Are you moving animals or plants, or their parts and derivatives, to or from Australia?
The steps on this page will help you work out if you need a permit to import or export your wildlife specimens.
Australia strictly controls the international movement of wildlife specimens (animals or plants, or their parts and derivatives). In many cases, in order to move wildlife specimens to or from Australia, you will need a permit issued by the Department.
When applying for and using a wildlife permit you must comply with all relevant permit conditions. Conditions vary depending on the circumstances of your trade and the type of permit. Some descriptions of permit types and associated obligations are included on the What to do with your permit page.
Some permit types also include application fees. You can read more about these on our Fees page.
Is the species regulated?
To understand what, if any, permit requirements apply to your situation you will first need to find out if the specimen is listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or is an Australian native species or confirm if it is neither.
Read the information below and select the option that best describes your specimen(s).
CITES
You can check if your specimen is subject to CITES regulations by checking the scientific name of the species on the CITES Species+ website. If the species is CITES listed the CITES Species+ website will provide the following important information which you should make note of:
- What appendix of CITES the species is listed under (Appendix I, II or III)?
- The date the species was first listed under CITES.
- If the species is listed under Appendix III, which country listed it?
(Note: If your specimen is both CITES-listed and an Australian native species you must apply for a CITES permit)
Native
You can check if your specimen is native to Australia by checking the Atlas of living Australia (note: in most cases you can search the list using a common name such as ‘kangaroo’).
(Note: If your specimen is both CITES-listed and an Australian native species you must apply for a CITES permit)
Neither
Many live animals (including insects and other invertebrates) that are not listed under CITES and are not native to Australia require an import permit from the Department to be imported into Australia.
For live animal imports the species must be listed on the Live Import List. More about the requirements under the list can be found on our Live Import List page.