03.1Start with the other country’s rules
The country your pet is going to sets what it needs, and the department warns that those requirements can be complex and can change without notice. It suggests reading its Manual of Importing Country Requirements, known as Micor, and asking the importing country’s own authority.
It is then your job to give those requirements, in writing, to the registered vet who will prepare your animal. Some countries also need an import permit, which spells out the tests, treatments, examinations and any isolation before export.
No export licence is needed to send animals other than livestock overseas. Animals listed under CITES, the endangered species convention, and Australian native animals carry extra requirements.
03.2If it might come back, plan that now
An Australian cat or dog loses its Australian health status as soon as it leaves. If it wasn’t prepared before it left, it waits 180 days before it can come back. The department asks owners to talk to its imports team early, before the export, because some animals can never be brought back, some can’t come from certain countries, and a pet returning within 6 months of leaving may need preparation before it goes.
If a return within six months is likely, the department recommends applying for an Australian import permit, and holding it, before you leave.
The microchip and the certificate
The export health certificate issued in Australia must carry the pet’s microchip number, and you will need that certificate, or its number, to apply for the permit home. If the microchip stops working, the animal can no longer come back as a returning Australian animal.
| Returning from | What the department says |
|---|---|
| A Group 1 country | These are rabies-free countries. The standard requirements apply, and there is no quarantine on arrival. |
| A Group 2 country | A pet coming straight back from the same Group 2 country it was exported to may be exempt from the official identity declaration or the 180-day residency period. A stop in any other country ends that, and the pet then meets the standard Group 2 conditions. Quarantine on arrival is mandatory. |
| A Group 3 or non-approved country | Rabies preparation done in Australia before leaving may allow a return at short notice, and a Group 3 return may qualify for a 10-day quarantine period. From a non-approved country, the pet has to be prepared for export in an approved one. |
Cats and dogs can only come into Australia directly from approved countries, and the quarantine details are set out on the import permit.
If you prepare against rabies before leaving, the pet is vaccinated against rabies, and the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness runs a rabies neutralising antibody titre test (RNATT) on its blood, which has to come back at 0.5 IU/ml or more. An RNATT is valid for 12 months from the day the blood is drawn, so a stay longer than that means a fresh test before the old one expires. Vaccination has to stay valid without a break: if it lapses by even a day, the pet needs a new vaccination, a new RNATT and 180 days in an approved country before it can return.
Trips of less than 45 days may qualify for short-stay conditions with fewer tests and treatments; the department asks you to say so on the permit application.
03.3The export, leg by leg
This is the order the department sets out for cats, dogs and other companion animals, with the deadlines that bind each leg.
- First
See a registered vet
Talk the plan through before anything else. Give the vet the importing country’s requirements and any import permit, and arrange the testing, treatments, examinations and paperwork with them.
- 10 working days before
Lodge a Notice of Intention
Fill in the Notice of Intention to Export Live Animals (other than Livestock) and email it, with the supporting documents and any import permit, to the department’s regional office in the state you leave from. It must arrive at least 10 working days before departure or before isolation starts. The department charges a fee to assess it, and an approved notice is not yet a permit.
The department bases the health certificate only on documents issued by the importing country’s government, and anything not in English needs a certified translation by a NAATI level 2/3 translator or equivalent.
- Before travel
Book the journey and the crate
You arrange all the transport, and any quarantine the other country requires on arrival. The crate must meet International Air Transport Association standards, and the registered vet inspects it and confirms it is suitable before it is used. Going by sea, contact the department’s live animal office in your state.
- Within 72 hours
The final vet examination
A final health and welfare check within 72 hours of departure, or the period the importing country sets. You and the vet both sign the declaration form, and this check comes before your appointment with the department.
- Appointment
Meet the certifying vet
A department veterinary officer reviews the paperwork to decide whether the animal is eligible. Some countries need the animal’s identity checked, and then it comes too. There is a time-based fee for the health certificate and a separate fee for the export permit, paid at or before the appointment.
Some countries want the crate sealed; the department names Fiji and Singapore, and Japan only for transhipment. It supplies the seal.
- Within 72 hours of the permit
Leave
Once the permit and health certificate are issued, the animal must leave Australia within 72 hours. If it doesn’t go as planned, or details change, contact the office that issued the permit.
- Two years
Keep the records
The exporter keeps every record of the export, including the permit application, for at least two years.
A pet transport company can do some or all of this preparation, and can go to the vet and department appointments in your place.
The department’s exports team takes calls on 1800 900 090 from within Australia.