Are gerbils legal in Australia?

Gerbil rules at a glance

A penalty unit stands for a dollar amount that governments change from time to time. The detail, and who to contact, is under the law in each state and territory.

What is a gerbil?

A gerbil is a small burrowing rodent. The one most often kept as a pet overseas is the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus.

• Where it comes from. The American Society of Mammalogists’ Mammal Diversity Database gives its range as Mongolia and nearby parts of Russia and China. It isn’t native to Australia.
• Its relatives. The University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web counts 103 species of gerbils, jirds and their relatives, in 16 genera. It says they live from Africa and the Middle East through central Asia to eastern Mongolia, mostly in dry, open country such as deserts, sandy plains, steppes and grasslands.
• Its home. The same site’s account of the Mongolian gerbil describes clay or sandy deserts, grasslands, scrub and dry steppe. It says that in the highlands of Inner Mongolia, where they live, temperatures can run from -40°C in winter to 50°C in summer, with less than 230 mm of rain and snow a year. It says gerbils live in family groups in burrows.
• Its size. That account gives an average body length of about 12 cm, with a tail up to about as long again.
• As a pet. The RSPCA in the United Kingdom, which rehomes gerbils there, says on its gerbil page that gerbils are generally active by day, can live for up to three to four years, are sociable, and keep busy digging and gnawing. It says a wild burrow can be as deep as 1.7 metres and run 6 to 8 metres sideways, and that a pet gerbil’s needs are “very complex”.

Is a jird a gerbil?

Yes. Jird is another name for some gerbils. The Mammal Diversity Database lists Meriones unguiculatus as the Mongolian jird, with Mongolian gerbil and clawed jird as its other common names.

A different name doesn’t change the law. The laws below cover non-native mammals as a group, or go by scientific name or family.

Are gerbils legal in Australia?

No. The national rule stops them at the border, and each state and territory has its own law on top.

The import rule

A live animal has to be on Australia’s live import list to be brought in. The environment department’s Live Import List page (updated 24 September 2026) says that if a live specimen isn’t on the list, it can’t be imported.

We read the list (List of Specimens Taken to be Suitable for Live Import) as in force on 28 January 2026, the latest version on the Federal Register of Legislation. It has two parts:

• Part 1 is for animals that need no import permit under the environment law. Its mammals include the dog, the cat, the guinea pig, the house mouse, the brown rat and the black rat.
• Part 2 is for animals that need a permit, each with its own conditions.

No gerbil is in either part. We searched the list for the pet gerbil’s genus, Meriones, and for the words gerbil and jird.

Can you bring a pet gerbil to Australia?

No. That includes a gerbil you already own overseas.

• Moving here. The agriculture department’s page on unique or exotic pets (updated 29 March 2023) says only dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and selected species of birds from approved countries may be imported as pets. It adds: “No other vertebrate animals are approved for import into Australia as pets.”
• Coming back. The environment department’s household pets page (updated 6 March 2025) says that if a pet’s species isn’t on the list and you take the pet overseas, you won’t be allowed to bring it back, even if it was born or bought in Australia.

What are the penalties for importing or having one?

These are the maximums in the national Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, as in force on 24 August 2026:

• Importing a live animal that isn’t on Part 1 of the list, without a permit: up to 10 years in prison, 1,000 penalty units, or both (section 303EK). An import permit can cover an animal on Part 2, and no gerbil is on Part 2. That section’s one other exception is a testing permit, which can go only to someone who has applied to have the animal added to the list (section 303GD). The environment department’s page puts the fine at up to $364,000 for a person and $1,820,000 for a company.
• Possessing a live animal that isn’t on the list and isn’t native: up to 5 years in prison, 1,000 penalty units, or both (section 303GN).

The possession offence has exceptions. One covers an animal that was lawfully imported, and another an animal whose imported ancestors all came in lawfully. The environment department’s page says each case turns on the animal’s origin and the evidence, and that a species having been in Australia for a long time doesn’t by itself show it’s lawful.

State and territory law applies on top of that, wherever the animal came from.

Could gerbils be added to the list?

Anyone can apply to the Minister for the Environment and Water to have an animal added. The environment department’s page says changes can take several years, and that there’s no guarantee an animal will be listed. Its tables of recent changes to the list, and of animals refused, have no gerbil.

The law in each state and territory

We read the law in all eight. Each one stops a pet gerbil at some point: keeping it, selling it or bringing it in. Where a law doesn’t name gerbils, we say how it covers them.

New South Wales

Banned. The Biosecurity Act 2015 prohibits any dealing with a non-native mammal unless the animal is on the Act’s list of exceptions (Schedule 3, Part 2). That list has the guinea pig, the house mouse, the brown rat and the black rat. It has no gerbil.

• How the law is written: the Act bans the whole group, then gives examples. One example is a relative of the pet gerbil, the fat sand rat. The Mongolian gerbil isn’t named. The ban doesn’t turn on a name: it covers any non-native mammal that isn’t on the exceptions list.
• What a dealing is: keeping, having, bringing into the state, buying, selling, moving, breeding, displaying or releasing the animal, among other things (section 12).
• The penalty: a prohibited dealing is a category 2 offence. The maximum for a person is $220,000, plus $55,000 for each day the offence continues, or $1,100,000 if a court finds it was committed negligently (sections 152 and 280).
• Who to tell: the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development takes reports of suspected exotic animals through an online form.

We read the version of the Act in force from 10 June 2026.

Queensland

Banned. The Queensland Government lists gerbils among its prohibited animals (page updated 2 June 2026). It says: “You are not allowed to keep any prohibited animal as a pet in Queensland.”

• How the law is written: the regulation under the Biosecurity Act 2014 makes every mammal that isn’t native to Australia prohibited matter, apart from restricted matter and a list of named animals. That list has the guinea pig, the house mouse, the black rat and the brown rat, which it calls the sewer rat. It has no gerbil (Biosecurity Regulation 2016, Schedule 1, Part 4).
• The penalty: the Biosecurity Act 2014’s maximum for dealing with prohibited matter is 1,000 penalty units or 1 year in prison (section 37). Dealing includes keeping, breeding, transporting and distributing. Failing to tell an inspector about prohibited matter you have carries the same maximum (section 36).
• If you move there with one: the government says you can surrender a prohibited pet to Biosecurity Queensland or your local government, or make other arrangements.
• Who to tell: Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23. Its Illegal pets fact sheet (PDF) (2026) asks people to report the trade or keeping of illegal animals.

We read the Act and the regulation as in force from 27 April 2026.

South Australia

Banned without a permit, on our reading of the list. South Australia declares animals in classes under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Class 1 of the state’s list of declared animals (PDF) (dated 11 September 2024) ends with a catch-all: every animal that isn’t native and isn’t in another class. The list names no gerbil, so on that wording a gerbil falls in Class 1.

That’s our reading of the list, not a ruling. No South Australian Government page we read names gerbils. Ask the Invasive Species Unit before you rely on it.

• What applies to Class 1: the Act’s bans on keeping and on selling, in Category 1, for the whole state.
• The penalty: keeping a Category 1 animal, or having one in your possession or control, carries up to $60,000 or 1 year in prison (section 187). Selling one carries the same (section 188). Releasing one carries up to $125,000 or 2 years in prison (section 189).
• Permits: the South Australian Government says permits go to facilities that show extremely high standards of security, expertise, housing and animal management, or that benefit the community through education.
• Who to ask or tell: the Invasive Species Unit on (08) 8429 0823, or the National Pest Alert Hotline on 1800 084 881. Both are on the state’s pest animal page.

We read the version of the Act dated 25 November 2023, the current one on the state’s legislation site.

Western Australia

Can’t be brought in without a permit. Western Australia sorts animals on its organism list. We looked up the pet gerbil’s genus, Meriones, and 15 other gerbil genera in the list’s scientific name lookup on 11 October 2026, and found none.

Under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, an organism that is neither a permitted organism nor a declared pest is an “unlisted organism” (section 14). The department’s list says unlisted organisms are automatically prohibited entry into Western Australia, and that a name has to be submitted for assessment first.

• Bringing one in without an import permit: a fine of $20,000 (section 15).
• Supplying one that you know, or ought to know, was brought in unlawfully: a fine of $50,000 (section 17).
• Receiving or having one that you know, or ought to know, was brought in unlawfully: a fine of $20,000 (section 18).
• Offspring count too. Both of those offences also cover the offspring of an animal that was brought in unlawfully.
• Who to ask: the department’s Pest and Disease Information Service on (08) 9368 3080.

We read the Act as in force from 28 May 2026.

Victoria

Not named. It appears to be banned, on our reading of the declaration. Victoria declares pest animals under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Its declared pest animal list prohibits rodents by whole families, not single species, and it doesn’t use the word gerbil anywhere.

• The family. The Mammal Diversity Database puts gerbils in the family Muridae, with rats and mice. The declaration makes every member of that family a prohibited pest animal unless it lived wild in Australia before European settlement, with three exceptions: the house mouse, the brown rat and the black rat.
• The older view. Some sources, such as the RSPCA in the United Kingdom, put gerbils in the hamster family, Cricetidae. The declaration lists that whole family as prohibited pest animals too.

Either way, a gerbil falls in a family the declaration prohibits. That’s our reading, not a ruling. No Agriculture Victoria page we read names gerbils. Ask Agriculture Victoria before you rely on this.

• The penalty, if the declaration applies: bringing into Victoria, keeping or selling a prohibited pest animal carries up to 480 penalty units (section 75 of the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994).
• Who to ask or tell: Agriculture Victoria says restricted pest animals in the wild, or being kept illegally, should be reported to its customer service centre on 136 186.

We read the version of the Act as at 5 April 2023, the one in force on the state’s legislation site, and the list on a page updated 10 September 2026.

Tasmania

Can’t be brought in without written permission. The Nature Conservation Act 2002 treats any mammal as a “controlled animal” unless it’s a dog, a cat, domestic stock or a restricted animal (section 32). The regulations’ list of domestic stock has the guinea pig and the rabbit. It has no gerbil, so a gerbil is a controlled animal.

• Bringing one in without the department secretary’s prior written permission: a fine of up to 10 penalty units for each animal (section 32).
• Having one that was brought in unlawfully: the same.
• Who has to prove what: the Act presumes a controlled animal in someone’s possession was brought in without the secretary’s permission, until the contrary is proved (section 32).
• Getting permission: the Tasmanian Government says its policy requires each species to be risk assessed before it goes on the list of species that can be imported. Its published list and its published risk assessments have no gerbil.
• Who to ask: Wildlife Services on 03 6165 4305. The government’s importing fauna page says a pet that arrives without the right permit may be seized at the border.

We read the Act as in force from 27 November 2023 and the regulations as in force from 9 September 2026, the versions current on 11 October 2026.

Northern Territory

Banned without a permit. Under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976, a vertebrate animal that isn’t native to the Territory is a “prohibited entrant” unless the regulations say otherwise (section 52). The regulations’ list of exempt mammals has the guinea pig, and mice and rats of a laboratory strain. It has no gerbil.

• The penalty: bringing a prohibited entrant into the Territory, or having one, without authority carries up to 100 penalty units or 12 months in prison for a person (section 67B).
• Permits: the Territory Government says you must have a permit to keep, import or export prohibited wildlife, and that applications are assessed case by case.
• Who to tell: Parks and Wildlife’s wildlife operations on 0401 115 702. That’s the 24-hour number on the Territory Government’s wildlife crime page.

We read the Act and the regulations as in force on 13 September 2025, the current versions on the Territory’s legislation site.

ACT

Banned without a licence. Under the Nature Conservation Act 2014, it’s an offence to keep, sell or bring into the ACT an animal that isn’t an “exempt animal”, unless a licence allows it. The maximum is 100 penalty units, 1 year in prison, or both (sections 133, 134 and 136).

• The exempt list, remade on 11 May 2026 and in force from 15 May 2026, has the domestic cat and dog, fancy mice, fancy rats, the guinea pig and the domestic rabbit. It has no gerbil.
• Licences: the Conservator’s licensing guidelines (26 August 2024) say licences won’t be issued to keep non-native mammals other than ferrets.
• Who to ask: Access Canberra Animal Regulation on 02 6207 2959, the contact the ACT Government’s page on keeping or selling animals gives.

We read the version of the Act effective from 26 December 2025.

Why are gerbils banned in Australia?

To stop new pest animals getting established. That’s the reason the governments quoted below give for bans that cover gerbils.

None of the laws above singles out gerbils. Each bans non-native animals as a group, then lists the exceptions, and no list we read has a gerbil on it.

What governments say about the group.

• The Queensland Government’s fact sheet (PDF) says that without controls, some illegal pets would inevitably escape or be released, and could then multiply into feral populations. In its words, “prevention is much cheaper than cure”.
• The New South Wales department says exotic animals can kill native species or compete with them for food and shelter, carry diseases that may affect livestock, people and native animals, and survive, breed and spread without human help.
• The Tasmanian Government says some pets are prohibited from entering the state because there is a high risk of them becoming an invasive pest.
• The Territory Government says some exotic animals aren’t allowed because they would pose a high risk to the Territory’s biodiversity and environment if they escaped and established populations in the wild. Its example is the ferret.

What one species account says about gerbils. The account of the Mongolian gerbil on the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web says the animals are adapted to harsh environments, and that this suits them to living in many parts of the world. It says escaped pet gerbils may become established in new areas, and threaten native wildlife through competition and disease. It also says they aren’t extensive agricultural pests. In the wild, it says, they can have up to three litters in a breeding season, averaging four to seven young. The account is a university site’s species profile, not a government risk assessment.

What we didn’t find. We found no published Australian risk assessment for gerbils. Tasmania’s published risk assessments have no gerbil either.

What are the welfare concerns?

Smuggling is cruel. The agriculture department says smuggled animals suffer stress, dehydration or starvation, and that many die in transit. The environment department says many more animals die than reach pet owners.

Release is cruel too. The environment department says a released exotic animal is likely to die from exposure or starvation, and may damage the environment, bring in a disease or become a pest.

Gerbils have complex needs. The RSPCA in the United Kingdom says they are sociable animals that dig deep burrows, and calls their needs “very complex”. RSPCA Australia’s policy on companion animals (adopted 8 April 2024) says people should only keep animals as companions if they can meet the animals’ physical and mental needs and give them a good life.

Local advice is thin. RSPCA Australia’s knowledge base has care advice for rats, mice and guinea pigs. We found none for gerbils.

What should you do if you see a gerbil advertised?

Treat it as a warning sign. It may be an illegal animal, a scam, or another animal sold under the wrong name.

The environment department says some of the exotic animals available in Australia were imported illegally, and that possessing an illegally imported animal, or its offspring, is an offence. An ad doesn’t show an animal is lawful to buy. See how to spot a pet scam.

What to do:

• Don’t pay anything, including a deposit. If you’ve already paid, call your bank now, then read what to do next.
• Report the ad to the site it’s on.
• Tell the government agency for that state. The contact each government’s own page gives is under the law in each state and territory. In Queensland, for example, it’s Biosecurity Queensland (PDF) on 13 25 23.
• If you think an animal was brought in from overseas, the agriculture department takes confidential reports of suspected breaches of biosecurity law on its Redline, 1800 803 006.

If an ad for one appears on Pet Sales Australia, email info@petsales.net.au.

What if you already have a gerbil?

Ask before you do anything else.

• Don’t release it. The environment department says that’s cruel to the animal and a risk to the environment.
• Don’t sell it or give it away until you know what the law allows. Selling one is prohibited in New South Wales (Biosecurity Act 2015). It’s an offence without a licence in the ACT (Nature Conservation Act 2014) and, on our reading of its list of declared animals (PDF), without a permit in South Australia. In New South Wales and Queensland (Biosecurity Act 2014) the bans cover other dealings as well.
• Contact the agency for your state or territory. Each one is named under the law in each state and territory. The Queensland Government says people moving there with a prohibited pet can surrender it to Biosecurity Queensland or their local government.

We can’t tell you what will happen to the animal. Each agency decides that.

Why doesn’t Pet Sales Australia list gerbils?

Because of the law. Gerbils can’t be brought into Australia, and the state and territory laws we read stop a pet gerbil being kept, sold or brought in.

Our Listing Rules include this line under what can’t be listed: “Hamsters, gerbils, native mammals (such as sugar gliders and possums), hedgehogs, degus and primates.” The same list rules out any animal “that’s illegal to sell, give away or keep where you are”.

The rule applies in every state and territory. A listing on a national site can be seen by buyers everywhere.

Once listings open, a seller who picks gerbil as the animal is stopped there, with the message “We don’t list hamsters or gerbils.” Our word check also won’t publish listing text that offers “gerbils for sale”. Other wording can slip through, so if you see a listing for one, report it.

Which small pets can you keep instead?

Rats, mice and guinea pigs, in most of the states and territories we checked. None is a stand-in for a gerbil, and we don’t rank animals.

What RSPCA Australia’s knowledge base says about each:

• Rats. Its guide to rats (updated 29 January 2024) calls them intelligent, highly social animals that aren’t low-maintenance pets. It says a rat needs the company of at least one other rat, and that rats are normally active at night and around dawn and dusk.
• Mice. Its guide to mice (updated 19 January 2024) says a mouse needs the company of at least one other mouse, and that mice generally live for one to three years.
• Guinea pigs. Its guide to guinea pigs (updated 21 August 2023) says they rarely bite or scratch unless scared or hurt, live five to seven years on average, and should have at least one other guinea pig as a companion wherever possible.

What the laws we read say about them:

• New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT each leave the guinea pig, the pet mouse and the pet rat out of the bans described above. The Queensland Government’s page says there are no restrictions on guinea pigs, rats and mice.
• The Northern Territory’s list of exempt mammals has the guinea pig, and mice and rats of a “laboratory strain”.
• Tasmania treats the guinea pig as domestic stock. The department’s guide to wildlife imports (PDF), a 2017 document its page still links, says mice and rats can be brought in with an import permit.
• Western Australia: the department’s page on bringing animals into the state gives no specific import requirements for guinea pigs, rats or mice. We didn’t read the organism list’s entries for them.

So check with the agency for your state before you move any animal interstate.

Rabbits and ferrets have bans of their own. The Queensland Government lists both as prohibited pets. See are ferrets legal in Australia?

Native rodents are a separate question. Native animals are wildlife: the Northern Territory Government, for example, says most native animals need a permit to be kept. We didn’t check each state’s rules for them, and our Listing Rules don’t allow native mammals to be listed.

Adopting. RSPCA Australia’s policy on acquiring a companion animal says to consider adopting from the RSPCA or another reputable rescue organisation. See rescue and adoption.

Looking for a small pet? See guinea pigs and rats and mice. Listings open soon.

Are hamsters legal in Australia?

Not as pets, on the laws we read. The golden hamster is on Part 2 of the live import list, and its entry reads: “Research only. High security facilities only.” No other hamster is on the list. The Queensland Government’s page lists hamsters with gerbils as prohibited animals, and the New South Wales Biosecurity Act 2015 prohibits dealings with golden hamsters other than for exhibition or research (Schedule 3, Part 3).

Our hamster guide reads the law in all eight states and territories. It found none where you can lawfully get and keep a hamster as a pet. See are hamsters illegal in Australia?

Before you pay for any small pet

• Meet the seller and the animal in person before you pay anything, including a deposit. A video is a first look, not a visit.
• Never pay a seller for transport, crates or insurance. Scammers ask for fees like these. See our scam warning signs.
• Be wary of a rare pet at any price. A fair price doesn’t prove an ad is real.

Pet Sales Australia doesn’t hold or protect payments between buyers and sellers. You pay the seller directly, and we can’t get your money back.