Wildlife trade key contacts
Due to the impacts of coronavirus on working arrangements, stakeholders are requested to contact the Wildlife Trade Sections via email rather than telephone. Please email wps@awe.gov.au with any questions about applying for a permit or for queries relating to existing permit applications. If you have an existing application, please include your application reference number in your email. We will respond to your query as soon as possible.
The Department of the Environment and Energy is the lead Australian Government agency for wildlife conservation and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) matters. Contact us if you need to a permit to move wildlife or wildlife products to or from Australia.
The movement of plants, animals and biological materials to or from Australia is is also regulated separately by other Australian Government agencies, especially:
- Department of Agriculture
- Therapeutic Goods Administration – for medicines and other health products
You may need permission from those agencies. Contact them before applying to us for a permit.
State and territory governments have their own laws about keeping exotic animals and keeping or trading in native wildlife. If you are planning to do those things contact your state or territory government via www.gov.au.
The Australian Border Force regulates movements of goods across Australia’s international borders, including by seizing goods that lack the required permits. You may need to contact the ABF to clear goods through customs or to find out what has happened to the goods.