Questions about Australia Dog Quarantine

Name: Julie
Number of Pets: 1
Pet Type: Dog
Pet Breed: Shar Pei
From: Colorado, United States
To: Australia

Hi PetRelocation,

I'm curious about the entire relocation process. Will my dog have to be in quarantine? For how long? Is he amongst general population? Do they cater to special needs dogs? He is so submissive and susceptible to being bullied and bit bitten by other dogs regardless of size, breed, etc.

Thanks,

Julie

Hi Julie,

Great questions! We'd be happy to tell you more about this move process. First, take a look at the Australia pet import requirements if you've yet to do so. You can also find all official information about Australia quarantine procedures and fees here.

Your dog will stay at either Spotswood Quarantine Facility in Melbourne or Eastern Creek Quarantine Facility in Sydney. Standard quarantine lasts 10 days and visitation by the owner is not permitted. The quarantine used to be 30 days, and when it was shortened earlier this year the visitation policy was changed, as well.

Pets have their own pens while in quarantine (so won't be interacting with other animals) and will be fed and given exercise while overseen by trained staff. 

We have helped many pets move safely to Australia, and though most people don't love the idea of their dog or cat spending time in a quarantine facility, most find the process to be much easier than they originally thought. If you'd like some specific examples (what pet traveler wouldn't?), here are the stories of three cats who recently moved from California to Sydney and three dogs who traveled from Texas to Australia.

Hopefully you'll find that this necessary part of pet travel to Australia isn't really so scary, but if you still have questions or think you'd like to hire some assistance, please fill out our consultation form.

Good luck with everything, and thanks for reaching out to us!

Weezie is moving to Australia next year! (She'll have to save the bee costume for when she gets out of quarantine.)