Ten days or thirty
The minimum stay is 10 days, but not everyone gets it. To qualify, the animal's identity must have been verified by a competent authority in the exporting country: an official government vet checks the microchip number against the documents before the RNAT blood sample is taken. If that step was skipped, quarantine runs at least 30 days.
The difference in money is about 1,120 AUD; the difference for the animal is thirty days instead of ten in an unfamiliar place. It cannot be fixed retroactively: once blood has been drawn without identity verification, the short quarantine is gone for good.
"Minimum" means exactly that. The stay is extended if an error turns up in the paperwork, if the animal falls ill, or if on-site tests return an unexpected result.
We will price the move for your pet — free, with a reply within 24 hours.
Arrival day
The animal lands at Melbourne International Airport as cargo — regardless of whether you were on the same flight. The owner is not allowed access. A biosecurity officer takes charge of the crate, checks the seals and documents, and drives the animal to Mickleham.
Within 24 hours of arrival, an email goes to the address listed on the permit: the animal has arrived, it has been settled in, here is its pen number. The quarantine clock starts from that email.
What happens inside
Mickleham is a government complex purpose-built for animal quarantine. Cats and dogs are housed in separate buildings. Each animal lives in an individual pen with a covered area and a run; feeding and cleaning follow a schedule, and staff check on every animal daily.
Owner visits are not permitted — it is a quarantine, not a hotel. On request, staff can send a photo or a short update on your pet's condition. You cannot pass in toys, bedding or food. Anything that arrives in the crate (bedding, toys, food) is destroyed by biosecurity, so don't pack anything you'd want back.
If veterinary care is needed during quarantine, it is provided — and billed to the owner separately.
Can you visit your pet — and bring your own vet?
These are the two questions owners ask most often, and the answers are not the same.
Visiting is not allowed. The Department of Agriculture does not permit visits to animals in post entry quarantine — not by owners, and not by friends or relatives already living in Australia. The official reason is the short isolation period of 10 or 30 days: the facility uses that time to care for your animal and to complete the paperwork for its release. There are no exceptions for kittens, puppies or elderly animals.
A private vet is allowed — and is sometimes necessary. The government veterinarians at Mickleham only check animals for diseases of biosecurity concern. They do not provide general care, consultations or prescriptions for anything outside biosecurity, and they do not arrange a private vet for you. All of that is the owner's responsibility.
You can arrange a private veterinary attendance if:
- a health concern is found during the quarantine period;
- your animal needs medication or a consultation;
- your animal has an existing medical condition and needs a vet on arrival — in that case contact Post Entry Quarantine two weeks before the flight lands.
The visit is supervised by a facility officer, and the supervision is billed separately at 42 AUD per 15 minutes. The consultation itself and any medication are paid by the owner directly to the vet.
There is no veterinary hospital on site. In an emergency the facility calls the owner or the authorised agent to approve moving the animal to an emergency veterinary hospital. If nobody can be reached, the animal is taken there without delay — welfare comes before approvals. The hospital bill goes to the owner.
Exercise and grooming. Staff exercise the animals; the runs and yards at the facility are built for it. Animals are washed and groomed when hygiene or biosecurity requires it. Specialist grooming can be requested separately, supervised at the same rate of 42 AUD per 15 minutes.
What it costs
The fees are set by the government and identical for everyone; figures as of 13 October 2026: booking fee — 282 AUD, entry fee — 1,132 AUD, board — 56 AUD per day, i.e. 560 for ten days or 1,680 for thirty. Release outside business hours — 176 AUD on weekdays and 186 on weekends and public holidays.
The full amount must be paid before release: until the bill is settled, the animal does not leave quarantine. A place can only be booked after the import permit has been granted — not before.
Release
On the final day the owner collects the animal in person from Mickleham or arranges onward delivery within Australia. If the destination is another state, a domestic flight is the usual choice: that is one more transport leg, and it too needs to be planned ahead, since the quarantine release date is known to the day.
We stay in touch with the facility throughout and give you warning if anything goes off plan — but the release itself is handled by the owner or their authorised representative in Australia.