AUSTRALIA

Pets

Cats and dogs entering Australia must meet all of the AQIS import conditions prior to export. This is to ensure no exotic diseases are introduced into Australia. Australia is free from many animal-related diseases found in other parts of the world.

If you wish to import a cat or dog into Australia, you need to apply for an AQIS import permit via the Live Animal Imports Program. AQIS officers will assess the application and—provided that the animal meets the import permit requirements—grant an import permit.

An AQIS import permit is required to book a space at an AQIS post-arrival animal quarantine station. There are three government animal quarantine stations equipped to accommodate cats and dogs in Australia. They are located in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Depending on the country you intend to export the cat or dog from you can request an information package that outlines the import conditions, the relevant Australian quarantine period, and the steps involved for importing cats and dogs to Australia pertaining to your country.

To book a space at an Australian animal quarantine station, an AQIS import permit number is required.

General Information

Officially, the Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere comprised of the mainland, which is both the world's smallest continent and the world's largest island, the island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Australia is the only place that is simultaneously considered a continent, a country and an island. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east and New Zealand to the southeast.

Australia's landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometers (2,941,300 sq mi)is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has 34,218 kilometers (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands) and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of 8,148,250 square kilometers (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.

The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometers (1,240 mi). Mount Augustus, claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 meters (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at 2,745 meters (9,006 ft). By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the outback. Australia is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils, and is the driest inhabited continent.