USA → Australia & NZ
Export Horses and Livestock from the USA to Australia and New Zealand
The strictest biosecurity regimes we work in. Post-arrival quarantine is booked first and everything schedules backwards from it.
- Arrives
- MEL
- Departs
- LAX / DFW
- Flight time
- Nearest to the Mickleham quarantine facility
- Plan ahead
- 90–150 days
Melbourne
Or whichever US gateway suits the animals
Both countries require pre-export isolation to a specified standard, extensive testing, and mandatory post-arrival quarantine at an approved facility that generally has to be booked before the animals leave the United States. None of it is negotiable, and none of it can be accelerated by paying more.
What it can be is planned properly, which is the whole job here. We book the quarantine, schedule the isolation against it and stay involved through arrival.
Regulatory
What a Australia & NZ export requires
These are the constraints that shape the timeline. The binding requirements are whatever Australia and New Zealand has in force on your day of export — we confirm the current position as the first step of every feasibility review.
Book post-arrival quarantine first
Most horses into Australia complete post-arrival quarantine at the government facility at Mickleham in Victoria, which is why Melbourne is usually the arrival airport. Capacity is finite, so the booking is the first thing that happens, not the last — everything else schedules backwards from it.
Permit and biosecurity conditions
The importer holds a permit specifying the biosecurity conditions for the consignment. Those drive the isolation standard and the test panel, so the permit must be in hand before isolation begins.
Pre-export isolation and testing
Animals are held at a USDA-approved facility to the standard the permit specifies while a USDA-accredited veterinarian completes the panel and prepares the certificate for USDA APHIS endorsement.
New Zealand is separate from Australia
New Zealand administers its own import health standards independently. Clearance for Australia does not imply clearance for New Zealand — each is planned and permitted separately.
Official source
USDA APHIS publishes the International Regulations for Animal Exports (IRegs) — the U.S. government’s understanding of Australia and New Zealand's current import requirements.
By species
What we handle into Australia and New Zealand
Horses
Racing, breeding and competition horses moved door to door — barn in the United States to barn in Asia-Pacific.
Breeding Livestock
Cattle, swine, sheep, goats and poultry genetics moved as single consignments or as a recurring program.
Exotic & Zoo Animals
Zoo collections, wildlife parks and private exotic consignments — including CITES-listed species — moved with the permitting handled.
FAQ
Exporting to Australia and New Zealand: common questions
How much does it cost to export a horse to Australia or New Zealand?
A single horse typically starts around $13,000 to $25,000 for the core work — air freight, isolation, testing, USDA fees and a groom — but the mandatory post-arrival quarantine booking, the biosecurity-grade test panel and the longer isolation period these two countries require usually push the total above what a Southeast Asian lane would cost for the same animal. We put a written figure to it once the quarantine facility is confirmed and booked.
How long does it take to export a horse from the USA to Australia?
Plan 90 to 150 days. The binding constraint is usually post-arrival quarantine capacity, which has to be booked before departure, plus the isolation period and test panel the import permit specifies. The flight itself is about 15 hours to Sydney.
Is post-arrival quarantine mandatory?
Yes, for both. Most horses into Australia go to the government post-entry quarantine facility at Mickleham in Victoria, though some approved-arrangement sites operate privately. Capacity is finite, so the booking comes first and the rest of the schedule is built backwards from it.
Are Australia and New Zealand the same process?
No. New Zealand administers its own import health standards independently. Being cleared for one does not clear you for the other — they are planned and permitted separately.
Do you have people in Australia?
We work with agents in Australia and coordinate the approved-facility quarantine booking ourselves, so the destination end is planned before the animals leave rather than handed off at the airport.
Can the timeline be shortened?
Not meaningfully. Isolation periods, test panels and quarantine capacity are set by the importing authority and are not commercially negotiable. Good planning buys certainty on the date, not a sooner one.
Other lanes
More Asia-Pacific destinations
Japan
Export Horses from the USA to Japan
China
Export Horses & Livestock from the USA to China
Indonesia
Export Breeding Livestock from the USA to Indonesia
Moving animals to Australia and New Zealand?
Send us the species, the number of animals, the origin and your target date. We confirm whether the protocol is currently open and come back with a written feasibility review at no charge.