Exporting dogs and cats from Australia to another Country
Pet Carriers International has over 30 years’ experience with Exporting Pets from Australia.
We can provide a complete service to include obtaining Destination Country Import Permits, veterinary treatments , official documentation processing and the transport from Australia.
For full details please contact our export specialist’s on +61 2 9700 7223 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We prefer to manage the whole export process as we find that provides a better result.
Dogs and cats exiting Australia may require an Import permit issued by the Destination Country. The first thing to be arranged is an import permit from the Destination Country (if required). That import permit will list conditions that must be met prior to allowing the pet to be imported into the Destination Country.
Pet Carriers International has a team specialising in Exporting Pets from Australia.
Pet Carriers International can organise a Destination Country Import Permit on your behalf and guide you through the strict protocol, to ensure your pets smooth exit from Australia and into the Destination Country.
There are some countries from which cats and dogs cannot be directly exported from Australia. Sometimes the pets will need to make multiple stops, or may need to stay in a third country, to get to the Destination country.
Some countries require that certain vaccinations and/or parasite treatments that need to given to your pets prior to travel.
A rabies vaccination may be an import requirement, and if travelling in countries where rabies is present is a very good precaution anyway.
Keeping your pet's rabies vaccination coverage current whilst your pet is overseas in a Destination Country where Rabies is found is very important.
Are there exceptions?
Yes, there are lots of exceptions.
Not all pets can be exported from Australia and not all Destination countries will take all pets. Not all airlines will take pets.
Flights that passengers can board , pets might not be able to travel. Flights that pets can board, passengers might not be able to board.
On most travel for pets, your pet doesn't have to travel on the same flight, same airline, same day as your flights, though in a lot of cases that can be arranged.
Some countries have embargoes for some or all pets at different times of the year, or due to temporary circumstances.
Sometimes conditions in Australia prevent some pets from being exported temporarily.
Once I export my pets, can they come back into Australia?
Note that not all pets exported from Australia can come back into Australia.
For instance , once exported , birds and rabbit are currently not able to be imported at all.
Depending on circumstances, it may be worthwhile to do some processing prior to leaving Australia to make it easier to return to Australia.
When transporting your pets back into Australia it is best to start organising as early as possible as the lead time can be as long as nine to twelve months. It is a lengthy, complex and costly exercise to import your pets back into Australia and we HIGHLY recommend that you use a transporter in Australia with local knowledge to ensure that your Import into Australia occurs with least cost and time involved as possible due to no or minimal rework.
How long does the Export process take?
The minimum time to arrange the Export process from Australia is ten working days, however at times this may be longer due to flight restrictions , embargoes, cargo capacity.
At the same time the Import process into the Destination Country may take longer than 10 days to arrange and complete the preparations for travel.
Can my pet travel in the plane cabin with me?
No. Your pet must travel to Australia as manifested cargo. Your pets will travel on passenger or cargo flights from Australia as Cargo not as Excess Luggage.
Certified Service and Military dogs may be able to travel in cabin on some airlines on passenger flights. This is treated on a case by case basis and is not a rule and is up to the airlines discretion.
How much does the Transport Cost?
When Exporting Pets from Australia the transport cost is dependent on a varierty of factors.
The breed and size of your pets – Airfreight is calculated by the volume of space taken up on the flight and their weight and various other airline and transit charges.
Location of your pets – Where your pets travel from can make a significant change in the cost as they vary from origin within Australia.
Some pets require specialised crates to be used due to their species or breed or size. We can provide those plastic or wooden crates.
Some routes requires multiple travel legs to be used. Sometimes your pet will need to take multiple travel legs in order to reach the Destination Country.
If there is to be a multistop route for the travel, if the pets need to stay for a period in an intermediate country this will add to the cost significantly.
Please complete the export quote request form and we will contact you with a quotation.