Bringing a dog or cat from New Zealand to Australia: steps and timeline

Rules change — check DAFF before you book. Everything here comes from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's step-by-step guide for cats and dogs from New Zealand. DAFF says import conditions can change without notice, so check its guide before you book anything.

New Zealand is a Group 1 country for Australian pet imports. That makes it one of the easiest places to bring a cat or dog from: no import permit and no quarantine, as long as your pet meets the standard health certificate conditions. DAFF advises allowing 1-2 months to organise health checks, tests and paperwork, and says the typical timeframe is about 1 month for a pet that has only lived in Australia or New Zealand.

We made the trip in the other direction, moving our dog from Perth to Papamoa. Read our first-hand account for what working to vet-visit windows and a flight date is really like. This page sets out the official steps for NZ to Australia.

Is your pet eligible?

Under DAFF's guide, your cat or dog must have:

• only lived in New Zealand since birth, or
• only lived in New Zealand since being imported from Australia, or
• lived only in New Zealand for at least 180 days immediately before export, if it has ever lived in another country. DAFF notes the 180 days is not a quarantine period.

When it's exported, your pet must not be under quarantine restrictions, less than 8 weeks old, more than 40 days pregnant, or nursing kittens or puppies.

Some breeds are banned, under environmental and customs law rather than biosecurity law:

• Hybrid cats, including Savannah, Safari and Chausie cats. Bengal cats have not been allowed into Australia since 1 March 2026.
• Hybrid dogs, including Czechoslovakian, Saarloos, Italian and Kunming wolfdogs.
• Pure-bred dogs: Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese tosa, American Pit Bull Terrier or Pit Bull Terrier, and Perro de Presa Canario. Mixed-breed dogs are allowed if they meet every other condition.

DAFF also cautions that sick or elderly animals don't cope well with long-distance travel.

The steps

1. Find a pet transport agent (optional, but DAFF recommends one). DAFF suggests searching online or using the IPATA directory. It doesn't recommend specific agents.

2. Ask NZ MPI which health certificate you need, before you start. All the vet work must be done by a vet at an MPI-listed veterinary practice in New Zealand. There are two certificate types: a pre-printed AUPET9, issued by a private vet at a listed practice, or an official assurance certificate, AUPETOA9, issued by an MPI official veterinarian if your pet doesn't meet every AUPET9 criterion. MPI's page on sending cats and dogs to Australia has more.

3. Check the microchip. It must be ISO compliant (generally 10 or 15 digits), and numbers starting with 999 aren't accepted. The vet scans it at every visit and before any blood sample. If it can't be read, or the number on your documents is wrong, your pet can't be imported.

4. Book travel. Your pet must travel directly from New Zealand to mainland Australia, by air or sea. By air it travels as manifested cargo (not in the cabin) in an IATA-approved crate. For a connecting domestic flight, leave at least 1 hour after landing for release and clearance.

5. Health checks and treatments. Every timing counts back from the export date, with the treatment day counted as day 0.

• External parasites: a compliant topical product that kills ticks and fleas on contact, applied in the 5 days before export. Oral products generally don't meet Australia's conditions.
• Internal parasites: a compliant treatment for nematodes and cestodes in the 5 days before export.
• Leishmania infantum test (dogs only): only for dogs that have lived outside New Zealand since birth or since import from Australia. The blood sample must be taken after the dog has been in New Zealand for at least 21 days.
• Babesia canis treatment (dogs only): only for dogs that have lived in mainland Africa.
• Recommended, not required: vaccinations against diseases present in Australia. Some states and territories have their own vaccination rules.

6. Final vet check and documents. In the 5 days before export, a vet examines your pet for external parasites and signs of infectious disease and declares it fit to travel. The parasite treatments can be given at the same visit. With an AUPET9, the exporter completes a declaration on the certificate. If the exporter isn't the owner (for example, when an agent exports your pet), the owner also makes a statutory declaration witnessed by a Justice of the Peace. The original health certificate travels with your pet, along with any lab reports. Copies aren't accepted.

7. Notify DAFF at least 3 days before arrival. Email the DAFF regional office for the state or territory where your pet first lands, with the arrival date and time, flight and air waybill numbers, a short description of your pet, a contact phone number, and whether it's an assistance dog. The addresses are in DAFF's guide.

8. Arrival. A biosecurity officer checks your pet at the first point of entry, and it's released if everything matches the documents. Don't put toys, medication or valuables in the crate, because they're destroyed as biosecurity waste.

Costs

DAFF charges for document assessment and inspection under its charging guidelines. The airline usually collects the fee and shows it on the air waybill. If it isn't there, you pay DAFF before your pet is released. Transport costs are yours too. We haven't quoted a total because DAFF doesn't give one. Get written quotes from your vet and agent.

Once you've arrived

You're responsible for local requirements, such as registering your pet with your council. DAFF isn't involved in council or national microchip registers. Moving with Pets in Australia covers the domestic side.

Next steps

• Add DAFF biosecurity clearance for your pet to your moving plan.
• Moving house too? Moving from New Zealand to Australia covers the rest of the move.
• Going the other way? See bringing a dog or cat from Australia to New Zealand.

This page summarises DAFF's guide for cats and dogs from New Zealand that meet standard conditions. It isn't official advice. Conditions can change without notice, so confirm with DAFF, NZ MPI and your vet before you book.