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Australia

Bringing a Dog or Cat to Australia from the USA

General information, not veterinary advice. Requirements are set by the destination authority and can change: confirm with the official authority, your accredited vet and your airline.

Australia classes the mainland United States as a Group 3 country: rabies is present but well controlled. Your pet can make the move, but the process is long and strictly ordered. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) advises allowing at least six months, and most of that time is a fixed wait you cannot shorten.

Check eligibility first

  • Breed. Australia prohibits the Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa, American Pit Bull Terrier (or Pit Bull Terrier) and Perro de Presa Canario, plus several wolfdog hybrids. Savannah, Safari, Chausie and Bengal cats are not permitted.
  • Condition. Pets more than 30 days pregnant, nursing, or under quarantine restrictions at export are not eligible. There is no upper age limit.
  • Microchip. It is the only accepted ID and must be ISO compliant. Numbers starting with 999 are not accepted. The chip is scanned at every vet visit and before any blood sample.

Step 1: the USDA identity declaration

This step is optional, but with it the minimum stay in post-entry quarantine (PEQ) is 10 days instead of 30. USDA APHIS handles it as a three-part Identity Declaration in VEHCS:

  1. Parts 1 and 2 are completed by two different USDA-accredited veterinarians at different clinics, each scanning the chip and taking color photos showing the chip number with your pet. USDA endorses each part, for a user fee.
  2. Part 3 is the USDA final identity declaration, requested by one of the vets and emailed by USDA to Australia. It must be endorsed within 3 months of the first microchip scan.

The rabies titer blood sample can only be drawn after the second scan. APHIS allows the same day, but DAFF says the identity check cannot be done at the same vet visit as the titer sample, so book the blood draw as a separate visit, ideally on a later day. A sample taken before the check does not count for the 10-day pathway.

Step 2: rabies vaccination and the titer test

Your pet needs a rabies vaccination given at 84 days of age or older, with a vaccine approved by the US competent authority. Three-year vaccines are accepted. Coverage must stay continuous from the blood draw until export: a lapse means revaccination, a new test and a new 180-day wait. The test must be FAVN or RFFIT, with a result of 0.5 IU/mL or higher.

Two dates then drive your plan:

  • Export cannot happen until 180 days after the lab receives the sample. This is residency, not quarantine, and DAFF states there are no exceptions.
  • The result is valid for 12 months from the sampling date, so the sample must be taken between 12 months and 180 days before export.

Your accredited vet then requests the endorsed RNATT Declaration from USDA through VEHCS. The chip number, result and sampling date must match the lab report exactly. DAFF publishes no lab list, so check labs with USDA.

Step 3: permit and quarantine booking

You apply in BICON with the lab report and endorsed declaration, paying in full at submission. At the time of writing, DAFF lists AUD 626 for the first cat or dog in a consignment and AUD 299 for each additional animal.

The permit is valid until the titer result expires, 12 months from sampling. Once it is granted, you book Mickleham quarantine in Victoria through the Post Entry Biosecurity System.

Step 4: the final weeks

Before export What happens
12 months to 14 days Dogs: last Leptospira Canicola vaccination dose, unless you use the MAT test
At least 30 days (dogs), 21 days (cats) External parasite treatment starts, then repeats per the label
At least 14 days US dogs: canine influenza primary course completed
Within 45 days Dogs: Leishmania test; Brucella canis if not desexed; Leptospira MAT if not vaccinated
Within 45 days, then within 5 days Two internal parasite treatments, at least 14 days apart
Within 5 days Clinical exam, health certificate, USDA endorsement

Canine influenza applies to US dogs: regularly vaccinated dogs need their booster between 12 months and 14 days before export.

The health certificate is completed in VEHCS as "Dog/Cat from U.S. States (except Hawaii and Guam)", not the generic certificate attached to your permit. USDA can endorse it digitally and you print it to travel with your pet, while DAFF's pages ask for original wet-ink stamps. Follow the USDA page for the US certificate and read your permit conditions before you fly.

Flying into Melbourne

Your pet must arrive directly at Melbourne International Airport as manifested cargo, in an IATA-approved crate with nothing inside. Airlines can uplift only with a confirmed PEQ booking, and the standard landing window is Monday to Friday, 04:30 to 16:30.

At the time of writing, Delta's pet page lists Australia among destinations with no cabin pets, and American Airlines Cargo states it carries no warm-blooded animals on any single flight of 12 hours or more. Confirm with your airline before booking.

DAFF lists Mickleham charges per animal of AUD 263 for the reservation, AUD 1,053 for importation and AUD 52 per day, reviewed annually.

Plan it with the kit

The USA to Australia kit sets out this process for US owners as a ready-to-use file set. It includes a user guide, a timeline workbook that computes every date from your flight date, a vet visit brief, a document and airline checklist, and letter templates.

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