Starting the Australia import process with a young pet requires careful timing. The minimum age rules, the rabies vaccination schedule, and the 180-day wait all interact in ways that affect when your pet can realistically travel.
The minimum age to travel
Qantas Freight requires pets to be at least 12 weeks (84 days) old to fly. DAFF also requires that the rabies vaccination be given when the pet was at least 84 days old. These two requirements align: a pet cannot receive a valid rabies vaccination before 12 weeks, and cannot fly before 12 weeks.
Why timing from birth matters
The 180-day wait starts from the RNATT lab receipt date. The RNATT requires a valid rabies vaccination — given at 12 weeks or later, with a 3-4 week wait recommended before blood draw. This means the absolute earliest timeline from birth looks like this:
- Week 0: Born
- Week 12 (84 days): Earliest rabies vaccination
- Week 15-16 (3-4 weeks later): Earliest RNATT blood draw
- Week 16 approximately: Lab receipt date, 180-day clock starts
- Week 42 (180 days after lab receipt): Earliest possible departure — approximately 10 months of age
This is the absolute minimum. In practice, most puppies and kittens moving to Australia are 10-12 months old by the time of departure if the process started as early as possible.
Identity verification timing for young pets
DAFF specifically notes in the Group 3 cat guide that for animals under 6 months old, identity verification should be completed before starting the import process. Getting the identity check done early avoids the risk of drawing blood before the identity declaration has reached DAFF, which would disqualify the pet from 10-day quarantine.
If you're getting a puppy and planning to move
If you know you are moving to Australia and you are getting a puppy, start planning the import process immediately. Every week you delay starting the RNATT process is a week added to when your pet can depart. A puppy acquired at 8 weeks and vaccinated at 12 weeks can have blood drawn by 16 weeks — if the sample arrives at the lab in week 17, earliest departure is approximately week 43 (around 10 months old). If you wait until 6 months old to start, the earliest departure is approximately 13 months old.
Nursing and pregnancy restrictions
DAFF does not permit export of cats or dogs that are nursing young or more than 30 days pregnant. If your dog is pregnant when you planned to begin the process, you will need to wait until after the litter is weaned before starting — and the timeline resets from there.
Regulations can change. Always verify directly with DAFF at agriculture.gov.au.