Booking quarantine at Mickleham

Last verified: 2026-08-25

The answer

Book quarantine after your import permit is issued — not before. The permit sets out your quarantine details, and it is the document the booking follows.

Quarantine takes place at the Mickleham post-entry quarantine facility, near Melbourne, which is why Melbourne is the only permitted arrival airport.

The permit must be valid on the day of arrival

This is the constraint that quietly governs the whole booking:

The import permit must be valid on the date your pet arrives in Australia — and it is valid only until the RNATT expires, 12 months from the date the blood sample was taken.

Extending the permit is not an administrative request. It means repeating the RNATT process. So the arrival date, the permit validity and the RNATT expiry are one problem, not three, and quarantine availability is the variable you control least.

Book as early as the permit allows.

What it costs

The whole budget, including the parts no authority publishes, is on what it costs.

The department’s estimated total cost of importing one cat or dog is AUD 3,114 with the 10-day minimum and AUD 4,234 with the 30-day minimum — figures that include quarantine alongside the other government charges.

Additional costs arise for extra parasite treatments, veterinary care, an extended stay, or testing where a disease of biosecurity concern is suspected. And there is a hard gate at the end: the account must be paid in full before your animal is released.

Plan for the stay, not just the arrival

Two things worth arranging before departure rather than after:

• Medication. If your animal needs medication during quarantine, there are strict guidelines on medicating animals in the facility. Raise it with your veterinarian and the facility early — an animal on daily medication is not a problem, but it is not an afterthought either.
• Vaccination cover for the stay. For cats, vaccination against feline enteritis, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus is not mandatory for import, but those diseases exist in Australia and any vaccinations should remain valid for the whole quarantine period. Check the dates before you travel rather than during the stay.

What this page does not tell you

• Current availability or how far ahead the facility books.
• The booking mechanics — how to submit, what confirmation looks like, how changes are handled.
• Daily routine, visiting, or what you may send with your animal.
• Whether your stay could be extended. A health or biosecurity concern can lengthen it, and the cost falls to you.