Working Wed: The Stressful Move to AU

Relocating with a pet is never easy.  Aside from managing furniture movers, real estate agents, and other aspects of the move unrelated to pets, caring for all of the pet-specific needs as well can become cumbersome.  There are necessary veterinary visits, time sensitive documentation, and the task of making sure that the pet planning adheres to both airline and destination requirements.

Pet relocation can be made even more difficult by stringent destination requirements, particularly those applicable to pets travelling down under.  For Australia, where there have only been 1-2 cases of rabies in the nation's history, rules that pertain to pet importation are understandably rigid and abundant.  The island continent boasts a very healthy record of avoiding disease and infection that normally results from pet importation.

Accordingly, strict guidelines and rules for live animal importation include that pets immigrating to Australia have an international microchip, veterinary exam, and rabies titer test (RNATT, FAVN).  All of these components are time sensitive.  Dogs in particular require a slew of treatments and care, such as internal and external parasite meds, and tests for canine diseases like Brucellosis, Ehrlichiosis, Leptospriosis, and Leishmaniosis.  There is also the import permit to consider, which is specific to Australia and must be completed and accepted ahead of time.  A USDA veterinarian must sign off on the pet's condition before officially sealing the crate.  Pets travelling to Australia from the U.S. must do so through either SFO or LAX.

Quarantine Requirements

Beyond the battery of veterinary, airline and beaurocratic obstacles, pet owners are responsible themselves for ensuring that arrangements have been made for the Australian mandated quarantine procedure.  These plans must be made before the move begins.  It is wise to begin the quarantine process as early as possible stateside.  This thoughtful step will enable owners and pets to reunite after enduring only the mandatory minimum 10 day quarantine period in Australia.  

Expats and aspiring Australian citizens used to only have three choices when choosing a facility.  Recently, the Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service (AQIS) added multiple offices to deal with incoming pets.  These offices are located in several regions comprising Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, and Canberra.  While quarantine requirements can appear to be excessive, they have been made much shorter thanks to improving diagnostic tools for diseases.  To put things in perspective, dogs and cats used to have to complete a 30 day AU quarantine at the very least, suffering longer waits when the quarantine hadn’t already begun prior to travel.

To learn important contacts for AU quarantine facilities, visit our Destinations page to view the applicable info.

Difficulty in relocating a pet or pets to Australia should not inhibit potential immigrants.  Premier Pet Relocation does the bulk of its international business with expatriate clients going from the United States to Australia.  Our experience, global contacts, and strict adherence to evolving guidelines make us the perfect choice for planning a successful Australian relocation.

A new set of guidelines for relocating a dog or cat to Australia will take effect on Febuary 3rd, 2014.  Please give us a call to speak to one of our pet relocation professionals and gain peace of mind regarding your pet’s move to Australia!

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