Dog breeds and hybrids that cannot enter Australia

Last verified: 2026-08-25

The answer

Prohibited pure breeds, as published by the department:

• dogo Argentino
• fila Brasileiro
• Japanese tosa
• American pit bull terrier (or pit bull terrier)
• Perro de Presa Canario (or Presa Canario)

Prohibited hybrids — dogs bred from domestic and non-domestic animals:

• Czechoslovakian wolfdog (Czechoslovakian Vlcak)
• Saarloos wolfdog (Saarloos wolfhound)
• Lupo Italiano (Italian wolfdog)
• Kunming wolfdog (Kunming dog)

Mixed-breed dogs are allowed, provided the dog meets every other import condition.

The part people miss: this is not a biosecurity rule

These bans come from environmental-protection and customs law, not from the biosecurity rules that govern the rest of your import. That has a practical consequence: the department that handles your import permit is not the department that decides these questions.

• For prohibited breeds, the Department of Home Affairs is the authority.
• For hybrid animals, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is the authority.

If your dog is anywhere near one of these categories, that is who you ask — and you ask before you begin a six-month preparation, not after.

Risk after arrival

A dog identified after arrival in Australia as possibly being a prohibited breed may be investigated further by the Department of Home Affairs. Import approval earlier in the process is not a determination that your dog is not a prohibited type.

This matters most for mixed-breed dogs that physically resemble a banned type. Being allowed in principle is not the same as being waved through in practice, and a breed determination is made on the animal in front of the official.

What this page does not tell you

• Whether your dog is one of these types. Breed identification is contested territory, and a determination can rest on the animal’s appearance rather than its paperwork or DNA. Nothing on this site can make that call for you.
• How your own country’s ban compares. Britain’s list is not Australia’s, in both directions — see legal at home, refused by Australia.
• Whether the published lists are exhaustive. The department’s wording is that prohibited breeds include those named. This page repeats the list as published and does not claim it is complete — another reason to confirm directly if you are close to the line.
• How a council declares an individual dog dangerous or menacing. State restricted-breed law exists below the national level and is a separate regime from this import ban; what is verified about it is on after-arrival state rules.
• Cats. Hybrid cat restrictions are a separate question with a separate authority.