Moving a cat from Canada to Australia

Last verified: 2026-08-25

What is different for a cat

Everything on the Canada corridor page applies, minus the part that gives Canadian dog owners the most trouble.

Simpler: no canine influenza, no extra blood tests

The canine influenza requirement is dogs only. Cats need neither the H3N2 vaccination nor the alternative ten days of isolation, PCR test and 48-hour examination — which removes the most demanding cluster of deadlines in the Canadian corridor.

The Leishmania, Leptospira and Brucella tests are also dog-only. A cat’s laboratory work is the RNATT and nothing else.

Use the CFIA Veterinary Health Certificate — Cat (HA3199), not the certificate in the Australian import permit. The RNATT declaration is HA3202, and a CFIA Official Veterinarian must sign, date and stamp every page.

Stricter: the hybrid ban, and Bengals

Non-domestic cat hybrids cannot enter Australia: Savannah (crossed with serval), Safari (Geoffroy’s cat), Chausie (jungle cat) and Bengal (Asian leopard cat), plus any crossbred offspring derived from them. The department states the list is not exhaustive.

As of 1 March 2026, Bengal cats are no longer permitted to enter Australia.

The ban comes from environmental-protection law, and the authority is the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water — not the department issuing your import permit, and nothing to do with CFIA. A cat identified after arrival as possibly a hybrid may be investigated.

Feline vaccinations

Vaccination against feline enteritis (panleukopenia), rhinotracheitis and calicivirus is not mandatory for import, but those diseases exist in Australia and the vaccinations should remain valid for the whole quarantine period.

The order, for a Canadian cat

1. Microchip — ISO compatible, verified first. For cats under six months, verify identity before starting the process at all.
2. Identity verification, where available, before the RNATT blood draw — this is what decides 10 days of quarantine instead of 30.
3. Rabies vaccination at 84 days of age or later.
4. RNATT blood sample, 3–4 weeks after the primary course.
5. 180 days from the sample’s arrival at the laboratory — residency, not quarantine.
6. Import permit through BICON.
7. Quarantine booking at Mickleham.
8. External parasite treatment from at least 21 days before export; internal treatment twice in the final 45 days, the second within 5 days of departure.
9. CFIA appointment: certificate HA3199 endorsed on every page, with the original RNATT report and rabies vaccination certificate in hand.
10. Travel as manifest cargo, direct to Melbourne.

At export your cat must not be under quarantine restrictions, more than 30 days pregnant, or nursing kittens.

Where Canadian cats most often come unstuck

• A Bengal or suspected hybrid, discovered late.
• Using the certificate from the Australian permit instead of HA3199.
• Arriving at the CFIA appointment without the originals.
• The identity check done after the blood draw, costing twenty extra days at Mickleham.

What this page does not cover

• Whether your cat qualifies as a hybrid — only DCCEEW can answer.
• How a Canadian owner obtains an identification declaration, which CFIA references “if issued” without this site having verified the route.
• Crate requirements and carrier acceptance.