TLDR: New Zealand's RNATT is valid for up to 24 months before shipment, far longer than Australia's 12-month window, but the sample must also be at least 3 months old at the time of shipment and pets must be at least 3 months old at vaccination. Unlike Australia, New Zealand has no 180-day mandatory waiting period after the blood draw. However, the rabies vaccination must stay continuously valid from the blood draw through to export, and for New Zealand the microchip must be confirmed in place before the RNATT blood draw. A titre test conducted before a microchip is implanted is entirely invalid.
New Zealand accepts an RNATT blood sample taken up to 24 months before the date of shipment, which sounds like a generous window. But the same test must also be at least 3 months old at the time of shipment, and the rabies vaccination must remain continuously valid throughout the entire preparation period. The window is wide, but the constraints inside it are easy to misread.
Owners who plan based on the 24-month figure alone often miss the 3-month floor or let their pet's rabies vaccination lapse. Either mistake creates problems that take months to resolve.
The RNATT, or Rabies Neutralising Antibody Titre Test, measures whether a pet has sufficient antibodies from rabies vaccination to meet New Zealand's import standard. The result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml using the FAVN or RFFIT method.
Pets must be at least 3 months old at the time of rabies vaccination. The test is conducted three to four weeks after rabies vaccination to allow enough time for the pet to build antibodies. Drawing blood too early risks a result below the threshold, which requires re-vaccination and restarts the process.
New Zealand allows the RNATT blood sample to be collected up to 24 months prior to the date of shipment. This means a pet that passed a titre test two years ago may still have a valid result for a New Zealand move, provided all other conditions are met.
This is significantly more generous than Australia, where the RNATT is valid for only 12 months from the date of the blood draw. For owners who have already completed a titre test for another destination or who tested their pet well in advance, the 24-month window can mean the result is still usable.
The RNATT sample must also be at least 3 months old at the time of shipment. A pet that had blood drawn less than 3 months before the planned travel date does not meet this requirement, even if the titre result was above the threshold.
This constraint catches owners who test their pet close to the travel date expecting to move quickly. The 3-month floor means there is a mandatory gap between the blood draw and departure that cannot be compressed regardless of how well the rest of the preparation has gone.
For New Zealand, the microchip must also be confirmed in place before the RNATT blood draw. A titre test conducted before a microchip is implanted is entirely invalid.
No. New Zealand does not impose the same 180-day mandatory waiting period that Australia requires after the RNATT sample arrives at the laboratory. This is one of the most meaningful practical differences between the two routes.
For Australia, the 180-day wait begins from the date the sample arrives at the laboratory, not the blood draw date, leaving a functional travel window of roughly 185 days. For New Zealand, the planning rhythm is different. The constraints are the 24-month ceiling, the 3-month floor, and the requirement that the rabies vaccination remain continuously valid throughout.
The rabies vaccination must remain continuously valid from the date of the RNATT blood draw through to the date of export. If the vaccine expires at any point during that period, the titre test result is voided and the process restarts.
This means owners cannot simply test their pet and then let routine vaccination schedules drift. Every booster must land before the previous vaccine expires. A single day of lapsed coverage is treated as a break in continuous validity and triggers a restart.
New Zealand's RNATT rules have more moving parts than the 24-month headline suggests. If you want help mapping your pet's titre test and vaccination timeline for a New Zealand move, our team handles the planning from start to finish. Get a free quote to start planning.
The RNATT blood sample may be collected up to 24 months prior to the date of shipment. The sample must also be at least 3 months old at the time of shipment. Both constraints apply at the same time, so the valid window sits between 3 months and 24 months before the travel date.
No. New Zealand does not have the same 180-day mandatory waiting period that applies to Australia. The key constraints for New Zealand are the 24-month ceiling on the RNATT sample, the 3-month floor, and continuous rabies vaccination validity.
If the rabies vaccination expires at any point between the RNATT blood draw and the date of export, the titre test result is voided. The pet must be re-vaccinated, re-tested, and the process restarts.
The RNATT result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml. The test must be conducted using the FAVN or RFFIT method. A result below 0.5 IU/ml does not meet the requirement and the pet must be re-vaccinated and re-tested.