We have a beagle called Max. Unfortunately for us we were unable to find affordable short term furnished accommodation that would allow animals, so we had to leave him with friends until we found a rental that would allow pets. Our first piece of advice is if possible you should try to have your pet travel on the same flight as you as it is considerably cheaper. Max cost us nearly $1,000.00 to fly solo. I have friends over here that took their cat and dog with them and it was less than $500.00 for the two. Dogs and cats exported from New Zealand are not subject to quarantine either before leaving New Zealand or on arrival in Australia.
The first thing we did in our mission to have him with us in Australia was obtain an export certificate from our vet and check that they had a vet that was approved by MAF to certify dogs and cats being exported to Australia. If they don't they should be able to give you names of vets that are. After collecting and paying for the export certificate (approximately $70.00 and you need 1 per animal) it needs to be filled in and witnessed by a Justice of the Peace. You could visit your local courthouse to get this done. You will need contact details in Australia to complete the form.
You will also need to contact a pet transport operator to arrange transportation and flights. We used the Internet to find our local transporters. Your removal company may also be able to assist with this.
No more than 72 hours before your pet leaves, you will need to visit the vet for a final check up before exporting. You will be charged a the standard visitation fee for this, which will vary from vet to vet, and also depend on whether your animal requires any further treatments such as flea treatment.
