Are Roof Rats Legal in Australia? Keeping, Breeding & Selling

• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Animal & Biological Imports Branch, written reply June 2026 (officer ‘Mel’): live rats may be imported into Australia for laboratory purposes only; there are NO import conditions allowing rats as household pets, and ‘there is currently no pathway to import Rattus rattus as a pet into Australia’ (it is an introduced pest and not on the DCCEEW Live Import List). DAFF also confirmed that keeping, breeding, sale, and movement WITHIN Australia, and pest-species management, are regulated by STATE/TERRITORY governments – contact the relevant state/territory authority for those.

Keeping / owning   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Across all eight states and territories the captive-bred roof rat is lawful to keep with no specific keeping permit, on the same footing as the fancy rat. QLD Biosecurity Act 2014 Schedule 1 Part 4 makes ‘All amphibians, mammals and reptiles other than the following’ prohibited matter, and the ‘following’ (exceptions) list expressly includes ‘black rat (Rattus rattus)’ and ‘sewer rat (Rattus norvegicus)’, so neither is prohibited. VIC Gazette S399 (under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994) declares Schedule 1 prohibited pest animals as ‘All species of Family Muridae that did not occur naturally in the wild in Australia before European settlement’ but adds ‘except Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus’. NSW Biosecurity Act 2015 Schedule 3 places Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus in ‘Division 2 Animals to which Part does not apply’ (with dog, cat, guinea pig, sheep, pig), not in the Part 3 section 4 prohibited-dealings list (which does name Rattus exulans, the Pacific rat), so keeping is permitted subject to the General Biosecurity Duty (secure containment, no release). SA’s declared-animals list (Landscape South Australia Act 2019) defines Class 4 ‘Rattus rattus: Black rat (domestic) – meaning black rat(s) bred and kept in captivity (ie. held in a building or enclosure with security measures designed to ensure that the animal cannot escape…)’, with only sections 189 and 191(1) applied, so the keeping/possession prohibition (s187), which applies to the wild form in Class 17, does not apply. WA’s Organism List records ‘rattus rattus … Permitted – s11 (Exempt)’ (keeping category Exempt), identical to R. norvegicus. The NT lists ‘Rat (laboratory strain) – Rattus rattus’ as an animal that does not need a wildlife permit. The current ACT Pest Plants and Animals (Pest Animals) Declaration 2021 lists neither rat species. General animal-welfare law (state Prevention of Cruelty to Animals / Animal Welfare Acts) applies as it would to any pet.

Sources: Queensland Legislation (Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel) / Biosecurity Queensland, Victorian Government Printer / Agriculture Victoria, NSW Legislation / NSW Department of Primary Industries, South Australian Government Gazette / PIRSA – Biosecurity SA, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) – Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, Northern Territory Government – Dept of Environment, Parks and Water Security (DEPWS), ACT Legislation Register / ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD)

Breeding   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Because the captive-bred roof rat is exempt from (or excepted out of) the prohibited-pest schedules in every jurisdiction, breeding it as a hobby needs no biosecurity or ‘dealer’ permit, exactly as for the fancy rat. The QLD exception, VIC Muridae exception, NSW Schedule 3 Division 2 carve-out, SA Class 4 ‘domestic’ definition, WA ‘Permitted – s11 (Exempt)’ status, NT permit-exemption and ACT non-listing all attach to the species/animal, not to a particular activity, so breeding is permitted on the same basis as keeping. A private hobbyist breeding roof rats sits in the same legal space as someone breeding fancy mice or guinea pigs. The only overlays are general: animal-welfare law, and, if breeding becomes a commercial pet-shop or large-scale operation, state pet-shop / companion-animal codes of practice for rodents (which do not distinguish R. norvegicus from R. rattus).

Sources: Queensland Legislation (Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel) / Biosecurity Queensland, Victorian Government Printer / Agriculture Victoria, NSW Legislation / NSW Department of Primary Industries, South Australian Government Gazette / PIRSA – Biosecurity SA, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) – Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, Northern Territory Government – Dept of Environment, Parks and Water Security (DEPWS)

Selling or giving away   Legal

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

Selling or giving away a captive-bred roof rat is lawful wherever keeping it is lawful, with no biosecurity dealer licence required, because the species is carved out of the prohibited schedules (QLD exception list; VIC ‘except … Rattus rattus’; NSW Schedule 3 Division 2; SA Class 4 ‘domestic’; WA Permitted – s11; NT permit-exempt; ACT not listed). A ‘dealing’ in the NSW sense (which includes selling, buying, breeding and disposing) is permitted for animals in the Division 2 carve-out subject to the General Biosecurity Duty. Private hobbyist transfer of either rat species is effectively unregulated by primary-industries departments. Commercial retail sale brings the business under state pet-shop codes of practice for rodents (welfare, enclosure, point-of-sale standards) and general consumer/animal-welfare law, but those apply equally to fancy rats. No jurisdiction bars the free or paid transfer of a domestic roof rat.

Sources: Queensland Legislation (Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel) / Biosecurity Queensland, Victorian Government Printer / Agriculture Victoria, NSW Legislation / NSW Department of Primary Industries, South Australian Government Gazette / PIRSA – Biosecurity SA, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) – Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, Northern Territory Government – Dept of Environment, Parks and Water Security (DEPWS)

Transport & import   Prohibited

Confidence: High · Last verified 2026-06-14

This record encodes the INTERNATIONAL import position, which is the binding hard rule. AGENCY-CONFIRMED (DAFF, June 2026, Animal & Biological Imports Branch): there is currently no pathway to import Rattus rattus into Australia as a pet. Live rats may be imported for laboratory purposes only; R. rattus is an introduced pest, has no biosecurity import conditions as a companion animal, and is not on the EPBC Act Live Import List (a positive list, so a specimen not on it cannot be imported as a pet). Federal law: Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) + Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Live Import List, administered by DCCEEW; biosecurity import by DAFF). Within Australia, moving a lawfully held roof rat is generally unrestricted, with one exception: Tasmania classifies R. rattus as a ‘Controlled animal’ for which import into the state is permitted but requires an import permit (same controlled-animal/import-permit treatment as R. norvegicus). No advance permit applies to ordinary interstate movement on the mainland. Releasing the animal into the wild is prohibited everywhere.

Sources: Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Biosecurity Tasmania / Dept of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (Nature Conservation Act 2002; Wildlife (General) Regulations 2010), Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)

• Before moving a roof rat into Tasmania, apply to Biosecurity Tasmania (NRE Tas) Wildlife Management Branch for an import permit.
• Expect to state the animal’s origin and health status and to demonstrate secure, escape-proof housing.
• After lawful import, no ongoing keeping/breeding licence or registration applies within Tasmania.
• Confirm the current criteria with Biosecurity Tasmania, as the assessment standard for this species is not published in detail.

Forms: Requirements for importing and keeping wildlife in Tasmania (NRE Tas matrix) · Where: Biosecurity Tasmania, Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas). · Fees: Permit fee per Biosecurity Tasmania’s current schedule (not published in the matrix; confirm with the agency).

Source: Biosecurity Tasmania / Dept of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (Nature Conservation Act 2002; Wildlife (General) Regulations 2010)

• House the rat in an escape-proof enclosure indoors.
• Never release a roof rat into the wild, and rehome only to another lawful keeper.
• If keeping a wild-type (agouti) animal, retain evidence it is captive-bred, since the ‘domestic’/’laboratory strain’ wording in SA, NT and the ACT distinguishes it from wild-caught rats.

Source: South Australian Government Gazette / PIRSA – Biosecurity SA, NSW Legislation / NSW Department of Primary Industries

• Do not attempt to import a pet roof rat from overseas; there is no lawful pathway.
• Source any pet roof rat from existing captive-bred stock within Australia.
• For any import question, contact DAFF (Animal & Biological Imports).

Where: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Animal & Biological Imports Branch.

Source: Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)

• If you live on or near an island or ecologically sensitive control zone, check for any local biosecurity control order before acquiring a roof rat.
• Do not take a roof rat into a declared rodent-eradication area.

Where: Relevant state biosecurity authority / local control authority.

Source: NSW Legislation / NSW Department of Primary Industries