Moving a dog from the United States to Australia

Last verified: 2026-08-25

What is different for a dog

Everything on the United States corridor page applies. Three things are dog-specific, and each can stop the move:

1. Three extra blood tests

Australia requires dogs to be tested for:

Two of the three have an exemption worth knowing early. A dog already vaccinated against leptospirosis on the manufacturer’s schedule, and already desexed, needs only the Leishmania test — which is a materially simpler and cheaper preparation than a dog that needs all three.

For Brucella canis, the test type matters. Only the standard RSAT, TAT or IFAT are accepted, and the type used must be listed on the export health certificate. These are not approved:

• 2ME-RSAT
• 2ME-TAT
• AGID / AGID II
• Canine Brucella Multiplex Assay
• Brucella Slide Agglutination / AGID II combination test

A laboratory running its usual panel may well use one of the rejected variants. Say “for export to Australia” when the sample is submitted, and check the report names an accepted test before you build a timeline on it.

Every laboratory submission form must record the dog’s microchip number correctly and state that the testing is for export, and the testing must be done by an approved laboratory. Every report must show the microchip number, the blood sampling date, the test type and the result.

2. 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.

Mixed-breed dogs are allowed if every other condition is met — but a dog identified after arrival as possibly a prohibited breed may be investigated by the Department of Home Affairs. For an American pit bull terrier or a dog that resembles one, this is the first question to settle, before a dollar is spent. It is decided under customs and environmental law, by a different department from the one issuing your import permit.

3. Age, pregnancy and nursing

The rabies vaccine only counts if given at 84 days of age or later, which makes a puppy roughly nine to ten months old before it can fly. At export the dog must not be under quarantine restrictions, more than 30 days pregnant, or nursing puppies.

The order, for a dog

1. Microchip verified — ISO compliant.
2. Identity check Parts 1–3 — two USDA-accredited veterinarians at different clinics, then the USDA declaration. Before the RNATT; blood cannot be drawn until after the second microchip scanning.
3. Rabies vaccination by a USDA-accredited veterinarian.
4. RNATT blood sample, 3–4 weeks later.
5. 180 days from the sample’s arrival at the laboratory. No exceptions.
6. Leishmania, Leptospira and Brucella tests — with the right test types and correctly completed submission forms.
7. Import permit through BICON.
8. Quarantine booking at Mickleham.
9. External parasite treatment from at least 30 days before export (dogs; cats are 21); internal parasite treatment twice in the final 45 days.
10. Export health certificate — the US dog certificate from VEHCS, endorsed by USDA.
11. Travel as manifest cargo, direct to Melbourne.

Where dogs most often come unstuck

• A Brucella test run with the wrong assay, discovered when the certificate is being completed.
• A breed question raised late, after months of preparation.
• A missed booster, which restarts the entire 180 days.
• The identity check done after the blood draw, which costs twenty extra days of quarantine.

What this page does not cover

• Which laboratories are approved for the dog-specific tests.
• What a positive result means for any of the three tests — a veterinary and departmental question, not one this site can answer.
• Airline breed restrictions, which are separate from the government’s and often stricter, particularly for snub-nosed dogs.
• Crate sizing and construction, which the carrier layer governs.