Can I bring my pet dog/cat/rabbit?
Rabbit? No! Australia is not keen on rabbits, but they definitely are a pet loving nation with dogs and cats at the top of the list. Thousands of pet owners bring their dogs and cats with them when they migrate to Australia, 
but….
Is it a good idea?
We brought our pet dog Baggy with us, but it wasn’t cheap. But had we left him behind, we would have paid a bigger price. My wife and daughter both dote on him and, in the early stages, it can be quite tough adapting to your new Australian surroundings.
You’ve said goodbye to your friends and family, you’ve left your hometown, your children have had to leave their friends and their school behind, so if you can help it, don’t leave the dog behind (or cat!).
All dogs and cats coming into Australia need to spend a period of time in quarantine. Quarantine is run by AQIS, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service. They, in turn, are part of the Department of Agriculture and they are all part of the Australian Government.
How long your pet will spend in quarantine depends on which country you are coming from, but, for example, it’s just one month 10 days (for qualifying pets as of March 2014) when coming from the UK.
To find out more…..
Visit cat-dogs
…which covers cats and dogs. For other pets…..
Visit all imported livestock
I regret to inform you, that at the time of writing, spiders and snakes cannot be imported into Australia. Perhaps it’s because we already got some. Hehe!
Thinking of Exporting Your Pet to Australia?
When we brought our dog with us, we arranged for somebody to go in to the quarantine station to see him regularly and take him for walks. But it wasn’t easy to organise. Since we’ve lived here, my wife started a company that did do just that called Dog Walks Pty Ltd.
The company was established in the middle of 2008 and she has made hundreds and hundreds of dogs and cats very happy. We have now closed the DogWalks Gallery, but we used to have literally thousands and thousands of pictures of smiling doggie faces on display.
Sadly, her Dog Walks team can no longer physically visit pets or walk dogs in quarantine. Rule changes by the Australian Government put an end to that which now means…
- No visits
- No exercise
- No treats
- No idea what the facilities are like inside quarantine
- No photographs
- No updates (even telephone calls to quarantine staff are not allowed)
- No playtime
- No toys
- Absolutely no contact whatsoever
A scary prospect for a loving pet owner, for sure. In fact the whole process of exporting your pet from beginning to end is quite daunting. To help you though, Karen has written a guide, to find out more please visit the following page…
More Useful Links:
You can read Baggy’s Story here.
…and even more about Baggy here.
I also have a post about rabbits in Australia.
And…
- Dogs and Cats in Australian Quarantine: It’s Good News
- Unhappy Cats and Dogs in Australian Quarantine…
I’ve also written several articles about keeping pet safe in Australia:
- Snake Season in Australia: Keeping Children & Pets Safe
- Australia’s Killer Creatures: The Silent Assassin is Back
- Guarding Your Cat or Dog from Diseases: Core Injections
- The Funnel Web Spider of Australia and Death
Update:
Warning! If you are bringing your own pet, you’ll want to know how much it costs. Sit down before reading this, it’s a bit of a shocker. This is how much it cost us to bring Baggy to Australia.
If you can also plough through the comments below, quite a few people have mentioned how much it cost them to bring their pets over. For example one of my readers, Pravdaseeker, mentioned that it cost him nearly $9000 to bring his two dogs over from the US towards the end of 2012.
Warning over.
Hi! currently looking at bringing our 7 month old beautiful lab boxer mix from portugal to australia, and looking for the quickest way to do this as we desperately want to go home but cannot bear to leaver her, am i correct in reading that you must wait at least 180 days after she has the rabies test done before she can come to australia? even though she has resided in the portugal for 6 months (since birth). Thank you
Yes, that’s the way I understand it as well. It’s always best to get the information direct from the government’s website though, their information will always be the most up-to-date.
Hi Bob – just wondering how long import permits are generally taking from day of lodgment to approval provided they have been completed correctly? I know it says to allow 20days – I’m just hoping it happens quicker!
It’s been a long time since we went through this process, so I don’t know how long it takes these days. Does anybody have any up-to-date information about this for Dave?
Hi Dave,
I used a company Jetpets and they had the confirmation within a week. My fur babies are travelling from Malaysia to Perth. We are in our last 33 days and counting down.
Hi Guys,
Does anyone know if we could bring our pit bull mix to Australia?
We aren’t planning to move for a few years but just want to know if we would be allowed to bring her over.
Thanks!
There are restrictions on certain dogs and pit bulls are on the list. With your dog being a mix, I don’t know, but I would suggest you try and find an approved vet locally to you and ask the question there.
That’s my best suggestion, unless anybody else reading this knows the answer?
Hi Dylan
Have a look here – they do mention some things about mixed breeds & identifying dogs as restricted.
http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/local_government/legislation/dog_control/restricted_breed_faqs
Good luck
Nice link Leanne 🙂
Hi Bob,
Love the website! Very useful so far 🙂 I’m at the stage where we can’t part with our fur babies! My eldest came from Scotland to NY with me which is where we have acquired her ‘brother’ lol
I was wondering if anyone can suggest a good and caring pet company to take a dog from NY to OZ….?? I have been looking into it and some of the reviews I have read on companies has made me want to hide under my duvet with my dogs!!!!
I would really appreciate some recommendations if anyone can help!
Many Thanks,
Charmaine
Hi Charmaine,
It is a little long and expensive process but you can get both your babies to OZ.
Kindly go through the link to get a step by step process for dog importation-
http://www.agriculture.gov.au
There will be be many companies handling the same but you can also checkout – http://www.jetpets.com.au,but go with the one you get a comfort factor with.
Gaurav
Hi Gaurav,
Thank you so much for your reply! I have already visited the agricultural site and have started my babies on the path of becoming Australian along with me (wow lots to do huh?)
I will certainly check out jetpets thank you for your recommendation 😀 I’m really looking for someone with good reviews and, as you said, a good feeling. It’s already stressing me out that I wont be able to see them during quarantine enough without a bad travel company!
Thanks
Charmaine 🙂
We used jetpets when we brought our chocolate lab over, they are a good company, I would recommend them to you. My wife often recommended them when she ran her dog walks company. Hope that helps, Bob
Hi Bob,
It does indeed! I have requested a quote from them! As long as we can take our furry monsters we will be happy with our move.
Thanks again to you both. Just about to order your wifes book also Bob 🙂
Thanks,
Charmaine
Great, I hope it all goes well and enjoy the read 🙂
Bob
Hi Bob,
I am panning to relocate to Adelaide in May’16,ve got 190 PR Visa,all is set except for my 4 year old golden retriever who needs to come along with me,like you said my wife will rather leave me behind than him:)
1. I have gone through the complete process but I need to get in touch with some one who has taken his pet from India to Oz recently
2.I have hired services of Petfly based in Delhi but am not getting the surety that all will be OK,as he needs to be in Singapore for 4 weeks plus the blood sampling for parasites etc needs to be done,his rabies test is already done and he is OK
3.Then from Singapore to Melb for 10 days quarantine
Need to know which flights are the safest from India to Singapore and from there to OZ
R there any chances of him failing the blood tests and what is the process after that
Is taking to Singapore better or Dubai better
etc etc & lot of doubts
Can any one help who has moved from India to OZ recently
I can’t help with this one, hopefully someone who has moved their pet from India to Australia will see this and help you out. Anybody?
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your reply.I ve finally found the safe process from Delhi to Melb for Pet relocation along with a good pet flyer.
For any body wanting to relocate along with pet to OZ,Anvis Inc is a good company for relocating pets from India,you can google them or go to their facebook page.
As India is not an approved country,pet has to go through an approved country where in it has to stay for a minimum 45 days from where it can fly to Australia.
A rabies test need to be conducted atleast 180 days before you plan to move.And towards the end of the 180 days pet should move to an approved country.Singapore is good as it is Mid Way but it has its own quarantine rule which states that dog needs to be in quarantine for 4 weeks in Singapore, then another two weeks it needs to be in a pet boarding/home stay for the blood tests and reports,post which it can fly to Melb. quarantine where it needs to stay for another 10 days.
Dent is approx.INR 900,000/- or AUD 18,000/- and above which is a total fleece but we don’t have much of an option,till BOB starts a charity fund raiser for people bringing in pets 🙂
GT
That’s a good idea, a charity for people bringing their pets. If anybody wants to send me money for that, please do, the first $6000 received will go into my own back pocket to reimburse me the cost of bringing my dog eight years ago 🙂
Thanks for posting this GT, I’m sure it will be helpful for some of my readers. Hope the process goes well for you and your dog. Cheers, Bob
Thanks Bob,
Cheers ! Your site is really wonderful
Gaurav
🙂
Hi Gaurav,
My name is also Gaurav and i am recently moved to australia . Bro iam also facing the same situation and wanted to move my pet to australia . could you please guide me or share you no so that i can get better guidance..
my no is – 0449671786
Hi GT,
India and Bali are both problems, especially for expats wanting to bring their pets to Australia. Petmoves can organise a plan to for a person to do the export / import themselves which is alot cheaper provided you follow the dated plan, the other alternative we offer is we organise to process in the sense that we advise and remind all parties what needs to be done when, the people just do the main running around themselves, its still a hell of a lot cheaper than paying a company to do it for you. You could also have gone to Malaysia, its only a 7 day quarantine then, but you then have 5 weeks of boarding required.
Feel free to check out our website if you want to do that. We do this assistance with all Category Countries, so USA, UK, Europe. They are the easiest.
Regards
Sean
I think I just gave up trying to move my cat, secret. I was doing everything by myself just fine and got to the point of applying for the permit from the Australian gov and booking a ticket. It turns out I can’t move her at all without using an IPATA agent to go between myself and the airline. The quote given to me was $3900 from O’brien and 3100 from pet express. These were not including quarantine and lodging in Melbourne ($1600). I’m now looking for loan companies to maybe go ahead with it and continually asking friends if they want her… But $6000 is ridiculous and maybe my lovely cat can have an excellent happy life with someone here.
I feel your pain Anna, it is hugely expensive to bring pets out here. And, as you have discovered, you can’t do it yourself, you need to pay professionals to deliver your pets to the airport.
I know, it cost us over £3000 (= more than $6000) for our dog and that was eight years ago. Here’s the punchline though, we inherited that dog from somebody who did move to Australia six years earlier and had clearly looked into it and decided not to pay the money.
Nobody will blame you if you look for a good home for your cat, and having inherited two cats myself since moving to Australia I can tell you they’re pretty quick at settling in and making their new home THEIRS.
That’s cats for you 🙂
Hi Bob,
I am in the process of finding out how much I can do myself in order to get my dog to Australia from Norway and I wonder if you know anyone who has gone through the process?
I got a quote from PetRelocation for $7500 :O Perhaps I can reduce the cost by doing everything myself…up until the permit and transport part.
I can help out here Bob. http://www.trustforwarding.no used them twice Norway-Oz. Can recommend. AQIS website has all the requirements, timings. It’s hard but doable.
Thanks so much Alex, I will contact them immediately!
Thanks Alex, you’ve given a much better answer than I could have 🙂
No prob’s Bob. You are doing a good thing & I try to help when I can.
Kelly, you will be in good hands with trust. Australian Quarantine has your path detailed. I found it easier to put all dates/requirements/steps in a spreadsheet & tick off each one when the date/time comes.
Helps enormously if you are in Norway. Much harder to do it from Oz. If you get into trouble, just ask…I have a Norwegian Mate 🙂
Thanks Alex. I am reading through the steps of action from here: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-dogs/step-by-step-guides/category-3-step-by-step-guide-for-dogs
Did you manage to get everything done up to step 17? (health certificate of pet)
Yes Kelly, Step 17 is T-4 days. By this time all the hard work will be done. The rest is done day of flight. My dogs both came Oslo-Frankfurt-Singapore-Melbourne. There is a 1 day stopover in Singapore(amazing pet hotel at airport). Trust will give you a tracking number so you can see 24/7 where your dog is. I must admit, I did watch the entire flight on the web…not much sleep 🙂
Hi,
I plan to move to Perth from Malaysia soon. Could u please guide us the procedure / process & cost of bringing our cat along?
Tq
All the information you need is here, you just need to click through on the links above and have a read. Alternatively, contact a pet exporter who works out of Malaysia and asked them to help you. You will need a pet exporter, you can’t do it on your own, so that may be the best way to approach this.
Thank you for all the info you’ve compiled…this site is a wonderful resource.
Hoping to be able to get my affairs in order over the next couple years, but the idea of a 16 hr flight for my dog is giving me permanent anxiety!
Helia
I know how anxious you are to make sure your beloved dog is ok (I also went through it – with 5 pets)…and 16 hours is a long flight for people, but please don’t be tempted to give any drugs to your pet to calm it….You will be surprised how relaxed they are lying & sleeping in a quiet darkened area listening to the hypnotic drone of the airplane…
Pity it doesn’t work that way for us…
All the best
Oh I wouldn’t sedate her and leave her unattended… That’s very dangerous. She’s already a timid and anxious dog so I worry that this will be too taxing on her. But maybe regulations for animals on flights will change by the time we’re ready to move!
Dear Bob,
I am Dutch and live now in Turkey. We might move to Australia from Turkey based on an University position I will be interviewed for.
If I score the job I would want take our cat (plus 2 young kids and husband :)), she was born in The Netherlands and lived with us in the USA untill 2010 when we moved to Turkey.
Now I see that Turkey is not an approved country for import. OUr cat has had her rabies vaccinations in 2010 and was approved to be imported into Turkey by an USA veterinarian in 2010.
Is there any possibility to import her WITHOUT bringing her to an approved country first ??
For instance..I could bring her to Netherlands to stay with a friend and get the approved vaccinations/health certificates/quarantine, but I do not want to do that in the first instance.
I am desperate, I cannot imagine to leave her behind.
I will probably have some more questions for you relating to schools for my children but that does not seems to be so complicated as moving a cat!
I don’t know is the short answer, I think you need to start talking to an IPATA registered pet exporter to see what your options are. Or you could check out the calculator on this page…
https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/13829/dogs-and-cats-in-australian-quarantine-its-good-news/
to see what your options might be. Good luck, Bob
From a non-approved country you have to go via a Category II or III country first. I am moving back with my cat and dog from India and they will need to spend 180 days in an approved country before spending a further 10 days in quarantine in Australia. They will need to hav proof of regular rabies vaccinations and other vaccinations, be checked by a government vet in the country of origin as well as the Category II or III country, they will need a rabies titre test also. There are a number of global removal companies that can also move pets – Writer Relocations, Crown Removals are two such companies.
Does anyone know what PEQ Importation Charge means? I tried searching but can’t figure it out. It is very expensive ($1,200) so I am hoping it is a special thing that is like for breeders or something, and would not apply for just a family pet. I have two dogs, so if I have to pay that for both of them that would be really expensive.
I’m guessing a bit, but I think PEQ stands for post-entry quarantine, would that make sense to you?
That’s right Bob…and the importation charge is a levy – like a tax…
I guess they aren’t getting the huge fees from the quarantine facilities like they used to, now the stay is only 10 days…
This is an excerpt from section 4.4 from the charging guidelines document on the website – http://www.agriculture.gov.au/fees/charging-guidelines
Charges for animals and plants using the Australian Government’s post entry quarantine (PEQ) facilities include levies and fees (see Table 7).
A levy is applied to all plants and animals on arrival to the PEQ facility. For animals, the levy applies once for the animal’s or consignment’s entire scheduled stay in quarantine, regardless of duration. If the animal or consignment stays in PEQ longer (because of a health concern or otherwise), the importer does not incur additional levy costs, only additional husbandry fee costs.
The document gives a scenario which shows the levy applies PER ANIMAL
Hope that helps.
That sounds right Leanne, I know they massively raised their fees when they reduced from 30 days down to 10, so as you say, they needed to make up the money from somewhere.
Thanks for the link, very useful, although I didn’t read all 66 pages 🙂
Cheers, Bob
Hi bob. We live in qatar and our dogs are currently in india. We are moving to Australia in December 2016. So now we are wondering, how do we do this? Should we bring the dogs to qatar for 6 months? Qatar is a level 2 country. Or should we take the dogs to Singapore? If we took the dogs to Singapore will they need to stay for only 3 months as its a level 1 approved country? Who can we speak with to get a clear idea of how to approach this? Thank you
Your best bet would be to talk to an IPATA registered pet transport company, you will need to use one of them, you cannot do this sort of thing yourself.
You can also take a look at this page…
https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/13829/dogs-and-cats-in-australian-quarantine-its-good-news/
And look for the calculator, that may also give you the information you are looking for. Good luck, Bob
thank you!
we are getting their first round of tests in india and then bringing them to qatar for 3 months before australia…
Hey,
Maybe you can tell me
Im going to Australia to work and travel for two years, im leaving in January, my dogs supposed to come after me in April.
Just wanted to apply for the import permit.
But now: who is the importer and whos the exporter? The Importer needs to be someone in australia, the form says.
Im not going to have a regular adress in Australia, for its work and travel and we will be hopping from place to place
From germany with greetings
Anni
‘I think’ the importer can actually be the pet transport company you choose to ship your pets over. I believe they can use their details on your behalf. I’m not sure though, but I do know you will need to use a pet importer so you may as well start looking for one now. When you find whoever it is you’re going to use, you can ask them about this.
If you are only going to be in Australia for a couple years, I’m not really sure that it would be cost effective to take your dogs with you for such a short period of time. It will be hugely expensive bring them here, and probably just as expensive taking them back. You might want to look at the costs before you take this too far.
Good luck, Bob
hi bob,
i am a young australian who has been living overseas for 5 years now. i have a 10 month old jack russel puppy who is my best friend, my family , everything and doesnt leave my side ever. I am now needing to go home asap (like i would fly out tomorrow if i didnt have my boy to organise) and i need to get him organised to come with me.
He is totally up to date with his vaccinations (he isnt even 1 year old yet) and has a french europian passport to show all his vaccinations and allow him to travel in the horse truck with around europe.
my concern is something i am reading where they need a blood test and then to wait 6 months before they can come to australia??? this cant be right in this case can it?? please say no! he is all up to date with everything.. what do i do??
thanks in advance
amy
I am no expert Amy but my understanding is that this test, which I believe is the rabies test, is absolutely essential. At the moment, pets coming from the UK, for example, only spent 10 days in quarantine. I’ve been told that without this test, they would need to spend six months in quarantine.
But don’t take my word for it, you need to go to the IPATA website and look for a pet importer local to wherever you are. You will need a pet importer, you can’t do it without one, so you may as well get one now. They will be able to advise you in full.
Sorry it’s not what you want to hear, but good luck, Bob
hi everyone,
i wonder how it would work with the quarantine, if i would bring my dog with me on a ship or a sailing boat (saiingl around the world!)
love and hugs
kris
Hi Kris
Info on the website about bringing pets on private vessels
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-dogs/cats-dogs-vessels
Happy sailing
Leanne
Hi Bob!
I am returning from the USA to Perth (via Melbourne) with my two cats, looking for your advice 🙂 I am a veterinarian and happy to complete the required steps on the AQIS check list site myself, as much as I am legally allowed to do.
When I contacted Qantas/Delta/United airlines, they said they would only deal with IPATA agents…I have just read your e-book which confirms this is typical 🙁 Great book btw!!
1) Are you (or anyone else here) aware of any US airline that will deal with owners rather than IPATA agents? Or is this a post-9/11 government regulation for all airlines? I contacted AQIS and it is not their regulation.
2) If answer is no, can you (or anyone else) recommend a Chicago or Los Angeles IPATA agent that provides a ‘partial’ service (i.e. purchase the freight ticket on my behalf, check over my completed paperwork and show up at cargo to check them in) for a reduced fee?
3) Do you (or anyone else in the UK) have experience of transporting their animals from the UK to Australia without an agent? If yes, it would be cheaper for me to stop off in the UK.
Thank you for any advice/experience you can share. Awesome site, really wish I had found it 3 months ago!! I have been quoted $10-14K for full IPATA service, which of course we will scrimp for if need be, but it would be way more fun to spend the $ on toys and kibble 🙂
Thanks,
Ella
My wife, who sorted out exporting our dog, had the same problem. She tried to book flights direct, was told she needed to go through a recognised agent and that was from the UK. She was also told by one airline that the reason for this was because when they did allow people to book direct, when they turned up with their pets ready for boarding the flight, their paperwork wasn’t properly in order.
So it was chaotic, pets being turned away from their flights whereas when a pet exporter IPATA registered turned up with a pet, all the paperwork was in order. So it’s probably not a knee jerk 911 reaction, it’s just how things are now done.
My wife says there is quite a bit you can do yourself, the paperwork, some of the health checks, but some things need to be done by a vet who is recognised/authorised by the Australian government to act on their behalf. In particular she says there is one final check on the day of departure that needs to be done as well. So you will need to look into what you can and can’t do.
So I think you will possibly find an agent that will give you a cheaper price for you doing whatever it is you can do yourself, but that would just be a case of phoning around. I don’t know anyone in your area who can help.
Good luck though, as you say, whatever it costs you will have to sort it, leaving your cats behind is not an option. Cheers, Bob
Thanks for the reply Bob – I got your email even though it hasn’t seemed to display here. I really appreciate the advice 🙂 Ella
Hi bob, im faced with an issue of getting my bullmastiff from india to australia, even if i go ahead with it, knowing that its going to be a costly affair, do you know how much will it cost roughly?
Secondly is there anyway i can monitor him during the six months quanrentine, do dogs make it that long? My dog is very fussy.
I would appreciate your advice on this, adoption is not an option
Sorry Ralph, I really can’t help you with the costs, other than it won’t be cheap. But then I imagine you knew that.
And yes, dogs do make it through six months worth of quarantining, but obviously it is not ideal. As for monitoring your dog over those six months, I suspect that depends on the quarantine station. I assume you are not going to have your dog spend six months in Australian quarantine? That would not be a good idea.
Singapore would probably be a better bet.
Hello we have been doing all the paperwork for exporting our dog fromthe UK ourselves and have been hit with a bombshell with less than a week to go. The vet has informed us that we have got to write a declaration ourselves that contain information such as the dog has not lived outside the UK, the dog has not visited countries that contain rabies or been in contact with rabies and that it meets all the export and import regulations……..you get the picture. We have been looking across the internet for an acceptable template or example of such a declaration letter……Can anyone help with an example or point me in the right direction of where to find one.
We are desperate to find one as we do not want our dog rejected before he even gets a chance to leave.
Not sure if you found something Graham – but this was on the European Commission website & may give you a starting point…
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/pets/docs/reg_577-2013_part1_annex1_en.pdf
Good luck,
Leanne
Thank you Leanne that certainly helps.
Really appreciate it.
Hi Bob
We have started the process of bringing our lovely companions from South Africa, however, we have been informed that the quarantine facility will be moving at then end of the year from Sydney to Melbourne. The dogs have to enter Australia in Melbourne, no domestic travel allowed i.e. SA to SYD, SYD to MEL. The only problem is that there are no direct flights from South Africa to Melbourne AND I cannot find an airline that is even prepared to fly my beautiful little Pug. HELP please, any suggestions?
Hi Tarryn
This doesn’t sound right to me, it may be a good idea to doublecheck it. I think if your dogs catch a flight to Sydney and then are transferred onto a second flight from Sydney to Melbourne I don’t think would then be classed as domestic travel. Its international travel with one stopover.
As for transporting pugs, I’ve heard of this problem before as well. My advice to you is to go to the IPATA website, find a pet exporter close to where you live and asked them to sort it for you. You can’t book flights for pets direct anyway, you can’t take them to the airport yourself either, these things have to be done by a pet exporter. May as well get onto one of them and get some help.
Good luck, Bob
Hi Bob & Leanne
We are using a registered IPATA company but they too have hit a dead end.
With no domestic travel allowed we are also having to find a stop over destination for our dogs. The only problem is that we have a Pug – which every airline we have tried to date have refused to fly!
We have been in contact with the Australian Department of Agriculture and they have laid down the law – no exceptions allowed! We did find one suitable option but the Dept of Agriculture have refused it as the travel time is too lengthy. We really are running out of options here. We have even considered going via NZ, but that too has been rejected.
I just can’t leave my dogs behind – they are our family. My long awaited move to Oz might just be short lived:-(
Regards
Tarryn.
Sorry to hear Tarryn – I completely understand your feeling of desperation….
Maybe your pug is really “pug cross labrador” breed ?? LOL
Maybe that may reassure the airlines…I’m sure it is more to do with ensuring that you won’t sue them if something happened during the flight.
Are there waivers you could sign, stating you know the risks of flying with short nosed dogs like pugs?
I have heard that Lufthansa will transport small dogs, including pugs in cabin with the owner…may be something to look into if you haven’t already?
I will keep my fingers crossed for you…Good luck
Leanne
I can’t believe this has become so difficult, in hindsight it would have been far more sensible if they had centralised quarantine in Sydney instead of Melbourne. International direct flights to Sydney are far easier to come by and could have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble.
I’m sorry to hear so many people I having these problems, I hope you find a way round it all.
Hi Tarryn
We had a similar issue coming from Mauritius to Perth – and they closed Perth quarantine so we had to send ours to Sydney. We were also told they must fly from international into Australia’s arrival city of the quarantine facilities ….
Like you – no direct flight to Sydney and we were not allowed to do the domestic leg Perth-Sydney so ours had to fly Mauritius – KL (1 hour stopover, did not leave plane) – Singapore (stayed in airport quarantine for ~6 hours) – Sydney.
The key was that Singapore is a “non-rabies” country so it was ok to deplane. The quarantine services there were fantastic & easy to arrange & pay for over the net and the pets were well cared for (fed/watered and in air conditioning!!).
One option may be for you to send your pets via Singapore. Air Mauritius flew our 6 pets (3 dogs& 3 cats) and from Singapore it was code-shared – so no problems there.
Our only other option suggested by Aust Quar was to send them via the UK…but luckily for them & our cheque book we didn’t have to 🙂
I hope that the arrangements for your fur friends is sorted. All the best…
Leanne
Hi Leanne. I’m desperately trying to get our 3 dogs back home to Brisbane from Mauritius after we all moved there from Australia 2 years ago. The kids and I came back in May and my husband stayed there and was supposed to organise their jags etc. and their flights but he had to come back to Oz before that was all done. So, they’re currently staying with someone waiting to get home. I’ve had a number of people say they’ll help with getting them to the vet for their final blood test but it hasn’t happened. Given you’ve mentioned Mauritius, do you have any contacts there that might be able to help? All I need is someone to take them literally 1km to the vet for final bloods and then transfer them to the plane when they’re cleared to fly. The dogs are in the West. Hope you can help – I’m desperate! Alex
Hi Alex
It’s been a couple of years now since we moved back to Perth but the guy we used to help us do the move for 6 animals was great.
Of course there is a chance he’s not there anymore but I’m sure that the company is and the owner was very helpful too.
The guy was Steeve Batour.
The company MTrans Movers, Quay D Marine road, Port Louis,
mobile +230 5723-3192,
office +230 217-5995 or +230 217-5996.
Email ben.mascatra(at)intnet.mu
Owner is Benoit lamusse
http://www.mtransmovers.com/
mtrans(at)orange.mu
Steeve had a lady Jasmin on contract that picked up our girls and took them and their paperwork to the airport but Steeve can organise her or another to do the vet trip as well but we chose to do it all ourselves to save money.
Does your vet do the blood analysis? If so that’s changed as we had to have the blood taken by the vet, drove it to the quarantine to have it then couriered to the airport to be sent to South Africa for the tests to be done and payment had to be in their account before they would start the testing. Great if there’s someone on island to do it.
I assume you have crates? If not, they do have access to the approved plastic ones (although expensive).
It was a very nerve-wracking time but Steeve was very good in helping alleviate some of the stress. I’m sure he will remember the neurotic owner of 6 animals. Lol.
I hope he can help you too.
All the best.
Hi Leanne,
I will be transporting my dog from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne via Singapore. The transit in Singapore is long, around 10 hours. You mentioned in your post that the quarantine services in Singapore is great. Could you tell me whether they updated you during these 6 hours (with pictures?) ? Or did you have an agent there on behalf who could keep an eye on your dogs? Do you know if they were let out of the crates to ease themselves and stretch or were they stuck in the crates the entire time?
I’m worried about this long transit period, and then after that he will have to endure an 8 hour flight to Melbourne. So any assurance that in Singapore he will be well taken care of would certainly help with my stress levels!
ps/ My dog is a french bulldog, so with the many restrictions on various airlines this is the only route I can use. And given the heat in Msia & SG, he needs to have water and be in a/c to avoid overheating.
Thanks!
Su
Hi Su
You don’t have to worry about your boy in Singapore for the transshipment – they really were awesome. They called me & sent me emails – no photos tho’. We had an old dog that was suffering a bit from stiff joints so we were worried about her too.
All the girls (cats & dogs) were put into air-conditioned room/s (set to 21 deg) & given food & water to drink. The dogs were actually removed from their crates & were walked around a field so that they had opportunity to stretch & walk around before returned to the air-conditioned room. They also did a report on their condition when they arrived & when they left – this may have been because I expressed such concern about them when I called before they arrived in Singapore or it may be standard practice, not sure…
I would suggest that you call the Singapore quarantine people and ask them to provide you with an update. The lady I spoke with was called Shella & she was extremely helpful and reassuring. Her email address (if she’s still there) Shella_Mae_FORRO(at)ava.gov.sg and the person who sent me the update was Sheikh_Adra_Bux_ABDUL_LATIF_BUX(at)ava.gov.sg
I hope this helps you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Leanne for the reassurance! This really helps and I’m so relieved to know I should have nothing to worry about.
I really appreciate your reply and thank you so much for the contacts as well.
Thanks to Bob too for this extremely useful site!
Hope it all works out with your pet transport Su.
Leanne, I have slightly amended the email addresses so they are not clickable, that’s just to stop the spam bots from picking them up and sending them lots of, well, spam. Hope you don’t mind 🙂
No issue from my side Bob and less headaches for you from those darned bots.
?
This is a useful page, I am Australian living overseas and would love to get a dog here… but apart from the cost of bringing one back to Aus if/when I move back, the whole quarantine experience seems awful for the dogs. Such a shame the dog walking business is no longer allowed.
Yes, it was a great shame. That said, quarantine now does only last 10 days instead of 30 and the vast majority of dogs breeze through it and then live happily ever after in Australia. It is an expensive process though, and I don’t think that will ever change. Good luck, Bob
Hi Bob. I hope you are well. I love your site and blog. Lots of fab info. Thanks. Can you point me in the right direction please?
I have been granted permanent residency via South Australia State Sponsership. Yay. I aim to be there in October.
Can you recommend a shipping agent for my little Chihuahua? Airpets are coming up on Internet reviews but I have also been advised by John Mason International Ltd that Golden Arrow are fantastic too. I am based in Manchester and will be going to Adelaide. She has had her rabies vaccination etc.
Also I work in Further Education as a Teacher / Trainer / Assessor. Any tips on how to secure employment pre-arrival?
Thanks
Hi Debra
Glad you like my site 🙂
Both those pet transport companies are very good, Golden Arrow a smaller run family company and if John Mason recommend them as well, that’s a bonus, they know what they’re talking about.
I personally can’t help you with securing a job before you get here, but you may want to check out How to Find a Sponsored Job in Australia. It’s a great package, I’ve personally reviewed it. It’s not just about finding sponsored jobs, it will help anyone get any kind of job here in Australia. Worth getting in my view.
Good luck, Bob
Sirs, I have an elderly client who has 3 dogs, she needs to relocate to Melbourne district from Cyprus (Medterranean), please can you recommend a good reliable company who can look after all aspects for her, from paperwork to the transportation and quarantine at the Oz end.
Kind thanks in advance
Sorry, I don’t know anybody in Cyprus that I can recommend. Just make sure whoever you choose are registered with ipata.org, it’s not a guarantee that they are good, but at least you can report if they do something you do not like.
If you visit their website, they may have somebody listed for Cyprus. Good luck, Bob
Many thanks
Can I get driven from Portugal (categ 3) to Frankfurt / Paris / Amsterdam (categ 3) countries and check the cat into freight there??? Inorder to cut flight time down for the cat to auatralia and also help avoid the overnight pet hotel stay after Portugal-Frankfurt leg followed by Frankfurt-Sydney?????? Or can I fly to the transit city with the cat in cabin and then the Portuguese transport company check him into cargo there???
Sorry, this isn’t something I can help with, I don’t know what the rules are. I’ve never even heard of cats being allowed into the cabin. Hopefully somebody else reading this might be able to help. Cheers, Bob
Marii
As far as I know animals are never allowed to travel in the cabin of an aircraft. In the event of an emergency, cabin staff and passengers would not want a panicking animal tearing round the cabin tripping people up. It is a safety issue. Animals are always put in the hold and are perfectly alright travelling this way. Thousands of cats/dogs arrive in Australia by air and are fine. Unless perhaps they have some ill health, in which case they wouldn’t get through the strict export processing that’s required before an animal is allowed into Australia. It’s nothing to do with Australia dictating to airlines that animals have to travel in the hold (which is where luggage and freight are carried). Airlines have their own rules – animals always travel in the hold.
Hi, could anyone please help me. im in Europe, approved country. I’m moving back to Australia asap, I’m at the stage of applying for the import permit. I’ve been advised By the airport to book a EU flight company such as air France that allows for cats in cabin due to cat mortality rates in freight, and to check the cat into freight at the final stop over to enter aus as freight. I mentioned the website says must be checked into freight at country of origin but several ppl said, those are Australian rules to dictate other countries and in Europe cats can go at ur feet in as cabin at the discretion of the flight company not at Australia’s discretion and once that cat is there arriving as freight they can’t do anything about it. I was a bit unsure and said I’d double check, if I can get away with this I would very much love to do it, airfrance goes to jackass or Singapore or Malaysia. My cat is fine with me due to trust. He hyperventilates in his crate alone. What happens if I do this? Will Australia check if he was in freight from Portugal or just entering? This would mean I could go Portugal – Paris – Amsterdam – Jakarta/singapore with me calm then checked into freight in jackarta or singpore for arrival meaning he’s only be stressed 6hrs to Sydney. Also he sometimes hyperventilates/asthma… Is this looked down upon? I need information quickly thanks!!! … Or could I put him in freight at Amsterdam or Paris since same country category and approved country??? I just want the best for him as he was an abused cat when I rescued him and is very sweet but very clingy with me, that’s why I can’t leave him behind, and trying work around this as much as possible to do what’s best for him
We found out by talking to a local couple who have lived in Darwin for a while. They are from Europe and they tell us The state of some of the dogs at the rescue centres as well is just disgusting. It is no way near as bad as UK In what they do to animals out there. As I said they have backwards views up there and see animals as dumb creatures. Not so much in Melbourne and Sydney I would hope or Brisbane. Cats are curious and like to go off and wonder. You can’t lock them inside or pick them up every two seconds in fear that they are going to climb a fence and wonder off and never return. You laugh at my comment but it is happening. Have you lived in Darwin for good or just a holiday? I was hoping for a more detailed opinated response. Yes we do get horrible people everywhere. But I think I have already made my own decision. Darwin is no place for a cat. I wouldn’t forgive myself putting him through quarantine/flights for him to be mistreated by some ignorant passer by. He may not even like the humidity. There are so many factors to take into consideration as it is a whole lot different to UK. And is also a lot different to the rest of Australia.
And a cane toad doesn’t deserve it either! They just give them to their kids to play tennis with which in my opinion is wrong. Animals are just not accepted there as equals.
You mentioned the Sun newspaper. That is not a good read, Try the guardian lol
I know I’m sticking my neck out making this remark on a post frequented by animal lovers, but I’m going to say it anyway. Not all animals are equal, and by animals, I mean critters. In particular there are three critters that do not deserve to be on this planet. They are:
Mosquitoes – bloodsucking disease carriers responsible for more human deaths on this planet than anything else.
Cockroaches – ugly germ carrying pests that contaminate our food and can spread infections and digestive problems in humans.
Cane toads – poisonous at all three stages of their lives and responsible for killing many of our native animals and quite capable of ending the life of a domestic cat.
That said, playing tennis with them is wrong, wrong wrong wrong. They just don’t bounce like a tennis ball. (Kidding, the correct way to kill a cane toad is to put it in a bag and then freeze it.)
Anyway, I stick to my initial advice, be careful who you listen to. Some random couple who have lived in Darwin for a while are not the first and last authority on the care of pets in that city. Here is a challenge for you, have a good search around Google, Google knows everything, and see if you can just find me one article where they mention Darwin’s problem with pets and that people deliberately run cats over in that city.
If you find something, post it here, then I might take your suggestion seriously.
Tried the Guardian, too many long words, not enough pictures 🙂
Hi Bob,
You say Australia is a pet loving country, however I have heard that the people in Darwin deliberately go out and run over cats.. We are still trying to decide whether it will be right to take our little kitten with us to this place. It doesn’t sound like a place for a cat but it is heart breaking all the same leaving him behind. Maybe a different place would be fine but I have heard so many bad things about people’s views about animals out there. They couldn’t care less and just want to kill them all. My partner is out there at the moment and has seen for himself the attitude towards animals in general not just cats. If you have any advice or information that would be great. I really want to take him with us but feel it’s best for him to stay in England. Torn..
Ha ha, I love it when a comment makes me laugh as loud as this one did.
Deliberately running over cats in Darwin? Cane toads maybe, they deserve it, but not cats! Where are you getting this stuff from?
You ask for advice, okay, here it is; be careful who you listen to.
Anyway, I heard in England they put cats in the microwave, I read in The Sun 🙂 I’m sure you read about it as well, it really did happen, but that doesn’t mean everyone in England shoves cats in the microwave does it?
Hi madam/sir ,
I’m moving to Sydney – Australia from HCMC-Vietnam in this year . I plan to bring my puppy – “Chocolate ” with me . May I know the requirements ? does she need to have the birth certificate to enter to sydney ? and beside the microchips , blood test , import permit . what kinds of test does she need to do to get the visa for my Chocolate ? and I really dont know that Vietnam is classified as a country that has rabbies or not . so if not , she has to stay in singapore in 6 months ? how much it cost for per day ? I can’t be with her in 6 months in Singapore , so I’m really worry . for total , is the total price up to 3,000 $ ?
And when she s arrived to australia , she has to stay at quarantine for ten days or 30 days ? Can you please help ?
Click this link…
https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/13829/dogs-and-cats-in-australian-quarantine-its-good-news/
Scroll down to the heading that says…
To find out more about exporting your pet to Australia, visit:
Then click the link under that and it will take you to the Department of Agriculture is page with more information. You’ll need to enter a few details and hit the calculator bit and you’ll get some very good and helpful advice. For costs though, you will need to phone around and ask pet exporters local to you about that. Good luck, Bob
Hi Bob, me and my boyfriend both live in england and we are currently at university obtaining our degrees, once we have our degrees next year we are wanting to move to australia as its been our dream since we met and have been saving for years to make sure it happens, we will be 22 next year once we have our degree and though our best bet would be to go to australia on working holiday visas and try and get a job offer whilst there to secure permanent residency, ( we wouldn’t be bag backing or nothing like that we want to just rent somewhere and try and find jobs in our fields of work to hopefully get sponsored to stay permenantly) only worry I have is we have a little dog and there is just no way we would leave him, what I wanted to know is can I bring my dog over with us on a working holiday visa?
Thanks very much.
I’m not sure if you could or couldn’t bring your dog with you, but I believe it’s possible to ship a dog out here without actually living here, you just need somebody in this country with a permanent address to act as the importing agent. I think that’s how it works, so probably one way or another it could well be possible to bring your dog here.
It would be absolutely insane to do so though, it’s very expensive and you will be creating massive problems for yourselves in terms of finding rental accommodation. It’s much harder when you have a pet to get a rental.
And if you don’t manage to secure the job offers you want, which is highly likely as you probably won’t have the desired work experience for most people having just completed your degrees, then you would have to go back with your dog and face all that expense again. And if you want to know how expensive it is, just read a few of the comments above about the prices.
All in, I’m afraid it’s a very bad idea Sophia.
Thanks so much everyone for your advice. I thought it was high. I’ll be getting other quotes. Great forum. Linda
Thanks for all this great info. I need wise advice ASAP. We’ve just moved back to OZ from the USA and need to bring our pets back who are currently with friends while we wait for their shots to kick in. So they’ve had all their shots. I got a quote from a pet transport company to bring over our cat and dog for $13500!!!! Oz dollars. I nearly fell over and now we’re heart broken we may not be able to get our pets here. They’re traveling from Louisville, Kentucky to Perth. Does this quote seem insane or is it just me and how can we get it down? What can we do ourselves and will it be cheaper if we travel back to the USA and bring them to OZ with us? Thanks so much, Linda
Hi Linda,
It has been a little over 2 years since I brought my 2 dogs to Oz. It cost almost $9,000.00 to get them to Oz for me. Granted, I am told that once they get here, if ALL shots and exams are done well ahead of time, their stay in quarantine is much less now.
But the COST of getting them here probably did not go down any, and maybe got more expensive over the 2 years. I HAD to bring my 2 dogs, would have had mental issues if I had left them behind.
To me that quote seems a bit high to me. But I did as much as I could to get them to me, on my own. Sorry, I know my reply does not help much other than to verify it is a very expensive venture to move pets.
I wish you the best luck in finding another way that is affordable for you.
Pravdaseeker
Hi Linda
I agree with Pravdaseeker, that quote does seem a little high. As far as I’m aware there isn’t a great deal that you can do yourself, but you can get more quotes from other companies and that’s what I would be doing. Hope you find someone whose prices are a little better.
Good luck, Bob
Hey,
That sounds ridiculous to me. I’ve transported my big digs from Aus to Colombia and from Colombia to Chile and back and I think you are getting a very high quote.
Shop around. Yes, there are things that you can do yourself. if you know the rules you can do the work yourself and save but some things you cannot do.
please shop around.
I think you should get a quote to Melbourne/Sydney. Actually the centre in Sydney will close and Melbourne becomes the central hub.
Perhaps you can pick them up from Melbourne yourself.
Also, the cost in Aus for quarantine hasn’t gotten cheaper. Actually it’s gone up, but the time is shorter (10 days) probably about $3500 for both in quarantine.
Cost from the US to Aus for one dog and one cat (depending on size) but ball park would be about $6000-7000.
Good luck
I’m moving to Australia in march this year for my higher education.I’m from India & I want my pet to accompany me. I can’t left her in India. BTW She is a very calm Labrador. Please let me know the procedure to move her from India to Australia.
Hi Chitra,
India would be classified as a country that has rabbies so you cannot transport your pet directly to Australia. The pet would have to stay for 6 months in another country (rabbies free) such as Singapore, either with a friend or in a kennel, with or without you, and THEN it can travel to Australia as long as it has gone through all the appropriate vet checks and can prove that it has done all of these things. It is very expensive and time consuming, but if you will live in Australia it may be worth it. When your pet arrives in Aus it will have to stay in quarantine for ten days. Good luck.
I have 3 Labrador. i am planing to go to Australia from India. could you please let me know how much would it cost for their(pets) travel.
I think you can’t bring them from India. I think it would have rabbies. Therefore you would have to go to a country for 6 months with them or send them alone (to a kennel) and then to Aus.
I think Adam is right John (thanks Adam), your dogs will need to go via another country first, probably Singapore and they will have to stay there for a certain amount of time. I’m not absolutely certain how long but it may be six months as Adam has suggested. It could even be a year, I don’t know. Good luck, Bob
They are sweet and well behaved pets can we get a medical certificate which says they have no diseases. will that work?
No.
I have 3 Labrador. i am playing to go to Australia from India. could you please let me know how much would it cost for their travel.
sorry i meant planing not playing.
Been away from my home town too long. My dog sophie is up to tate with shots she weighs 12lbs. Can I have her chipped here in canada and how long would she be quarantined in australia
Yes, definitely get your dog chipped in Canada, that’s one of the first things you need to do and it will be 10 days in quarantine coming from over there.
Good luck, Bob
Yep, 10 days. Only just changed a little while back. Used to be 30 days! 🙁
The quarantine office is moving to one centralized office from Sydney to Melbourne soon.
For non approved countries of export
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/cat-dogs/step-by-step-guides/non-approved-countries
Good answer Leanne and you are absolutely correct, Thomas, I hope you find a way.
Cheers, Bob
I really feel for you Thomas at that thought of them not coming with you, having been through something a little similar with my 6.
From my understanding, with the changes that were made to the rules – there are some countries that are not AQIS approved – like India – and pets coming from these countries must come indirectly via another approved country.
I think the pets have to stay in the approved country for a minimum amount of time before they can come to Australia.
Perhaps it would be best for you to call & ask the advice from them directly?
Or check out the FAQ section on the website you were already looking at.
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/cat-dogs/frequently-asked-questions
Best of luck
6 months.
We just did it from South America.
I went to live with them for 4 months and then came back to Aus.
Probably can send them to Singapore for sure.
Hi Bob,
My girlfriend and I are looking to move to Australia (from India) around February next year.
We have a Labrador and a Tibetian Terrier, I’m going through http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/cat-dogs
And I don’t see India as an option in the drop down, are dogs from India not allowed in Australia?
Leaving them behind is honestly not an option, but I’m unsure how to proceed at this point.
Thanks and Regards
Thomas Dominic
Hi guys,
I’m looking for some help please! We left Australia last year for a temp move to South Korea and brought our dog with us. We have just been told we are being relocated back to Perth at the end of February 2015. Problem is we weren’t told about the Rabies vaccine, blood test and all the palava that goes with it – including a requirement that the dog does not get back into Australia until 6 months after the blood test!
Can anyone confirm this or does anyone know of a way around it?
It’s breaking my heart – I can’t leave her here 🙁
Sorry Diane, I have no idea what the rules are bringing a dog in from South Korea, so I can’t help. Hopefully someone else reading this can help you, anybody?
hi bob my question was not in there.i want to call me sister from india as i just deliver two twin boys 2 months ago,i got help from my inlaws in the beginning but unfortunately they were here for a short stay as they are on govt.jobs .my sister-in-law,father in law and my mother in law came to help me.now only mother in law is here but she got some heath issues thats why i can’t get her fully help as i got twins,and my husband is on full time job.thats why i want to cal my sister but she is bachelor and i heard that immigration don’t approve visas to unmarried person.now my doctor said i am going towards post natal stress so can you pls advice me any solid reason so immigration don’t reject her visa and i can get her support
If you need assistance getting a visa, you need to be speaking to a MARA registered migration agent.
Hi Bob,
I will be heading back to Perth, WA from Toronto Canada in April 2015. I have a 7 month Dachshund (sausage dog) I will be bringing.
Do you know of any airlines that will let you bring an 11pound (5.5kg) dog in hte aircraft with you to australia?
Also, do you recommend any pet relocating services?
Thanks heaps in advance
As far as I am aware Stacey, no airline will let you take your dog onto the aircraft with you, irrespective of its size. All dogs need to travel in the hold.
If you visit my wife’s website over at http://www.dogwalks.com.au/ and then click on the link on the right-hand side to, I think it says, our partners, there is a list of pet relocating services that my wife dealt with personally and is very happy to recommend.
Good luck, Bob
Hi Bob, just wanted to make a clarification/correction.
You can’t bring a dog into Australia in the cabin, because it has to go through quarantine, but many flights are allowing small dogs into the cabin, the usual limit is dog + crate = <8 kg is fine. Not all airlines allow this, however, and some only to certain destinations. Qantas allows dogs that fit in small to medium cages (with some exceptions) in the cabin, but only for domestic flights. Or at least they did… I think they're stopping after December 1st.
Cheers.
Yes, I do remember many years ago boarding a plane from Sydney to Brisbane and it did seem a little strange to see one person walk on with a dog on a lead as well. Not seen that for quite some time though.
In terms of my comment above, it is in relation to this post which is about bringing your pet to Australia from another country and on that basis, there’s not a chance of any dog travelling to this country in the cabin, as you yourself have said. I wasn’t really referring to domestic flights at all. But thanks Kamma, it was worthwhile you mentioning it.
Cheers, Bob
Hi Bob,
We are returning to Australia after 2 yrs in the USA. We have a 1 year old Bearded Dragon. Where / how do I get her to her native land? Would they quarantine a Lizard? Thanks for your time and Advise in this matter. A pet is a family member scales or fluff 🙂
I think you might struggle with that Heather, but you would have to ask AQIS to find out for sure. There is a link to their site in my above post for other pets, it specifically says no lizards, so I think you will need to contact somebody and explain the situation to see if anything can be done. I wouldn’t hold out too much hope though.
Cute little things though, aren’t they? I’ve got a post about them…
https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/14287/a-brisbane-bearded-dragon-versus-a-psychotic-burmese-cat/
Good luck, Bob
Hi I came ar cross your site and hope you can help me . My parents had to prolong their stay in Italy do to my Fathers illness. We are hoping to have them home but my father befriended a dog and they are inseparable Infact it has helped to aid his recovery
As h would never leave him we decided to see if we could get the dog to come to Australia . After a few shaky starts we found a caring vet who assisted my my for preparations to Australia wefinally got our permit this week and as my parents are both on a pension we are now trying to figure out how to get him over as cheaply and safety as possible.
The biggest problem is getting the dog to Rome from where they are in Sicily and then on the plane bound for Australia and we do not know anyone who will care for him in Rome whilst I transit and. Make sure that he is on board the flight to Australia . We were given a quote by a lovely gentleman in italy but unfortunately my parents can not afford that much money .
Has anyone had experience in transporting fromitaly and can you offer any advice to do this myself. Cheers
Well, I don’t have any experience of bringing a dog over from Italy, but my understanding is that you will need a professional service to deliver the dog and make sure that he boards the flight to Australia safely. I’m pretty sure it is not possible for you to ask someone to do that for you as a favour.
It is an expensive process, very expensive, and I’m afraid there doesn’t seem to be any ways to do it cheaply, I’m sure many other people who have been through the process will verify that as well.
I hope you find a way though, good luck, Bob
Hi Bob! My wife and I are planning to move to Australia in a few years and we’d like to go with our dog. But our dog is a cross-breed (mongrel), we found it abandon in the street. Problem is that I suspect it has a cross with a kind of Pitt Bull (maybe American Pitt Bull, which is banned) or other breed like that (it looks like a dobermann). How could it affect this process? How should I report it? I’ll appreciate your opinion.
Thank you so much!
Below is a transcript taken from a website: I do not know how true, but it’s interesting.
Rash- they haven’t been banned for a couple of months, they have been restricted for a long time.
Breed Specific Legislation isn’t in effect in all states, but they are trying to make it national.
At the moment you are well within your rights to own an American Pit Bull Terrier and NOT be subject to ridiculous restrictions if you live in Tasmania, the ACT or the NT.
In fact, the head of the RSPCA in Canberra owns an APBT that he adopted from his shelter.
BSL has been in effect in Australia for a long time. German Shepherd Dogs were one of the first breeds that were banned for fear that they would hybridise with Dingos and produce huge sheep killing wild dogs… (Funny enough… that has sort of happened- and I am sure that there are GSD mixed wild dogs out there that are big sheep killers)
Nowdays they don’t ban breeds for that ridiculous reason, but they do ban some breeds with a fighting ancestory.
APBTs are subject to a lot of hype and they are banned in many places. So it is only natural that the Aussie government jumped on the bandwagon when it was noticed that there was a large number of dog bite incidents.
Since the recent ban on ‘Pit Bull mixes’ I have noticed more and more dog attacks and dog bite incidents being reported in the media… None of which are a result of APBTs or APBT mixes.
Im not sure if the amount of incidents have increased, or whether the media is still hyped up about dog bites & jumping on every story they can find.
I live in Victoria, which is the most heavily restricted nanny state.
It sucks.
Thank you Robby! I suppose I’ll have to do some research about places that have no problem with this…
Thank you Robby from me as well, you’ve given a better answer than I could have. As you can see Robert, it’s not completely straightforward, but I hope you find a solution for you.
What may be a good idea is to find an Australian authorised vet (I think there are plenty around in other countries) and go to see him with your dog to see what his opinion is.
Good luck, Bob
Hi Bob,
I’m just in sydney. I have a pet rabbit in Asia . I want to bring it here. Is there any way to bring my pet here … I know it’s not … But if there any last one pls let me know… Bcz I really want to bring it here with me ….
I don’t think so Disha, but you will need to ask that question directly of AQIS for them to answer, only they can decide.
Hi there,
I want to bring my dog over from Nz to Australia my only problem is her breed I adopted her from the spca they said she was a staffy several months later she looks like a cross pitbull. Anyway I have had her for a few years, we love her dearly, she hasn’t harm anyone yet but that would be my word against everyone else’s word…just need to know can I import her to Australia is it possible for me??? I left her with family in Nz & I feel like my standards are set to high for her care and feel as if I’m the only one who can give her the best life possible…she’s allergic to beef and loves sitting on a chair, trying my best to keep her in my family.
According to my wife, who does know a fair bit about importing dogs into Australia, pit bulls are not on the banned list, so hopefully you will be okay.
Hello, has anyone brought a cat in during the middle of winter? Do you know if the quarantine facility will provide heating pads for the pets? I’m worried seeing the sub-10 degrees celsius in the middle of the night these days. My cat is arriving in July. Any information or account of experience would be appreciated!
Hi worried cat momma
I’ve just asked Mrs Bob about this, she knows quite a bit about how this all works. She says if you request heat pads you might possibly get them, they have used them in Melbourne in the past but she is not aware of them ever being available in Sydney.
If you create a big enough fuss, you will get extra blankets at the very least, she thinks. Hopefully that helps, cheers, Bob
Hi Bob!
Thank you for all your advice on relocating to Australia! I do have one concern as everyone who owns pet do – will they come out the other side alright? I am stressing about my cat who I would not be able to leave behind. But I really want to move to Australia. I was looking at jetpets and I do not see anywhere on their website that they accommodate people traveling from the US to Australia. If I am going to use a service such as jetpet to ensure that my pet arrives safely, I want to choose someone who will take care of my baby.
Help! 🙂
Thank you!
Christina
In all likelihood Christina, your cat will cope much better than you will 🙂
As you probably know, my wife ran a company that visited cats and dogs in quarantine so she has seen literally thousands of pets come through. You’ll be surprised at how well most pets cope with the situation. I certainly shouldn’t worry about it, as you say, you can’t leave your cat behind.
I’m not sure if jet pets operate from US to Australia, if they don’t just make sure you get somebody who is registered with IPATA.
Good luck, Bob
Hi and HELP!!
We just bought a puppy in Nevada, USA. A week later, my husband found out that he has a great job offer back in Australia. I went to the vet and together we tried to work out details about possibly moving her to Australia and the required vaccines etc. It seems that we would have to wait 180 days after she is vaccinated for rabies. We bought the puppy for our youngest child who has special needs. Is there any special considerations when bringing a dog into Australia? If we bought this dog to train as a service dog, can we somehow speed up the quarantine process? Thanks.
Esther
Did you keep the receipt? Can you take the puppy back for a refund? Just kidding 🙂 (Although that’s what I’d be thinking)
No, as far as I’m aware there really are no shortcuts to bring dogs into this country, the process is what it is. No way round it.
Except that refund 🙂
Cheers, Bob
Hi Bob,
We are planning on taking a holiday to Oz this year, however we have a 3 year old female Pomeranian dog (small bred, 7 lbs). Can we take her with us for a one month holiday? We are North American expats who live in Ecuador and we have our residency visa’s. We have lived in Ecuador for 3 years and we purchased our dog from a breeder in Ecuador. We look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Wayne
Only if you shove her in your pocket and tell her to keep quiet for 20 hours 🙂
That is a joke, of course, I am not recommending you attempt to do that. No, your dog cannot come on holiday with you, all dogs need to go through the quarantine system and obviously it would not be worth you doing that just for a holiday.
Sorry.
Many thanks, Bob
Yes, I have heard that, but I’d trade that for 10 days instead of 30!
I’d rather be able to monitor my pets. A decrease in time is wonderful, but ten days with no contact is a long time, especially for cuddle hungry dogs.
It’s easy from NZ!!!!
It’s on top as far as ratings go, doesn’t need much at all.
We have to bring our dogs from Colombia through Chile for 6 months to Sydney. GREAT news for everyone. Quarantine in Australia now has gone from 30 days to 10. This was a massive relief for my wife and I. It felt like jail for a month, but now it’s just over a week!
WooHoo!
Guess you haven’t read how you can’t visit anymore. Used to be you could visit twice a week, now you can’t even call to hear how they’re doing, much less visit!