Ten clear days was the rule for australia to malaysia pet quarantine until 28 December 2024. The current Department of Veterinary Services protocol for Australia, revised 9 December 2024, sets arrival quarantine at not less than fourteen days and requires a Hendra virus blood test within fourteen days before export. Sabah publishes a separate three-day rule. Plan for fourteen, and confirm with DVS before booking.
Introduction: where the ten-day figure came from
Ten clear days is a real rule with a real expiry date. It governed arrivals from Australia until 28 December 2024, and it survives online because guides copy each other rather than the source. Our pet relocation team in the Klang Valley reads the source instead.
Someone in Perth or Sydney is about to move a family to Kuala Lumpur. They search for the length of australia to malaysia pet quarantine, and almost every page returns the same answer: ten days, for Hendra virus observation. It sounds specific enough to be true, so it goes into the moving budget.
It was true, until the end of 2024. The Department of Veterinary Services publishes a country-specific document for Australia, revised on 9 December 2024, and it no longer says ten. This article is for owners flying a cat or dog into Malaysia who want the number printed on the current protocol, plus the tests that decide whether the animal boards at all.
We run this corridor in both directions, and the video below walks through the import sequence from an owner’s side of the process.
What the Australia protocol says today
Clause 5 of the DVS requirements for Australia says the animal shall be detained in quarantine for a compulsory period of not less than fourteen days, extendable on risk assessment. That is the figure to plan against, alongside the MAQIS import permit you must hold before departure.
Malaysia does not run one set of import rules for the whole world. It publishes general regulations, then separate country-specific requirements where the disease risk differs. Australia has its own sheet, headed Requirements for the Importation of Dogs and Cats from the Scheduled Rabies Countries into Malaysia.
The current version carries a revision date of 9 December 2024. Read it in full on the DVS website before committing to dates. The clauses that decide your timeline are these:
- Quarantine on arrival. Not less than fourteen days, with release only if the animal shows no evidence of infection.
- Extension power. The period may be extended case by case on risk assessment, so fourteen is a floor and not a promise.
- Hendra virus test. A serum neutralisation test at a dilution of 1 in 2, negative, within fourteen days before export.
- Rabies vaccination. Given at least 28 days before export, with the country certified free of rabies for two years.
- Residence. Continuously in Australia for at least six months, or since birth.
Not sure which protocol applies to your pet?
Send us the departure city and the animal’s vaccination history, and we will confirm the sheet DVS will assess it against. See how our Malaysia pet import service works →
Ten, fourteen, seven or three: the number by source
Four different quarantine lengths circulate for pets arriving from Australia, and each traces to a different document. Fourteen comes from the current Australia protocol, seven from the general non-scheduled rules covered in our guide to Malaysia’s quarantine day counts, three from Sabah, and ten from secondary guides.
Quarantine Days Claimed, By Source
| Source | Relative length | Minimum days | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| DVS Australia protocol, revised 9 Dec 2024 | 14 | Pets exported from Australia | |
| Australian MICOR entry, rule before 28 Dec 2024 | 10 clear days | Superseded, still widely quoted | |
| DVS non-scheduled regulations, revised 13 Dec 2013 | 7 | Countries without their own protocol | |
| DVS Sabah additional conditions | 3 | Arrivals at Kota Kinabalu |
Source: compiled by My Pet Mover from DVS, DVS Sabah and Australian MICOR published conditions, read August 2026. Bars scaled to the longest period.
The ten has a paper trail. Australia’s own export conditions database, MICOR, records both versions side by side: before 28 December 2024, not less than ten clear days; as of 28 December 2024, not less than fourteen days. Every guide still quoting ten is quoting a rule that expired.
Why Australia gets its own sheet: Hendra virus
Hendra virus is why Australia is treated separately. Malaysia asks for a negative serum neutralisation test and a clean premises history, which is a condition you will not find on the standard scheduled and non-scheduled country sheets.
Rabies is the usual reason a country holds an imported animal. For Australian pets it is not the main concern, because Australia is certified free of rabies. The concern is Hendra, a bat-borne virus that has infected horses and, rarely, dogs in Queensland and New South Wales.
The protocol handles it twice over. The animal must come from a premises free of Hendra for six months before export, and must return a negative serum neutralisation test at a dilution of 1 in 2 within fourteen days before export. Then it is watched for a further fourteen days here.
The detention period is an observation window for a specific virus, which is exactly why it is longer than the general seven days.
That test is the item owners most often discover too late. It is not a routine practice test, and the sample has to reach a laboratory that runs it. The result then has to be back and certified inside a fourteen-day window that also lines up with your flight.
Australia sheet against the general rules
The Australia sheet is stricter than the general non-scheduled regulations on almost every line — longer residence, a tighter vaccination window, an extra virus test and double the detention. Both still require the same veterinary health certificate issued within seven days of export.
Australia Protocol Versus General Rules
| Condition | Australia sheet (9 Dec 2024) | Non-scheduled rules (13 Dec 2013) |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival quarantine minimum | Not less than 14 days | Not less than 7 days |
| Extension power | Case by case on risk assessment | Up to 6 months |
| Rabies-free period certified | 2 years | 6 months |
| Residence before export | 6 months, or since birth | Not imported in the past 6 months |
| Rabies vaccination timing | At least 28 days before export | Before export, no window stated |
| Hendra virus test | Negative SNT within 14 days | Not required |
| Parasite treatment | Internal and external, 2 to 7 days before export | Not specified |
| Transport | By aircraft, direct | Aircraft or other means, direct |
Source: DVS Malaysia published import protocols, read August 2026. Your permit conditions are the definitive document.
The country list changed in December 2025
A DVS notice dated 11 December 2025 republished the scheduled and non-scheduled country lists, and Australia does not appear on the scheduled list in that notice. The Australia country protocol still stands on its own, which is why import filings for Malaysia should be confirmed with DVS directly.
This is the part where honest reporting matters more than a clean answer. The notice names 22 scheduled countries. They are the United Kingdom, Eire, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden, Brunei, Singapore and Bahrain, plus thirteen more European entries from Greece and Portugal through to Bulgaria and Lithuania. Australia is not among them.
Yet the Australia-specific sheet, still published and still headed as a scheduled-rabies-country requirement, remains the document that names Australia as the country of export. Both are live on government servers, and you can read the notice and the general regulations together and reach two defensible conclusions.
Our working position is that a country-specific protocol governs the country it names, so an Australian pet is assessed against the fourteen-day sheet. That is a position, not a ruling. Put the question to DVS in writing at permit stage and keep the reply.
Counting backwards from flight day
Every requirement on the Australia sheet is defined as a window before export, so the flight date is the anchor and everything else counts backwards from it. The tightest window is the permit itself, which is valid for 30 days from issue.
Pre-Export Windows, Counted Backwards
| When | What has to happen | Fails if missed |
|---|---|---|
| 6 months before | Continuous residence in Australia begins, or the pet was born there | Certificate cannot be signed |
| 12 months before | Core vaccinations completed and still current at export | Certificate clause unmet |
| 28 days before | Rabies vaccination administered at the latest | Flight must be pushed back |
| 30 days before to day 0 | MAQIS import permit issued and still valid on arrival | Re-application needed |
| 14 days before | Hendra virus serum neutralisation test drawn, negative at 1 in 2 | Animal not accepted |
| 7 days before | Health examination and government veterinary health certificate | Certificate expires in transit |
| 2 to 7 days before | Internal and external parasite treatments, with active ingredients recorded | Clause left blank on certificate |
| Day 0 | Direct flight, then examination by a government veterinary officer on arrival | Entry refused or held |
Source: compiled by My Pet Mover from the DVS Australia protocol and MAQIS permit conditions, read August 2026.
Two windows collide in that table. The permit runs 30 days from issue and the Hendra result 14 days before export, so a flight change of even a week can invalidate one while the other still looks fine. That is the most common reason an Australian departure slips.
Want the whole arrival costed before you commit?
We price the flight, the permit, the inspection and the full quarantine stay as one figure, so nothing lands as a surprise at KLIA. Compare our pet relocation pricing →
Breed rules stop the permit before quarantine matters
The Australia sheet carries the same banned and restricted breed lists as every other Malaysian import route, and approval is decided before a permit is issued. Check your dog against the Malaysian banned and restricted breed lists before anything else.
Quarantine length is irrelevant if the animal never qualifies for a permit. On the Australia sheet the restricted list covers the Bull Mastiff, Bull Terrier, Doberman, German Shepherd and its Belgian and East European relatives, Rottweiler and Cane Corso. None may be imported for breeding.
The banned list runs to the Akita, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, American Bulldog, Tosa, Neapolitan Mastiff, Boerboel, Perro de Presa Canario and the Pit Bull Terrier group. For cats, first to fourth generation Bengal and Savannah crosses are banned, and documentary proof of a fifth-generation cross is required.
Restricted breeds are not automatically refused. Written approval from the Director General of MAQIS comes first, and the sheet attaches conditions to it:
- At least nine months old at the time of import.
- Pedigree certificate from an approved organisation in Australia, with the microchip number recorded on it.
- Neutered and council-licensed, declared in writing by the importer.
- Premises inspected by the MAQIS Director for kennel, compound size and control of the dog.
Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak arrive differently
Malaysia’s states are not one quarantine system. A pet landing at KLIA is held at the Kuala Lumpur Animal Quarantine Station, while DVS Sabah publishes its own Australia conditions with a three-day stay at Kinarut, Papar.
Arrival By Jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Detail | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Peninsular Malaysia | Entry point | KLIA, Sepang, or another prescribed landing place |
| Held at | Kuala Lumpur Animal Quarantine Station | |
| Minimum stay | Not less than 14 days under the Australia sheet | |
| Sabah | Entry point | Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 1 |
| Held at | Veterinary Quarantine Station, Kinarut, Papar | |
| Minimum stay | 3 days, with 2 days advance notice to the quarantine office | |
| Sarawak | Entry point | State-administered, applied for separately |
| Held at | Facility named on the state approval | |
| Minimum stay | Confirm with the state veterinary authority |
Source: DVS Malaysia and DVS Sabah published conditions, read August 2026. Sarawak conditions are issued by the state.
The Sabah sheet is worth reading in full if you are landing in Kota Kinabalu, because it also asks for parasite treatment within 15 days rather than the peninsula’s two-to-seven-day window. It is published by the Sabah veterinary department as additional conditions, not as a replacement.
What clear days mean for your collection date
The protocol says not less than fourteen days and release only if the animal is found free of infection. That is a minimum with a condition attached, not a booking. Owners planning visits should read our guide to what the quarantine stay involves.
The phrase clear days does real work here. Arrival day goes to the flight, the cargo release and the government veterinary examination at the port, so the observation period does not meaningfully start until the animal is settled in the station. Collection day is a working-hours operation with its own fees.
So fourteen days plus an arrival day and a collection day means planning for about sixteen days between landing and homecoming. Weekends and public holidays sit inside that window and do not shorten it. Behind all of it sits the extension clause: any sign of illness and the period can be lengthened.
Book the space before you book the flight
A permit is permission to import, not a reserved kennel. The station has finite space, and a longer Australian stay consumes more of it per animal, so booking the quarantine slot comes before the flight is confirmed.
A fourteen-day protocol occupies a kennel twice as long as a seven-day one. That is arithmetic the station manages across every arrival, and it is why space around peak moving periods is tighter than owners expect.
Two arrival duties come straight from the Malaysian High Commission’s guidance in Canberra, published on the ministry’s website. Give the flight number and arrival time to the veterinary department, then remind the officer at least one day before landing. Inspection fees are doubled outside working hours and on public holidays.
Going the other way is a different problem
Malaysia to Australia is not the reverse of this article. Malaysia is not on Australia’s approved country lists, so the pet must first live and qualify in another country — the sequence set out on our Malaysia to Australia pet transport page.
The corridor is not symmetrical. Coming into Malaysia is a permit, a test panel and a quarantine stay. Going the other way is a project measured in months, with a staging country in the middle.
- Group status decides everything. Start with Australia’s pet country groups one to three, because the group sets the testing and the quarantine minimum.
- The staging country is a real decision. Our comparison of which country your pet should live in before Australia covers the practical shortlist near Malaysia.
- The rabies titre clock is exact. Whether it runs from the draw date or the laboratory receipt date is explained in our note on the RNATT clock.
- Singapore is the usual first leg. That route carries its own detention, set out in our guide to Singapore’s 30 days for Malaysian pets.
Conclusion: plan fourteen, confirm before you fly
The safe plan for australia to malaysia pet quarantine is fourteen clear days plus an arrival day and a collection day, with the figure confirmed in writing by DVS when the permit is applied for.
Ten clear days is the answer the internet still gives, and it expired on 28 December 2024. Fourteen is on the current Australia protocol, seven is the general rule for countries without their own sheet, and three is what Sabah publishes for Kota Kinabalu. Only one applies to your flight.
Plan against fourteen, ask DVS to confirm at permit stage, and keep the reply with the travel file. An earlier release is then a happy surprise instead of a broken plan.
Moving from Australia to Malaysia with a pet?
Send us the departure city, the arrival state and your pet’s vaccination record. We will confirm the protocol that applies, book the quarantine space, and give you a dated plan from the Hendra test through to collection day.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many days is pet quarantine in Malaysia for a pet from Australia?
Not less than fourteen days under the DVS country protocol for Australia, revised 9 December 2024. Australia’s MICOR entry dates the change to 28 December 2024, when the previous ten clear days was replaced. Many guides still quote ten, so confirm the current figure with DVS or MAQIS when you apply for the import permit.
2. Why does my pet need a Hendra virus test to enter Malaysia?
Because Australia is the only export country where Malaysia asks for it. The protocol requires a serum neutralisation test at a dilution of 1 in 2, negative, taken within fourteen days before export. The certificate must also confirm no Hendra case at the premises in the previous six months.
3. Is Australia a scheduled country for Malaysian pet import?
The position is not clean. Australia has its own country-specific protocol headed as a scheduled-rabies-country requirement, but a DVS notice dated 11 December 2025 republished the scheduled list without Australia on it. Treat the country-specific sheet as governing and ask DVS to confirm in writing before you fly.
4. Can I collect my pet on day fourteen?
Not usually. Fourteen days is a minimum period of detention, and release depends on the animal being found free of infection. Arrival day and collection day sit outside that count, so plan for roughly sixteen days between landing and homecoming, and avoid weekends and public holidays.
5. Are the rules the same if I land in Sabah instead of KLIA?
No. DVS Sabah publishes its own additional conditions for cats and dogs from Australia. Entry is at Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 1, quarantine runs three days at the Kinarut station in Papar, and the airport quarantine office needs at least two days notice of arrival.
6. Does my dog’s breed affect whether it can enter Malaysia at all?
Yes, and this is decided before quarantine matters. Banned breeds cannot be imported at all. Restricted breeds such as the German Shepherd, Rottweiler and Doberman need written approval from the Director General of MAQIS first, subject to a minimum age of nine months, neutering, council licensing and a premises inspection.
