The import or export of specimens may be permitted if they will be used for the education or training of enrolled or registered students, such as at a school or university.
If your specimen is CITES-listed but was acquired or was deceased before its species was first listed under CITES, you can apply for a pre-Convention certificate. You can read more about this on our vintage page.
Education conditions
You will only be granted a permit for this purpose if you can demonstrate that you and/or your organisation satisfy the following requirements:
- The specimen will be used for education or training by a private or public institution that has a primary function of educating or training enrolled or registered participants.
- The specimen will not be used for commercial purposes after it is no longer needed for education or training.
- The specimen is not needed for conservation breeding or propagation by the exporting country.
- If possible, the specimen comes from a captive animal or an artificially propagated plant.
- For education or training involving a live animal, the animal is held in a way that is known to result in minimal stress and risk of injury to the animal.
- In the case of education or training in which an animal is killed, the killing is done in a way that is generally accepted to minimise pain and suffering.
- For a specimen listed as a threatened species, the export is consistent with any recovery plan for the species.
If you are applying to import or export live mammals, reptiles, amphibians or birds you will need to have your facility assessed to determine if it meets the animals’ behavioural and biological needs. You can find out more on our facility assessments page.
For a live export of a koala, platypus, wombat or Tasmanian devil, or an animal of an eligible listed threatened species, the exporter, the importer and the Department of the Environment and Energy enter into an agreement about the treatment and disposal of the animal and/or any progeny of the animal. This is called an Ambassador Agreement. You will be notified if an Ambassador Agreement is required after you have submitted your application.