Help keep the Government accountable, and help bring Budgie Home! Budgie is a 6 year old, hand raised Cockatiel- an Australian Native bird. He is currently living in an apartment in Malaysia with his loving family, who are also from Australia.


It's time for Budgie and his family to come back to Australia, but there is a problem!

Budgies mum applied for the permit to bring him home on the Department of Environment website, as he is listed on the "Specimens suitable for live import" list under part 2, meaning he needs his own permit to fly, but he is able to come home!

When applying, she filled out all the information, but noticed a little statement on one of the pages saying birds are only accepted from New Zealand and to check out the Department of Agriculture website. She dutifully looked this up, and found that while pigeons can be imported to the country, from anywhere, Budgie can't come home with his parents!

Many phone calls later, to both departments, and noone can give an answer except for NO!. Nobody can tell us why or how we can change this. Even after confirming the website has the wrong information, the answer is still no and there's no way to help.

One lady even suggested Budgie, a hand raised, captive bred, mature (spoilt) bird be let out the window in KL! This would be sure death for Budgie.


Despite Budgies parents trying to do the right thing, bureaucracy is causing angst in Budgies family, because the information coming from the Government doesn't match their publications or the legislation covering the situation.

We need change to happen - to the Government departments and their accountability, to change the processes to assess each case as it comes instead of a cover - all ban.

Let's not just take the easy way here! A cover-all ban is ridiculous in this day and age, especially when your only exception to it is pigeons! 

Budgie is a pet. He is captive bred and has never been outside - not even on to the balcony! He is an Australian Native bird. He is healthy and has no diseases and has the documents to prove it. He's even ready to spend some time in quarantine away from his family when he gets here if it's needed, and his family are more than happy to pay for all of it!

He's not going to be bred or sold and he will be living inside with his parents for the rest of his days.

Shouldn't Budgie have a chance to come home with his family?

How many birds have been destroyed at the hands of Government workers after having what appears to be the right permit?

At $395 for the permit to find out at the border you can't bring your pet home? How much money has this bought the government? And beyond this and the taxes paid, they can't appoint a process to review applications for pet birds to come in on a case by case basis?

Why are they not able to appoint someone to review the applications - surely not that many per annum - for the import of pet bird as they come in? 

Come on Australia, this is not good enough! Let's make a change! Bring budgie home!