EU pets: Australia has no pet passport scheme and treats every arriving animal as an import. A dog or cat from Europe needs an import permit issued in advance by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, a microchip, a rabies vaccination followed by a blood titre test carried out in the prescribed window, and the parasite treatments listed on the permit. Every imported cat and dog must arrive at Melbourne Airport, where department staff transfer it to the government post entry quarantine facility at Mickleham for a minimum of ten days. Arriving into Perth directly, or transferring domestically on arrival, is not permitted, so a trip to Perth with a European dog means Melbourne first, quarantine, then a domestic flight west.
Non-EU pets: The same permit, microchip, rabies titre and quarantine framework applies whatever your country of origin, with the length of preparation and the paperwork depending on the group your country falls into under Australian rules. Animals from a small number of approved rabies free countries, New Zealand among them, follow a lighter path, while animals from countries not on the approved list cannot be imported at all until they have spent the required period in an approved country. Start the process at least six months before you fly: the rabies titre timing alone makes a last minute trip impossible.
Emergency contacts:- WAVES, Success, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year: +61 8 9412 5700
- The Animal Hospital, Murdoch University, 24 hour emergency: 1300 652 494
- Perth Vet Emergency, Cannington, open 24/7: +61 8 9207 5207
