territory from which Australia allows the import of cats and dogs and their semen. Approved countries are divided into three groups, each with different import conditions. The lists the countries in each group.

Approved countries have adequate animal health services and a satisfactory animal health status. This provides a high level of assurance in the treatment, management and health status of cats and dogs being imported to Australia.

Preparations depend on the recognised rabies status of the country of export.

You can import your cat or dog to Australia via an approved group 2 or 3 country. Moving your animal(s) to another country will also require you to meet that country's import conditions. Discuss your plan with your approved group 2 or 3 exporting country of choice.

You must apply for an Australian import permit for your animal and the animal must meet all Australian import conditions from the approved exporting country.

Please read our non-approved country via group 2 or 3 country step-by-step guide for or for more information.

Yes. As long as the who will sign and stamp the Veterinary Health Certificate in the country of export is prepared to accept and approve the testing, treatments or examinations performed in another approved country.

It can take up to 20 business days. The department processes each application as soon as possible from the date of submission.

If your application is incomplete, processing will be delayed until the department receives all required information.

Your animal must be implanted with a microchip that can be read by Avid, Trovan, Destron or an ISO compatible microchip reader. Most microchip numbers are 9, 10 or 15 digits long.

Microchip numbers starting with 999 are not acceptable because they are not unique.

Microchips are the only approved identification method. Your cat or dog should be scanned at each visit to the veterinarian and must be scanned before any pre-export blood sampling.

If the microchip cannot be read or found in Australia, or the microchip number is inconsistent on any import paperwork, your cat or dog may be exported from Australia.

You may send a microchip scanner with the animal to ensure that its microchip can be scanned and verified upon arrival in Australia.

Both microchip numbers must be included on the import permit application, laboratory reports and the final import permit. Both microchips should be scanned at each veterinary visit to ensure they match all import documentation.

The veterinarian should use multiple microchip scanners to try to read the microchip in the animal. An x-ray may be conducted to locate the microchip in case it has moved from the implant site.

If the microchip still cannot be read, a new microchip must be implanted and the pre-export process, including all testing, treatments and examinations, must begin again.

Your cat or dog must arrive in Australia with a microchip that can be scanned and linked to the import permit and any accompanying laboratory reports. If the microchip cannot be scanned in Australia, or the microchip number is inconsistent on any import paperwork, your cat or dog may be exported from Australia.

No, but the department encourages importers to use a pet transport agent as it may be simpler and more effective than undertaking the process yourself. You can find a pet transport agent/pet shipper by entering the terms “import dog to Australia” or “import cat to Australia” into a search engine, or visiting the .

The department is impartial and cannot recommend one agent over another.

The department recommends that you only send copies when you apply for an import permit.

Original documents must be signed and stamped by an and must travel with your animal to Australia. Copies of the documents can be used, but they must bear the original signature of the and stamp of the competent authority on every page.

The department recommends commencing preparations at least 7 months before the intended date of export for category 3 and non-approved countries. For category 2 countries, which do not require rabies preparations, we recommend starting the process at least two to three months before the intended date of export.

Please discuss treatments and tests with a in your country of export.

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment does not approve laboratories for rabies antibody testing. The government veterinary service in the country of export approves the laboratory.

The only time the department lists laboratories approved to do rabies antibody testing is when the cat or dog starts preparations in a non-approved country. In this case, the laboratory performing the initial rabies antibody testing must be either the or one of the OIE rabies reference laboratories listed in the non-approved country via group 2 or 3 country step by step guide for or .

It can take up to 180 days for an animal infected with the rabies virus to show signs of the disease. During this time there is no reliable way to tell if the animal has been infected.

When the rabies virus enters an animal it moves into the nervous tissue where antibodies can’t destroy it. There is no test that can reliably detect if the virus is hiding in a live animal’s nervous tissue. The only way to tell if an animal has the rabies virus is to observe it for at least 180 days to see if it develops clinical rabies. It can take this long for rabies to show itself in an infected animal. Australia is free from rabies and considering the potential severe consequences from the introduction of rabies, we take a conservative approach to preventing the entry of this disease.

The import of cats and dogs from rabies-endemic countries is one of the highest risk pathways for rabies to enter Australia. For this reason, our import conditions require cats and dogs entering from rabies-endemic countries to be vaccinated against rabies and show proven immunity to the disease for at least 180 days before entry. A rabies antibody titre level of 0.5IU/mL or above is internationally recognised as providing effective immunity against rabies in cats and dogs.

The only circumstance where the department will consider an exemption is where the cat or dog has had a rabies neutralising antibody titre test (RNATT) with an acceptable result of 0.5IU/ml or more , and is due to return to Australia within 24 months from the date a blood sample was collected for that RNATT test.

The department will not grant exemptions for any other circumstances. This is an essential part of our risk management and cannot be waived.

Email the and indicate which import condition your cat or dog can’t meet and the reason why. You will need to suggest an alternative import condition and explain how the suggested alternative will provide a comparable level of risk management.

You should contact the department well in advance before submitting your import permit application.

In some cases, an equivalent or alternative import condition can be applied. But there are many cases where the suggested equivalent or alternative conditions are not suitable.

An acceptable is a product that kills ticks and fleas on contact. Oral products (such as NexGard and Bravecto) are accepted because they require the tick or flea to bite the animal before they are affected by the product. Tick collars are not accepted because they can be removed from the animal and their effectiveness is reduced in some weather conditions.

See and government animal . The minimum cost to import one cat or dog that undergoes the minimum 10 days quarantine is $2000.

There may be additional fees if the cat or dog needs extra parasite treatments, veterinary care, an extended stay in quarantine or other services including testing where there is suspicion that the cat or dog may be harboring a disease of biosecurity concern. There are also transport costs charged by the airline that the department has no control over.

Fees are subject to change. It is the client's responsibility to check our website for information on updates or amendments to fees, policies and procedures.

Partial payment for your animal’s quarantine accommodation is due at the time of booking.

Yes. Cats and dogs must arrive into Melbourne International Airport where we will transfer them to the post entry quarantine facility. They cannot land in another Australian airport and travel to Melbourne on an Australian domestic flight.

No. Your cat or dog must travel to Australia as manifest cargo. Manifest cargo allows for traceability of your cat or dog.

Eligible may be exempt from this condition, and many airlines allow them to travel in the cabin.

The (IATA) regulations do not recommend sedating or tranquilising pets for transport as it can be dangerous to their health. Drugs act differently at the pressure of 8,000 feet above sea level, which is the approximate air pressure in an aircraft during flight.

Get an for cats or dogs. The crate must meet IATA standards to ensure your animal’s safety. Crates that are too small, low or narrow may harm your animal.

Buy the travel crate well in advance and get your cat or dog used to it before the flight by putting his/her bedding and food in it. Provide enough absorbent bedding to keep your cat or dog dry and comfortable during the flight. You can buy a ‘dry-bed’ type blanket such as those used in veterinary clinics, or a baby’s cot liner. The department does not recommend using newspaper instead of bedding. Crate bedding is generally soiled and will be destroyed on arrival due to biosecurity risk.

Ensure that a water container is fixed inside the crate, with an external funnel and hose. The people handling your cat or dog can then top-up the water from outside, as the crate cannot be opened after it is sealed by authorities in the country of export.

Make sure that your cat or dog knows how to drink from the water container before the flight, especially if you are using a ‘dripper’ type water bottle.

See for information on bringing your pet to Australia onboard an international vessel.

No. Cats and dogs can only undertake post entry quarantine at the Mickleham post entry quarantine facility in Melbourne.

All cats and dogs must stay at the Mickleham post entry quarantine facility in Melbourne for at least 10 days. They will have to stay longer if there are issues that increase the biosecurity risk (for example, if a tick is found on your dog, it will need to stay for 21-30+ days until blood testing is repeated at your cost).

Yes. Even if your cat or dog was born in Australia, it may be exposed to exotic diseases when travelling overseas. Your cat or dog must meet all the department’s import conditions for the relevant country of export in order to return to Australia. See .

No. You can only book quarantine accommodation once you have your import permit. You must provide a valid permit number when booking your animal into quarantine.

You can create a booking request by using the department’s . Alternatively, you can contact the Mickleham post entry quarantine facility via or phone 1800 900 090 or +61 3 8318 6700 (outside Australia) as soon as you receive your import permit.

There may be a lot of clients trying to book quarantine and it may not be possible to meet all requests. An import permit does not guarantee a place at the quarantine facility for your requested date.

You have to pay part of the when you make your booking. Bookings will not be kept unless you pay.

Reservations must be submitted at least 14 days in advance of arrival. Reservations submitted within 14 days of arrival may not be approved. Alternative arrival dates may be required.

The department recommends that you register your cat or dog with a national microchip registry in Australia. It is the pet owner/importer’s responsibility to contact their local Australian council regarding animal registration, microchip registration and any other legal requirements. Your local veterinary hospital or animal shelter may be able to assist you.

The department does not have any involvement with local council and national microchip registration databases.