Moving a dog from Canada to Australia

Last verified: 2026-08-25

What is different for a dog

Everything on the Canada corridor page applies. Three things are dog-specific, and the first is unique to this corridor.

1. Canine influenza — vaccinate, or isolate for ten days

A dog exported from Canada to Australia must either be vaccinated against canine influenza with a vaccine protecting against the H3N2 strain, or meet all three of these:

Look at where those windows sit: the same final fortnight as the second internal parasite treatment (within 5 days of export), the external parasite protection, and the pre-export clinical examination. The unvaccinated route stacks four separate deadlines into the last ten days, and a flight that moves can invalidate several at once.

Vaccinate if you can. Raise it with your veterinarian at the very start of the process, not in the final month — the H3N2 vaccine removes the whole cluster.

2. Certificate HA3200 and its attachments

Use the CFIA Veterinary Health Certificate — Dog (HA3200), not the certificate in the Australian import permit. The RNATT declaration is HA3202.

Take the original RNATT laboratory report and the rabies vaccination certificate to the CFIA appointment — copies are not enough for those two — along with the permit, all laboratory reports, all vaccination certificates and all treatment records. A CFIA Official Veterinarian signs, dates and stamps every page.

3. Breeds Australia will not admit

Five pure breeds are prohibited: dogo Argentino, fila Brasileiro, Japanese tosa, American pit bull terrier (or pit bull terrier), Perro de Presa Canario (or Presa Canario). Four wolfdog hybrids are prohibited: Czechoslovakian wolfdog (Vlcak), Saarloos wolfdog, Lupo Italiano, Kunming wolfdog.

Canadian provincial and municipal breed rules are a separate matter and do not determine Australian admissibility either way. A dog identified after arrival as possibly a prohibited breed may be investigated by the Department of Home Affairs.

Age, pregnancy and nursing

The rabies vaccine counts only if given at 84 days of age or later. At export the dog must not be under quarantine restrictions, more than 30 days pregnant, or nursing puppies.

The order, for a Canadian dog

1. Microchip — ISO compatible, verified first.
2. Identity verification, where available, before the RNATT blood draw.
3. Rabies vaccination — and discuss the H3N2 canine influenza vaccine at the same time.
4. RNATT blood sample, 3–4 weeks after the primary rabies course.
5. 180 days from the sample’s arrival at the laboratory.
6. Import permit through BICON — AUD 626 for the first animal.
7. Quarantine booking at Mickleham.
8. External parasite treatment from at least 30 days before export (dogs; cats are 21).
9. Final fortnight: internal parasite treatments, the pre-export examination, and — if unvaccinated for canine influenza — the isolation period, the PCR test and the 48-hour examination.
10. CFIA appointment: certificate HA3200 endorsed on every page.
11. Travel as manifest cargo, direct to Melbourne.

Where Canadian dogs most often come unstuck

• Canine influenza left to the end, forcing ten days of isolation into an already crowded final fortnight.
• Using the certificate from the Australian permit instead of HA3200.
• Arriving at the CFIA appointment without the originals of the RNATT report and rabies certificate.
• A missed booster, restarting the 180 days.

What this page does not cover

• Which laboratories may run the canine influenza PCR, or what isolation must look like in practice.
• How a Canadian owner obtains an identification declaration — CFIA references one “if issued”, and this site has not yet verified the route.
• Airline breed restrictions, which are separate and often stricter.