taking dogs to australia

[dog mover]

Hi there
We have 2 medium sized dogs who we intend to take back to OZ. I have received 2 quotes this week- 1 in excess of $5600 and another over $7000. This seems rather extreme- could get a business class seat for that amount! Has anyone done the leg work for this without the agent and saved the cash? Any tips welcome

[Scummy NLI]

I moved 4 cats to Perth at the end of last year.

I saved a bit by getting the vaccinations and microchipping done myself, applied for the AQIS permits online, booked quarantine myself and collected them from quarantine myself. I used an agent (Mitchville) for booking flights, doing the pre-flight medical checks in Singapore, arranging the crates. This reduced the cost from $10,159 to around $8823. (Around half the cost is the quarantine and therefore unavoidable.)
With a child, a job, and a husband who "accidentally" booked a business trip when the movers were in, I decided I could do without the hassle of shuffling them around to vets at the end and loading them onto the plane.
The only thing I'd do differently would be to consider sourcing the crates myself - all the movers got us to measure the cats (NOT easy) and said they'd be custom-made to fit, but all 4 cages are identical even though the cats are different sizes. (But they were only $380 for 4, so not a huge saving).
Good luck. If I'd known it was this much I'd have thought twice aboiut rescuing 4 cats, but once you've done it you're (I think) committed.

[how long quarantine?]

How long is the quarantine in Australia for pets flown directly from Singapore?

[Scummy NLI]

30 days

[Thanks]

Thanks for the info Scummy. I've done this once before but kind of 'forgot' about the costs...I can do the permits etc myself to save a bit. I'm a bit concerned because they need a dog license to leave and I've never got them a license hmmm. 

[now?]

Can you just get a Dog license now then?  What is the implication for you of applying "last minute" for Singapore dog license?

[Strewth]

Unlicensed dogs? Ohhhh that's gonna cost you a fine. And I suppose they're not micro-chipped either? Naughty little Aussies.

[nonono]

The quarantine is ONLY 30 days if you meet all of the AQIS requirements and there are loads. Pls google 'importing dogs into Australia' and you'll see what I mean. Hope you've got enough time for this, it's not that simple.