The Australian import permit: what it costs, how long it takes, when it expires

Last verified: 2026-08-25

The answer

You apply through BICON, the department’s Biosecurity Import Conditions system, after registering an account.

Fees are paid in full at submission, the permit is not issued until payment clears, and the fee is non-refundable once the application is submitted. Those are minimum charges: extra fees apply if the application is incomplete, contains errors, or needs a variation.

A “consignment” means animals sent to Australia departing at the same time from the same country of origin, under the same importer and exporter details.

The validity trap

A Group 3 permit does not last a year from issue. It lasts until your RNATT expires, which is 12 months from the date the blood sample was taken — a date that may already be months in the past when you apply.

Combine that with processing that can run to 123 business days, and the arithmetic gets uncomfortable: a permit applied for late in the RNATT’s life can be issued with very little validity left. Apply as soon as your documents are complete, not when you start thinking about flights.

What to submit

For a Group 3 country:

• a copy of the RNATT report issued by the testing laboratory — the testing laboratory, not a forwarding laboratory;
• the corresponding RNATT declaration, endorsed by the official government veterinarian employed by your competent authority;
• previous RNATT reports and declarations too, if your pet has had more than one test;
• to qualify for 10-day quarantine instead of 30: either the official identity declaration endorsed by the official government veterinarian, or the Australian Export Health Certificate for a pet of Australian origin. Your pet must be identifiable by the microchip listed on that document.

Endorsement means the official veterinarian’s signature, the date of endorsement and the competent authority’s stamp — on every page of a multi-page document, unless the pages are linked by a unique certificate number from the competent authority.

You submit scans. The originals travel with your animal.

What gets applications rejected or delayed

The department is explicit that a permit cannot be issued where information or documents are missing, unclear or unsatisfactory — and that not every application results in a permit.

Avoidable causes of delay:

• documents that are not in English or bilingual;
• illegible scans;
• extra documents nobody asked for — photographs, medical details, routine vaccinations, pet passports. These slow assessment down rather than helping;
• multi-page documents split into separate image files;
• for multiple pets, supporting documents not named per animal (“Spot RNATT declaration”, “Fluffy RNATT declaration”).

Amendments are tightly limited. An RNATT declaration or identity declaration can only be amended by an official veterinarian, and the amendment must be endorsed. Critical details on laboratory reports — place and date of sample collection, submitting veterinarian, microchip number, result — cannot be amended at all. An error in one of those fields is not a correction; it is a new test.

Queue position is not negotiable

Applications are assessed in order of receipt, under the department’s service charter and the Biosecurity Act 2015. The department states plainly that it does not prioritise on individual circumstances — which cuts both ways: nobody jumps ahead of you, and no amount of explaining your moving date will move you up.

Your flight date is your problem to manage, not an argument the queue recognises.

Once the permit is issued

Read it. The permit sets out every condition you must meet: vaccinations, tests and treatments, travel requirements, conditions on arrival, and your quarantine in Australia. Your quarantine details are on the permit.

What this page does not tell you

• Whether your specific case needs a permit at all. Some countries and territories do not require one; the three origins this site covers are not among them.
• How to complete a BICON application screen by screen.
• The quarantine booking process, which runs separately and needs partial payment at booking.
• Fees beyond the permit — quarantine accommodation is a separate and larger cost. See 10-day versus 30-day quarantine.