Moving house with a pet in Australia: the checklist
Microchip details, council registration, a new vet and a calm moving day. What to sort out before, during and after you move with a dog, cat or other pet.
General information, not veterinary or legal advice. Rules differ between states and councils, so check with yours.
Moving is hard on everyone, and pets can’t ask what’s going on. A bit of planning keeps them safe on the day, and makes sure that if they slip out in a new suburb, they can be traced back to you.
Here’s what to sort out, roughly in the order you’ll need it.
Before you move: find a vet near the new place
Look up a clinic near your new address before you go, and save its number and the nearest after-hours emergency clinic in your phone. It’s one less thing to search for if something happens in the first week.
Ask your current vet to send your pet’s history to the new clinic, and keep a copy for yourself. Our guide to changing vets covers what to ask for.
If your pet takes regular medicine, make sure you have enough to last until you’ve seen the new vet.
Update the microchip details
A microchip only helps if the details behind it are right. Most states and territories require dogs and cats to be microchipped, and the chip number links to your contact details in a registry.
In New South Wales, those details are in the NSW Pet Registry. You can update your address online for free, and you’re required to do it within 14 days of moving.
Elsewhere, the number may sit in one of several registries. If you don’t know which, Pet Address (petaddress.com.au) searches them and tells you where your pet’s number is held, so you can update it there. You’ll find the microchip number on the vaccination certificate or your vet records.
Update your phone number too if it has changed. A found pet with an old number is still a lost pet.
Tell the council
Councils register dogs and cats separately from the microchip. Let your current council know you’re moving, and if the new place is in a different council area, check how and when to register your pet there.
It’s worth reading the new council’s rules before you arrive, too. Some have cat curfews, limits on the number of pets, or particular off-lead areas for dogs.
On moving day
Keep your pet away from open doors and removalists. A closed room with water, bedding and a note on the door works well, or a day with a friend or at boarding.
Cats travel best in a secure carrier, and dogs in a crate or a car harness. Never leave a pet in a parked car: in an Australian summer it can become dangerous within minutes.
Pack a bag for them that travels with you: food, bowls, medicines, lead, litter, a favourite blanket and their paperwork.
If your pet gets very anxious when travelling, talk to your vet before the move about what might help.
The first few weeks
Start with one quiet room and let them explore from there. Keep cats inside for a while so they learn the new place is home, and walk dogs on a lead until they know the area.
Check fences and gates for gaps before leaving a dog in the yard alone, and make sure their tag has your current number.
Most pets settle within a few weeks. If yours stops eating, hides for days or seems unwell, call your new vet.
Keeping it all in one place
Moving shows how scattered a pet’s paperwork is: a certificate in one drawer, a registry login you’ve forgotten, the history at a clinic across town. Quanterium is being built to keep that record with you, wherever you live.
It’s in development and not available yet. Until then, the checklist above is a good place to start.