Announcement

**Pathfinder** · June 19, 2026, 08:03 AM

2:50 AM · Jun 19, 2026

**Pathfinder** · June 19, 2026, 08:19 AM

Doorstop in Hobart, Tasmania

19 June 2026

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
HOBART
FRIDAY, 19 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: Suspected detection of avian influenza, China Beef Safeguard

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: I thank all of you for coming together this afternoon. I want to provide you with an update that the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is investigating a suspected detection of avian influenza, or bird flu, in a single migratory wild bird that was found sick in an isolated area in southern Western Australia. The initial testing at the Western Australian laboratory has returned a suspected positive result for avian influenza. Samples have now been sent to CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness for confirmatory testing, with results expected tomorrow. We cannot confirm yet whether it is the strain of concern that is circulating at this stage, known as the H5 bird flu. There is no evidence of any mass mortality at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in poultry. Western Australia, as the lead jurisdiction, will coordinate our response with the national coordination led by my Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. A key message for everyone is please do not touch sick or dead birds or animals. If you see multiple sick or dead birds or other animals, please take photos or record it from a safe distance, record their location and go to birdflu.gov.au to report it. I want everyone to know that this is what we have been preparing for. We’ve undertaken a series of national exercises, and we’ve invested $113 million to strengthen our nation’s preparedness for the H5 bird flu, including an additional $11 million in the most recent budget. If it is confirmed to be the H5 bird flu, this will be sobering but not unexpected given the spread globally. I want to reassure the public that we are well placed to respond to and to manage this situation. We have called together a meeting of the states and territories and the industry experts to get together this afternoon, and they are meeting as we speak. It is my intention this afternoon to fly to Canberra to receive further briefings tomorrow, should that be required. I will keep you regularly updated as information comes to hand. But we’re being as transparent and upfront with the Australian public at the earliest opportunity.

I'll take some questions from everybody on it in a moment, but before I do that, I did also want to make a statement in relation to the fact that China has now confirmed that Australia has reached our 2026 quota allocation under the global safeguard measure on beef imports from all major exporting countries, including Australia. We said at the time when this was imposed that we were very disappointed that there is going to be a safeguard, and we’ve made it clear that Australian beef does not pose a threat to the Chinese domestic beef sector. We have raised this matter directly with China, and we continue to work closely with industry to advocate for our world-class beef exporters and producers. We know that Australia’s beef is in high demand around the world, and we’ll keep supporting industry to diversify and expand markets through the government’s $50 million Accessing New Markets initiative.

Happy to take some questions.

JOURNALIST: What type of bird is it that has the virus, and where did it arrive from?

COLLINS: So, it’s a migratory bird, a wildlife bird. I can’t say anymore publicly about that at the moment, but I do want to say that this is a migratory wildlife bird.

JOURNALIST: Right. And in terms of the impact to Australia and the agriculture industry, how significant could that economic impact be?

COLLINS: Well, I’ll reiterate that this is at the moment a single bird with suspected H5 bird flu. It is not yet confirmed whether it is or not the strain that is circulating. And I reiterate that it is not in the poultry system, nor is it the agriculture system. This is a wild migratory bird, and -

JOURNALIST: How prepared is Australia? You’ve said that we’ve known for a long time that this could be coming here. How prepared is the country?

COLLINS: Well, we’ve obviously been working with the states and territories and with industry. We have been running exercises, and we certainly expect that we couldn’t remain H5-free forever as the only continent currently that is free of the H5 bird flu. We know that it has impacted other continents and countries across the globe. We did say at the time that we couldn’t stop it from arriving in Australia because of the migratory bird situation. This is a migratory bird that was ill that has since died and has tested – the initial test has tested for the bird flu.

JOURNALIST: Where exactly was this bird located?

COLLINS: So, it’s in southern western, Western Australia.

JOURNALIST: Can you be any more specific than that?

COLLINS: Not at this point in time, I can’t.

JOURNALIST: Okay. In terms of quarantine zones, is that something that you’re considering?

COLLINS: Well, we’re obviously taking this very seriously. As I said, we’ve got now experts from around the states and territories and from industry. We will take the advice of experts who have been preparing in case it is a confirmed H5 bird flu. So, we are preparing everything as if it is to make sure that we’re as prepared as we can be. This is what we planned for. This is what our investment of the over $100 million was all about. It was about making sure that if it arrived, we detected it early. That if it arrived, we have plans in place to be able to deal with it. Western Australia as the lead jurisdiction, would increase surveillance with some of the other states and territories if it is confirmed. But this will be decided by the experts, and the next steps of action will be decided and determined by the experts.

JOURNALIST: What sort of timeline are we looking at? Do you know how long it will take to confirm whether it is H5?

COLLINS: We expect the results to come in overnight or early tomorrow.

JOURNALIST: If this is H5N1, is it possible to stop the spread of the disease?

COLLINS: Well, we’ll have to wait and see till we know whether or not it’s confirmed. As I’ve said, it is globally – H5N1 has spread globally, and we are currently the only continent free. It has spread across the globe. We’ve always said that we couldn’t keep it out forever. So, it’s about making sure that we’re as prepared as we can be, and that’s what you’ve seen from our government in terms of the investments that we have made, working with states and territories.

JOURNALIST: And what types of animals can be affected by H5N1?

COLLINS: So, obviously it is primarily and predominantly a wild bird and animal disease. So, it is obviously primarily birds and, of course, animals, mammals often, and it has been seen in rare cases to be able to get into agricultural animals in other countries.

JOURNALIST: Are there any risks to human health?

COLLINS: Only in exceptional, rare cases has it impacted humans. But our government is, of course, doing the One Health approach where we are working with the experts in the Department of Health. We’re working with the experts in the Department of Environment and right across governments at the state and territory level as well as at the Commonwealth level to make sure that we have done everything that we can do to be as prepared as we possibly can be.

JOURNALIST: What’s your advice to primary producers hearing this news tonight?

COLLINS: What I would say is this is a single bird, suspected case. And we are as prepared as any country can be. We have invested early as we said we would, and those investments are now showing fruition in that – you know, if this is detected as a case, we will have gotten there early and we have certainly been investing and working with states and territories and industry. As I’ve said, this is predominantly a wildlife and animal disease.

JOURNALIST: Is there any evidence at this point in time to suggest that there’s more than one bird that may have been carrying this early detected strain of bird flu at all, or is it just the one that you know of at this stage?

COLLINS: We’ve only had one test confirmed, and, as I said, it was in an isolated area of southern-western, Western Australia.

JOURNALIST: Are there other birds that have been tested as well?

COLLINS: There is one test of one other bird.

JOURNALIST: Sorry, why have you decided to test that other bird?

COLLINS: Because it is unwell.

JOURNALIST: Okay, so there are similar symptoms perhaps being suffered by this other bird?

COLLINS: I’m not the technical expert. I’ve had a briefing today from the Chief Veterinary Officer. I understand that there'll be a lot of technical questions that people want to ask. What I would say is that this is a suspected case. We’re being as transparent with the Australian public at the earliest opportunity. If it is confirmed, I will have further briefings tomorrow and we’ll have technical experts available to be able to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Is it likely that that other bird that’s also sick came into contact with the first bird?

COLLINS: We are investigating with the Western Australian Government all of those things in relation to the suspected case.

JOURNALIST: Are they both in southwest Western Australia?

COLLINS: Correct.

JOURNALIST: So, they were within a small proximity of each other?

COLLINS: Correct.

JOURNALIST: Okay. And do you have any details around how quickly their illness was detected upon them suffering symptoms?

COLLINS: We have been working with the Western Australian government. The Western Australian government will lead the response. As I’ve said, the initial test of that one bird has come back as a suspected positive. We have sent it immediately and rushed the tests through the CSIRO’s Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong. We are making sure that that test is done as quickly as possible. So, we're moving as quickly as possible from the time that we became aware.

JOURNALIST: Do you know who discovered the bird? Was it a member of the public?

COLLINS: I don’t know that detail.

JOURNALIST: And just yesterday it was announced that 13,000 baby elephant seals had been killed on Heard and McDonald Islands. Is there any chance that this could have been transmitted from the territorial Southern Ocean?

COLLINS: That is all speculative and I wouldn’t want to speculate until we have the facts before us. We will have the facts by tomorrow about what strain this is, if it is, indeed, H5 bird flu.

JOURNALIST: In terms of the area, you say it’s not particularly well built up, the area where these birds were found, is that right?

COLLINS: Correct.

JOURNALIST: Do you have any estimate about how many birds they might have come into contact with or how many wildlife?

COLLINS: Well, as I’ve said, at the moment there has been one bird that has suspected tested positive and there is one other bird that has been tested. We do not have those test results.

JOURNALIST: And both tests will be rushed through, I assume?

COLLINS: Correct.

JOURNALIST: Do you know how many sites or locations within southern Western Australia both of these birds or either of them have been at roughly?

COLLINS: We expect and have been informed that they are around the same site.

JOURNALIST: Have they been in multiple sites? Is that a level of detail –

COLLINS: No, not that we’re aware of.

JOURNALIST: The farmers have been hit pretty hard by the impact of the war in the Middle East. This is obviously going to be destabilising news if it is H5N1. What support will there be for the agricultural sector?

COLLINS: Well, through the outbreak of the war in the Middle East and its impact globally, we have been doing everything we can do, working with our farmers and our industry here in Australia to shield them as much as possible. And we’ve done that with fuel excise relief. We’ve done that in terms of securing more diesel shipments for our farmers and more fertiliser for our farmers. We continue to work very closely with them. I have been meeting weekly with the farming sector and the agriculture industry every week in relation to what is occurring. I’ll continue to have my discussions with the industry and with the sector. We’ve obviously also made sure that relevant industry representatives were advised today.

JOURNALIST: Given the location of where these birds were found, is it possible that they came from Heard Island?

COLLINS: Look, I wouldn’t want to speculate until we have the details of the test results. But they are migratory birds.

JOURNALIST: But you’d have a number of locations in mind as to where they came from. Is Heard Island one of those locations?

COLLINS: Look, they’re migratory wild birds.

JOURNALIST: Otherwise on the beef exports, Minister, do you have any further detail on what steps primary producers could or should take in relation to, I guess, this tariff and this barrier that now appears to, I guess, have been established at this point in time?

COLLINS: Well, obviously we made it very clear to the government of China at the time that we were disappointed that we don’t believe our Australian beef exports pose any threat to their domestic market. That remains our position. And certainly, we have been working with the sector, with both the agriculture sector and the beef industry, in terms of diversifying markets. And you’ve seen from our government since we’ve come to office now, we’ve had over 250 market access achievements and record exports this current financial year will be around $86 billion.

JOURNALIST: Is the government considering any sort of compensation for primary producers that might be impacted by this?

COLLINS: Look, we continue to work with the sector and the industry.

JOURNALIST: Just back to the bird for a second, do you know the exact type of bird that it is, that the ill bird that is immediately getting tested?

COLLINS: It’s a migratory wild bird.

JOURNALIST: Do you know more detail than that?

COLLINS: I do, but I’m not – I can’t make that public at this point in time.

JOURNALIST: Why is that?

COLLINS: It’s just in relation to what needs to be done on the ground in Western Australia.

JOURNALIST: Can you explain that further?

COLLINS: Well, obviously we need to and the Western Australian Government needs to make sure that everybody is advised at the appropriate time and place in terms of what has occurred in Western Australia. And we want to make sure that there’s time given for that. What we have done as a government is we’ve been as public as we can and as transparent as we can at the earliest opportunity.

JOURNALIST: And so, when will we know more details about the type of bird? Is that when the test comes back?

COLLINS: Yes, once the testing comes back, if it is confirmed, as I said, we’ll get further briefings and we’ll have experts available to talk with the media.

JOURNALIST: And if it is confirmed, are we likely to know the exact location as well?

COLLINS: That would be a question for the experts in terms of what they’re able to say.

JOURNALIST: And is there cases of false positives? Is there a chance that this might not actually be –

COLLINS: Well, we’re obviously taking this very seriously. The fact that we have a test that has said it is a suspected H5 bird flu means that we need to make sure. We need to do all the testing. We need to make sure that it’s done in our laboratory as well and our Centre for Disease Preparedness. We are acting and everything is occurring in the way in which we had envisaged if, you know, this type of flu has come to Australia.

JOURNALIST: Do you know what the potential economic loss is for the beef exports here?

COLLINS: In terms of the beef safeguard or in terms of the H5?

JOURNALIST: In terms of the beef safeguard?

COLLINS: We’re obviously continuing to work with the beef industry in relation to it. Obviously, the US remains our largest market in terms of our beef exports, and our beef exports are quite diversified. We have been working with the industry to diversify our beef exports since we came to office.

https://minister.agriculture.gov.au/collins/speeches-and-transcripts/doorstop-h5-western-australia-june-china-beef

**Pathfinder** · June 19, 2026, 12:58 PM

birdlifeoz
9h

Statement from BirdLife Australia re suspected case of H5 bird flu reported from southwest WA.

The Federal government has announced that a migratory Brown Skua in southwest Western Australia has returned a suspected positive result for avian influenza. A second bird, a Giant Petrel, found in the area is also being tested.

If these cases are confirmed as H5 bird flu (H5N1), this would mean the virus has arrived on the Australian continent for the first time.

H5 bird flu (H5N1, a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza) is an infectious disease that can affect wild, farmed and pet birds.

Large-scale outbreaks of H5 bird flu (H5N1) have killed millions of wild birds and tens of thousands of mammals around the world. Until now, Australia and New Zealand have remained free of the virus.

An outbreak of H5 bird flu in Australian birds could be catastrophic, as one in six Australian birds are already facing the threat of extinction.

BirdLife Australia has consistently advocated for robust monitoring and preparedness ahead of an outbreak.
We are watching this development closely and seeking further information. We will keep you updated as more details emerge.

If you find a sick or dead bird that you suspect could have Avian Influenza (H5N1), remember to:

❌ AVOID contact with sick or dead wildlife and their environment. Do not touch, move or approach the bird, and do not allow pets to touch or eat sick or dead wildlife.

📸 RECORD what you see, the location the animal was found, and take photos or video (if possible) without approaching the bird.

📞REPORT any unusual illness or death in wild birds and other wildlife immediately via the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/DZwsx2KJakn/

**tetano** · June 20, 2026, 12:19 AM

Australia confirms 1st mainland case of H5N1 bird flu

Australia will do everything it can to curb the spread of H5N1 bird flu, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Saturday, after the first mainland ‌infection was confirmed in a seabird a day after the virus was detected in a remote region of Western Australia.

Until now, Australia had been the only continent without a confirmed mainland case, although the virus was detected in late 2025 on the sub-Antarctic territory of Heard Island, about 4,100 kilometres from continental Australia.

"This is concerning," Albanese told reporters in Sydney, adding that his government would ⁠do "whatever we can to ⁠restrict any spread."

Testing had confirmed that the bird, found near Esperance, a town about 570 kilometres southeast of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, had the deadly strain, the government said.

Human infections ⁠remain rare, although highly pathogenic avian influenza has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds in ‌recent years, disrupting food supplies and driving up prices.

Australia confirms 1st mainland case of H5N1 bird flu

https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/9.7242903

**sharon sanders** · June 20, 2026, 03:30 AM

hat tip Pathfinder for the link above.....

Doorstop at Parliament House, Canberra

20 June 2026

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
SATURDAY, 20 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: H5 bird flu confirmed in Australia; Parliamentary sittings.

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Thanks everybody, thanks for coming together on this Saturday morning. I have with me our Chief Veterinary Officer, Beth Cookson, and our Threatened Species Commissioner, Fiona Fraser. Testing last night, overnight, at CSIRO's Centre for Disease Preparedness has confirmed the H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu in a brown skua in Western Australia. This is a type of migratory seabird. It was found sick on an isolated area near Esperance in Western Australia. As I said, this is the highly pathogenic strain of concern that has been circulating globally, and this is its first detection on mainland Australia. The samples from another sick bird, a giant petrel, have now been tested at Western Australia's laboratory and has also returned a suspected positive result for the H5 influenza. These samples will now also be sent to CSIRO's laboratory for confirmatory testing. Whilst disappointing, this is not unexpected given the global spread of the H5 bird flu virus. I can confirm that there's still no evidence of any mass mortalities at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in any poultry. We had convened by our Chief Veterinary Officer this morning the Consultative Committee For Emergency Animal Diseases meet to discuss the new information and to consider Western Australia's response plan. The Western Australian department is leading the on ground activities and is being supported and nationally coordinated by my department, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. A key priority for this response is, of course, to determine the extent of this infection in wildlife. Can I also thank the local community. Since yesterday's report the community has been responsive to the media, and I understand our Western Australian colleagues are responding to a number of calls to the hotline. This is a sign of our system working. Our Government has now invested over $100 million to strengthen our nation's preparedness for H5 bird flu. We have looked at what has happened overseas, we have learnt from that, which is why we have invested early. I have been talking about our investments in bird flu preparedness now for almost two years. We all knew that we couldn't be bird free forever, and that we are the only continent that was bird free  H5 bird flu free  sorry, that's quite a mouthful  H5 bird flu free. I'll now hand over to our Chief Veterinary Officer, and then our Threatened Species Commissioner will have a few words to say, then we'll take some questions.

DR BETH COOKSON, AUSTRALIAN CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER: Thank you, Minister. As the Minister has confirmed, overnight testing of samples from a dead brown skua has confirmed that the bird was infected with H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza. This testing was undertaken at Australia's Emergency Animal Disease Reference Laboratory, the CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness. This is the highly pathogenic strain that has been circulating globally and is the first detection in Australia. Samples from another sick bird, a giant petrel, in the same vicinity have now been tested at Western Australia's laboratories and also returned a suspected positive result for H5 bird flu. This will be sent to the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness for confirmatory testing. Importantly, I can confirm also that there is no evidence of any mass mortality at this time, nor any evidence of infection in poultry. At this early stage it is difficult to make a conclusion about whether the infection has established in wildlife populations. It is not present in our poultry or agriculture production systems. The Western Australia Department is undertaking surveillance to better understand the situation on the ground. I understand this will be concerning news for many Australians who, like me, have a strong connection to our wildlife. We have been carefully preparing for this event for a long time. We have had the benefit of learning from the international experience, and this means that the investment that Government along with State and Territory jurisdictions and industry have made have left us as best prepared as possible to respond to this situation. Earlier this morning I convened the Consultative Committee for Emergency Animal Disease to discuss the laboratory results from ACDP, to consider the response plan, including measures to enhance surveillance and to identify whether there has been further spread. This is a key priority at this point in the investigation. As you will appreciate, it is an evolving situation, and there will be some information that we don't know and that will continue to emerge over the coming days and potentially weeks. We continue to be on alert looking for signs of disease, and the most important message for the public is to assist this through our strong biosecurity system. If you encounter sick or dead birds, we are asking that you avoid contact with them, that you record information about the location of the dead bird as well as take any information that might be helpful to us, like videos or photographs, and report that to our Emergency Animal Disease Hotline. There is a lot of information available on our birdflu.gov.au website, and I encourage people who are interested or concerned to make use of those resources. Thank you.

DR FIONA FRASER, THREATENED SPECIES COMMISSIONER: Thank you. So the overseas experience is that there have been significant mortality events in birds and mammals where this disease has become established. We expect that if it does become established in Australia there will also be impacts to Australian wildlife, in particular birds and mammals. We have, particularly with the budget measure two years back, really been rolling up our sleeves with the States and the Territories and many other partners right across Australia to put Australia's wildlife in the best position it can be in if this disease arrives, knowing that if it does establish in Australia there's very little we can do to stop the spread and to at the time protect wildlife. So we have analysed all of Australia's birds and mammals for their susceptibility to this disease. We've taken into account whether they're already threatened with extinction, but also other natural traits, such as whether they're water birds, whether they're marine species, whether they congregate, to understand which species are most susceptible. We have also worked with the States and Territories to support them to develop now over 100 plans for our most important natural sites, such as Ramsar Wetlands, islands and other locations, and also our most susceptible species, ranging from mammals, such as the Tasmanian Devil as a scavenger is susceptible, through to critically endangered species, such as the orange bellied parrot, but also species which aren't already threatened but which could become so in some locations, such as the black swan, which is susceptible. So these site plans are in place, and they will support the jurisdictions and others to be able to best respond if the disease arrives. We've also provided funding to captive breeding facilities where they're supporting the breeding of threatened species which are required for that species' survival in the wild, and that's for biosecurity to stop species in captivity capturing that disease if it arrives in Australia. There's over 31 threatened species which are now being protected as part of these measures. The most important thing we can do for our native species is to actually take efforts to build their resilience to this disease in the wild, because we can't stop the disease itself. So that is work that is well underway. We now have dozens of projects across our islands and across Mainland Australia which are dealing with other threats right now. That might be removing weeds, it might be removing feral cats or foxes or invasive pigs and invasive rodents in particular. This then allows our most vulnerable species, such as seabird populations, but many others, to be able to breed effectively, grow their populations, and this effectively builds resilience to these diseases. We're already seeing outcomes of these, so we reported recently in the press in the Coral Sea, Willis Island, where weeding in a sooty tern colony enabled those birds to re enter that colony at the nesting space within 24 hours. So we can have remarkable impacts and absolutely no regrets actions with these measures. Okay. And I'll leave it there. Thank you. We've got many other examples if there are questions on that.

JOURNALIST: Do you mind if we just grab your name and title, please?

FRASER: Fiona Fraser. I'm the Australian Government Threatened Species Commissioner, and I work for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Thanks.

COLLINS: Right. Some questions.

JOURNALIST: Minister, what does foreign experience tell us about the lag between initial discovery and likely outbreaks, and should we take likely outbreaks now as not likely but inevitable?

COLLINS: Well, the Chief Veterinary Officer's probably best placed to talk about the technical part of that, but what my advice has certainly been that people have provided to me is that we will know within a few days about whether or not this has established itself in any populations in Australia or whether it's migratory birds that have come up from the sub Antarctic for instance. So we'll know a bit more detail within a few days of this investigation on how bird flu got into Australia. This is our first detection, and I want to reiterate that it's not widespread, there's no evidence of any mass mortalities and no evidence that it's in our poultry or our agriculture system at this stage.

JOURNALIST: But you, from what you say, it sounds like you expect there's a high chance you could find it to be significantly more widespread quite quickly?

COLLINS: I think that's best answered by our Chief Veterinary Officer in terms of what we might find. Yes.

COOKSON: The situation globally has been that this virus has been moved around by migratory birds, including waterfowl and seabirds, like the brown skua and the giant petrel. In some circumstances there have been lone detections in migratory birds that have not gone on to spill over into wild animal populations, but over time, what we've seen in many other continents across the globe is that this may not be a sole introduction because they are birds that are moving around as part of their natural cycles, and over time, if we continue to have introductions, then those opportunities for spill over become increased, and that's certainly what we've seen globally, in that eventually there does tend to be spill over into wild populations. We just can't predict that in this circumstance. As I mentioned at the beginning, it is very early in our investigation. We have two confirmed sick birds in an isolated region the coast of Western Australia, and we're taking every action now to make sure that those are appropriately investigated and putting the call out to the community to help identify where there might be other sick animals.

JOURNALIST: Do you think Australia's native wildlife typically is quite naive to this virus in comparison to Northern Hemisphere species, and it's almost inevitable, let's say, that there will be spread in wild populations of birds and mammals? What should Australians expect to see in terms of impacts across a range of species? Are we expecting mass mortality events, that has occurred in every other continent around the country, like you say, so is that expected, and could you please name some of the species of birds and mammals that you think are most vulnerable.

COOKSON: With the question about what we might expect to see, certainly Australia being the last continent to have a detection of this strain confirmed here does mean that our populations are naive to the virus. That's no different though, I would add, to the populations across the global including the Northern Hemisphere when this virus was first introduced into there, so it has been circulating for a number of years in those environments now, and they still do see some impacts. What we would expect is that the most vulnerable sort of areas and locations tend to be populations of animals that aggregate in high densities and that have breeding sites at high densities. I might ask Dr Fiona Fraser to respond directly to the question about the site and species specific planning that's been undertaken.

FRASER: Thank you. So you asked a question about the species of birds and mammals which might be impacted by this?

JOURNALIST: I think it would be important to get some examples of what you consider to be some of the most high risk, just to inform the public.

FRASER: Yes. So marine mammals are particularly susceptible to the disease, and so we have a species of fur seals in Australia, they will be vulnerable, and the Australian sea lion, and there are indeed species specific plans to help ahead of the disease, but also if the disease arrives manage the impact of that disease for Australian marine mammals. There are many species of marine bird and water bird which will be impacted, but by way of example, Western Australia is undertaking or preparing site species specific plans for species such as the black swan and the little penguin, and there's obvious sort of behavioural reasons why that would be the case, and the blue billed duck in that area. There's also other species which their biology doesn't mean they're susceptible in the wild so much to this disease, but they're already threatened with extinction, and so that coupled with the chance that they would contract avian influenza means we also have species specific plans for those. So we have a number of species specific plans, or dozens of them around the country, but also we have these site specific plans which relate to places such as Ramsar wetlands and other important wetlands where there are really assemblages of many different species that come and go over the seasons.

JOURNALIST: Do you mind me asking, I've just noticed the pin on your jacket, what kind of bird is that, and is that one of the ones that's perhaps vulnerable?

FRASER: Oh, that's very observant of you. That is the western ground parrot, it's a critically endangered species found in the southwest of Western Australia. There's not many of those left in the wild, there's only about 200, but they're also in captivity. So it is subject to both a species specific plan, but also the biosecurity measures that I talked about earlier at Perth Zoo. It's not a species that congregates in big flocks around water, but due to its threat status at the moment it is always a focus of attention, but including through this bird flu planning.

JOURNALIST: Just from your own personal perspective, because obviously you're a bird fan, how devastating could the impacts be on Australian wildlife?

FRASER: Look, we're taking this very, very seriously, as is evidenced by some of the information we've been sharing over the last two years and today. Based on the overseas experience there could clearly be population level impacts for our species, and possibly over time species level impacts. Of course many of Australia's species are not just pressured by the potential of bird flu, they have many other pressures that they are facing at the moment, so it's the cumulation of these threats which really have population and species level impacts.

JOURNALIST: We've heard about programs, Minister, to help, you know, wildlife protections that are outside the specific measures for controlling bird flu, avian bird flu, like habitat restoration, and so on, but the Federal Budget cut over $100 million or lapsed  programs lapsed that weren't re started, you know, feral animal control, pest control, weeds, and we've just heard that that sort of action would be a benefit to recovering populations of wildlife. Was that a mistake, will you reverse that decision and restore that funding?

COLLINS: Well, what you've claimed in that question's actually not true. There were no cuts to those programs in the budget.

JOURNALIST: Lapsed and weren’t pushed forward?

COLLINS: No, those programs had a natural ending date and no decision has been taken about what will happen to those programs in the future.

JOURNALIST: It’s less than what was being done before?

COLLINS: No, there has been no change in the programs on the ground. That is just not true.

JOURNALIST: When they were stopped and weren’t continued into the future?

COLLINS: What you've seen from our Government is the early investment, because we have seen what has happened overseas in terms of the H5 bird flu. As you've heard we have invested well over $100 million, we are investing it to protect Australia's threatened species and we are also obviously investing to do what we can do to try and limit the impact on the Australian environment and Australian wildlife.

JOURNALIST: So there's no need for further habitat restoration or preventative work.

FRASER: I'd just add to the Minister's response that there was an additional $11 million through this recent budget specifically for bird flu measures, and that is for those on ground measures.

JOURNALIST: I wasn't asking about that, I was asking about the preventative measures, like habitat restoration?

FRASER: Yep. So that $11 million goes towards those preventative measures. It helps to build resilience for bird flu, but these are absolutely no regrets measures that help deal with other threats that these species are facing, whether or not bird flu arrives in Australia. We also received through the budget an additional $99 million for the Saving Native Species Program over two years which focuses on species which may be impacted by bird flu, but a much broader range of species and places around the country dealing a lot with invasive species but many other threats, and that builds on the success of the first Saving Native Species Program and complements other existing and continuing programs such as the Natural Heritage Trust.

JOURNALIST: But while you're speaking, Fiona, and you talked about endangered species, are there endangered species where you think there is a real threat that H5N1 might force them into extinction? Is the threat that great, and if so could you name for us species that as Endangered Species Commissioner you hold greatest fear for now that you know that this disease is present.

FRASER: So, Tim, I think all we can really rely on is what the overseas experience has been and how that might translate to Australia. So as I mentioned earlier, marine mammals are particularly susceptible to this disease, and we have seen large mortality events overseas. They include species such as similar to the Australian sea lion, so the Australian sea lion is already endangered in Australia. We've taken a number of measures over years working with State Governments and other partners to help support the recovery of that species, but it is still on the endangered list, and it will be susceptible to bird flu when it arrives. So it has just a number of breeding populations across our southern islands and mainland areas, and we are concerned about impacts to the Australian sea lion, and that is evidenced through some of the really interesting recovery work that we're supporting as a result of bird flu right now with the Australian Government and others. So we're absolutely concerned about sea lions, but there are many species we're concerned about, Tim, and I guess I don't picture in my mind an extinction level event any time soon due to bird flu, but certainly what a disease like bird flu does is add to the extinction risk of species which are already threatened. So it's not a formula where you add bird flu in and then this species is going to be extinct. It also actually depends, if bird flu establishes in Australia it will not be everywhere all at once, and there will be parts of the country that it probably never, never reaches, so it depends again on which populations are impacted because there's so much unknown about how this could spread and establish in Australia. It's difficult to answer that question, and I am not trying to be evasive about it, it's a difficult question to answer.

JOURNALIST: Are captive breeding programs underway?

FRASER: There's many captive breeding programs underway, and part of what I mentioned earlier was we're now supporting 31 threatened pieces which are in captivity as part of captive breeding programs to protect them from bird flu.

JOURNALIST: 31 are being captively bred for?

FRASER: There's many more than 31 species in captive breeding programs around the country, I don't have the answer to that. But we are supporting facilities to take biosecurity measures that will protect 31 species, just birds and mammals  there's a whole lot of other species that will never catch bird flu because they're not birds or mammals  birds and mammals which are in captivity, so they will not catch bird flu in their captive facility.

JOURNALIST: Minister, do you mind if I just  I'm sorry, I'm just juggling a couple of things hence me loitering at the door. Do you mind if I jump in quickly on a question with negotiations from next week in Parliament? How are negotiations for the NDIS going and also around the CGT as well? Are you expecting any kind of delays in being able to pass those pieces of legislation?

COLLINS: Look, we continue to have discussions adds we have throughout this with the crossbench and the parties in the Senate, you know, certainly what you've seen from us as a Government is we have been very consultative, we have been engaging, and you've seen some of the announcements later  just a few days ago, later  the last week.

JOURNALIST: Would it be disappointing if there were delays?

COLLINS: Well, obviously we always like to see things get through the Parliament in a timely manner, and we'll certainly continue to have those discussions right across the Parliament.

JOURNALIST: What commercial sectors are at risk from this  commercial or agricultural sectors which are most at risk and how great is the risk, and how great is the risk to them?

COLLINS: Certainly, the experience overseas has seen that it can get into agriculture systems, but I do want to reiterate that at this stage it's two birds in an isolated area in Western Australia, and we're doing the investigations. Certainly, we have been working with the agriculture industry as part of the planning for this. We have had industry with us all the time at the table in the discussions, particularly the egg and chicken meat industries in relation to what could happen in poultry. You've also seen we have effectively eradicated the H7 bird flu virus twice in recent years in our poultry system in Australia. So we have strong systems and we continue to work with industry as much as we can.

JOURNALIST: What does the site of the discovery in this case tell us about potential threat to agriculture or to those populations, or for that matter other critical or endangered populations; is it proximate to either commercial areas or other endangered populations that give us greater concern?

COLLINS: So in relation to proximity to the most closest chicken farm, we understand that that is hundreds of kilometres away, so we're certainly asked those questions, and the Western Australian Government are obviously working with industry in Western Australia in relation to making sure that they're doing everything that they can do on the ground there. I'll hand over to our Chief Veterinary Officer in terms of this particular isolated spot and what it might mean. As I said earlier though, we are obviously grateful to the public. After yesterday's announcement there have been, you know, reports in, and the Western Australian Government is also triaging and dealing with those. So the Western Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, I understand, will also do some media later today, or today, in relation to the on the ground activities in Western Australia.

COOKSON: Just to add to the Minister's comments, whilst we're dealing with two individual infected animals we would assess that the likely risk to our agriculture industries remains very low. What we know from the global situation is that the types of spill over events that we see arising from contact of wild birds or wildlife with those agricultural species, particularly poultry, would be more likely if it was to become established in other populations within Australia. We just don't have that knowledge at the moment, we're actively investigating that, and where we see those risks arise is where we've got wild waterfowl in particular, ducks and the like, aggregating and interacting with livestock on the premises. And so part of the planning that we've been doing over the last couple of years is working very closely with industries and with State and Territory agricultural agencies to raise awareness, to put in place effective biosecurity planning, and I would always emphasise that effective biosecurity is the frontline prevention for any risk to agricultural industries in Australia.

JOURNALIST: Is there any update on vaccines for wildlife?

COOKSON: We have been working as part of the Australian Government investment for preparedness for H5 bird flu to have available a vaccine for use in a rare vulnerable and valuable species. We have undertaken some research trials to ensure that the vaccine that's available is going to be both safe and effective. As you can appreciate, the vaccines that are registered on the global market are targeted towards poultry species, so there's not a lot of data available about how they might affect or protect other types of species. So we've done that research, we're getting the information that's required to make those assessments, and that may be something that we can consider down the track in terms of providing an extra layer of prevention and protection to captive populations. I really want to emphasise that vaccination is not a tool that is practical or feasible to use in wild animal populations, so it would be under very specific circumstances that we would take those decisions in consultation with Chief Veterinary Officers and biodiversity managers when appropriate.

JOURNALIST: You mentioned instructions for the public coming across a sick bird, particularly obviously in the affected area in Western Australia. Implications for human health?

COOKSON: There is generally a low risk of infection associated with this strain of the virus for humans. There have been some human infections that have occurred globally. These questions are best placed and put to the Chief Medical Officer in terms of those particular human risks. But our message is clear, what we're asking of the public is to support the assessment and surveillance of where bird flu might be present as part of our ramping up of surveillance now that we've had our first detections, and the really clear messaging is avoid contact with those dead or sick animals, record the information associated with the location and the site, and report that through our Emergency Animal Disease Hotline. The Communicable Disease Network of Australia have established guidelines for how any human exposures might be addressed through the state health agencies, and there is a high level of cooperation across all of our Governments that are involved in this type of response, so that's across agriculture, it's across biodiversity and environment, and it's across the human health sector. So all of those sectors are really well engaged in and working very closely together.

JOURNALIST: Just on those examples of human infection, how  and if you're able to answer  how common is that, and what are the circumstances in which humans do become affected?

COOKSON: Yeah, that's a really good question, and one I should have addressed. The circumstances where humans mostly become infected are those where they are in very close contact with sick or dying animals, or the environment, and where we see more serious implications of exposure is usually where there's an underlying health concern as well. That doesn't mean that people shouldn't be taking precautions, and as I've mentioned, the best way of doing that is to avoid contact in the first place.

JOURNALIST: So just for my own clarity, if a human in Australia does become infected, are there risks of human-to-human transferability, or is it mostly from birds to humans in isolation?

COOKSON: Again, I will defer a detailed response to the Chief Medical Officer and the health agencies. What I can say is that the Australian Centre for Disease Control is very actively monitoring and has public information available. The global assessment of the human-to-human transmission risk is rated as low.

JOURNALIST: Broadly, the Chief Medical Officer is not standing before us, so I gather the Government's position is that this is not at the highest order of concern?

COLLINS: Obviously, this is just two birds at the moment in an isolated area of Western Australia. What we will do is do the investigation, as the Chief Veterinary Officer has indicated, working with our State colleagues to establish whether or not it is more widespread than that. Obviously, we will bring together all of the experts on a regular basis; there shouldn't be anything more than that, but at this stage, we are working to ascertain and investigate how widespread this is on wildlife in Australia.

JOURNALIST: Could I just check on that now that it's come once, the experts have said over the previous few years that it will be expected to come again and again and again, different waves of migration from parts of the globe. Is that right? Am I correct in that, and is that what the Government expects to see?

COLLINS: That is certainly what we expect to see, but I'll hand over to the Chief Veterinary Officer to say more about that, but we've always been very clear that we can't be bird flu-free forever. We were the only continent without this strain of the H5 bird flu, and certainly we have now these two cases of bird flu that have been found in an isolated area in Western Australia.

COOKSON: Those statements would be similar to my assessment. We have identified that wild migratory birds, whether they're coming in through the spring migratory periods from the Northern Hemisphere or indeed, as this would appear, associated with the movement of sub-Antarctic birds from locations where this strain of bird flu has also been detected. We know that we get migratory birds arriving in Australia periodically. It's not unexpected that at some point in time we were going to have this scenario, and as the Minister has said, we are still working very actively; the situation is evolving quickly, and we are doing our best to report to the public as soon as we have new information. But the assessment will be now that we have observed this in two migratory birds that it could be predicted that we will see it in more migratory birds, and again, without having the having information, that we will get through the active response that's currently undergoing, if it doesn't establish this time, then, you know, it doesn't mean that we won't continue to see sick migratory birds turn up with this virus.

JOURNALIST: You mentioned your response plan, and now this may be outlined in media materials elsewhere, but I'm wondering if you could just give us a high-level view of that. Are there four or five or six steps in the response plan that we would understand is now underway?

COOKSON: We have a series of very well-established response arrangements in Australia for emergency animal diseases. This comes under the emergency animal disease response agreement, and we've got a series of technical manuals called AUSVET Plan. They're maintained by Animal Health Australia, and they're built in collaboration between governments and industries that will activate to respond. As part of the preparedness we've been doing for bird flu, we recognise that this looks a little bit different when we're talking about a response that is primarily focused on wild animals. So, the types of things under consideration are that increased level of surveillance to make sure that we understand where the virus is and what populations might be impacted. There will be practical actions on the grounds in terms of clear messaging out to the public, like we've talked about, what to do if you do see sick or dead animals. In some circumstances, working with biodiversity and environment managers, there might be restrictions placed on access to certain locations for periods of times. These types of activities are all being undertaken through risk assessment, and as the knowledge about the situation increases. So, there will be a range of different types of actions. They're predominantly focused around managing or protecting human health, protecting the risk to animal health and managing or reducing the risks to biodiversity and also potentially sort of social amenity of sites where we might have these cases detected.

JOURNALIST: And you'll advise us of that hotline that you want the public to call?

COOKSON: The birdflu.gov.au website has the best information. The hotline is very clearly accessible there. It is 1800 675 888.

COLLINS: Thanks everyone.

https://minister.agriculture.gov.au/collins/speeches-and-transcripts/doorstop-h5-detection-australia-beth-cookson-fiona-fraser

**Michael Coston** · June 20, 2026, 04:47 AM

Australia: HPAI H5 Confirmed For First Time (Brown Skua)

#19,212
Overnight the Australian Government confirmed what was broadly expected; that HPAI H5N1 has now been detected in a migratory bird in Australia. Reports also indicate that a second bird (Giant Petrel) has also tested presumed positive.

You'll find Ian Mckay's latest blog post here, and I've reproduced the official announcement from DAFF (Department of Agriculture) below.

H5 bird flu confirmed in Australia
20 June 2026

Testing at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) has confirmed H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (bird flu) in a brown skua in Western Australia.

This is the highly pathogenic strain of concern that has been circulating globally, and is the first detection in Australia.

Samples from a second bird, a giant petrel, have also tested positive for H5 avian influenza at the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s laboratory.

These samples will now also undergo confirmatory testing at CSIRO’s ACDP.

These species are migratory seabird species that occasionally visit southern Australia.

Both species were found in an isolated area in a national park near Esperance, and were cared for in isolation.

The Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is leading on-ground activities and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is supporting national coordination.

A key priority is to undertake surveillance to determine the extent of the infection in wildlife.

There have been no detections in poultry and there is no evidence of mass mortality at this time.

Australia’s response is designed to manage the risks of H5 bird flu, to protect poultry production, and reduce impacts on wildlife and communities.

More than $113 million has been invested by the Albanese Government to strengthen our nation’s preparedness for H5 bird flu.

A dedicated Australian Government Taskforce was established in 2024 to strengthen preparedness for a possible incursion, jointly led by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the Australian Centre for Disease Control on behalf of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the National Emergency Management Agency.

A series of national simulation exercises have also been undertaken since 2024 to prepare for this event.

Government, industry and stakeholders have been working together to strengthen planning and governance arrangements for disease response and are ready to activate.

H5 bird flu is a low health risk to the public as it rarely affects humans unless there is direct and close contact with sick birds. Eggs and poultry meat are safe to eat provided they are handled and cooked according to standard food-safety practices.

H5 bird flu causes severe illness and high death rates in birds.

In birds, the disease can cause sudden death, a sharp drop in egg production, swelling of the head and neck, breathing difficulties, and sometimes neurological signs such as loss of coordination.

The community is encouraged to report any dead or sick birds or animals showing signs of bird flu.

If you see multiple sick or dead birds or other animals, do not touch them. Avoid contact. Record what you see. Report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 from anywhere in Australia.

For more information visit: birdflu.gov.au

Although remains to be seen how much of an impact this first arrival will have on Australia, and the rest of the world, this is once again proof (as if we needed it) that the HPAI H5 viruses of today are vastly improved versions of what was circulating even a decade ago.

Over the past 5 years we've seen HPAI H5 spread extensively across North and South America - and the Antarctic - while at the same time expanding its host range among both land and marine mammals.

While past performance is no guarantee of future results, HPAI's current trajectory is far from comforting.

https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2026/06/australia-hpai-h5-confirmed-for-first.html

**sharon sanders** · June 20, 2026, 08:35 AM

Please also see:

Avian Influenza Cases Confirmed in Antarctic Region - wild birds

H5N1 avian flu confirmed in mammals in the sub-Antarctic for the first time - elephant & fur seals - January 11, 2024

**Pathfinder** · June 20, 2026, 11:44 AM

Bird flu (avian influenza)

Bird flu mainly spreads to people from infected birds. Infections in people are rare but can be severe. Staying away from sick or dead birds is the best way to protect yourself.

For everyone For health professionals

On this page

Current status

There has been a detection of H5 bird flu in a bird in Western Australia. This is the first time this H5 subtype (H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b) has been found in an animal in Australia. It is the same subtype that has caused mass mortality in poultry, wild birds and sea mammals globally.

We are working with colleagues at the Australian Government, state, and territory levels to respond to the situation.

The risk to people in Australia is currently considered low.

People in Australia should take steps to prevent bird flu and follow the advice of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and their state and territory governments.

If you find sick or dead birds or animals:

avoid the area
record your location and what you see (take photos or video, if possible)
report this information to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

At a glance

No vaccine available – read more about prevention
Nationally notifiable disease

About bird flu

Bird flu (technically known as avian influenza) is caused by specific influenza A viruses that usually infect birds. These viruses are different to those that cause seasonal flu in humans.

Bird flu rarely spreads to people. When it does, it most often causes a respiratory infection.

The current risk of bird flu to people in Australia is considered low.

Why it matters to public health

Bird flu in people is rare and often mild but can cause severe disease or death. Spread from person-to-person is very rare.

Bird flu viruses can mutate quickly, including during outbreaks. In the right conditions, some mutations result in the virus infecting people more easily. It might cause a localised outbreak, which, can become more widespread in certain circumstances and settings. The possibility of a pandemic remains a concern to public health experts.

A type of H5 bird flu – called H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b – is causing outbreaks in animals overseas. Many poultry, wild birds and mammals have been infected, so the likelihood of people coming in contact with the virus has increased. Although some people have been infected with H5 bird flu overseas, it hasn’t spread from person to person.

There have been no human cases of bird flu caused by influenza A virus subtype H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in Australia.

A person with bird flu was reported in Australia in 2024. The person was infected overseas with a different subtype and then returned home to Australia. The person was managed in hospital and recovered. The virus did not spread to anyone else.

Because of these major impacts, and the potential for person-to-person spread, we:

work alongside colleagues in the animal and environmental sectors to promote a One Health coordinated approach to monitor bird flu and a whole-of-government response
plan for how to manage major outbreaks and pandemics.

Symptoms

If you’re looking for advice about your own health or treatment options, see healthdirect or speak with a qualified healthcare professional. Our role is to provide public health advice – information and guidance that helps prevent disease, protect communities and improve wellbeing at a population level.

Some infected people have no symptoms at all. But symptoms can include:

fever
cough
sore throat
runny nose
conjunctivitis
muscle aches and pains
headache
fatigue
gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea (less common).

Symptoms can range from mild to severe.

healthdirect’s symptom checker can help you decide whether to see a health professional.

Check your symptoms

Onset of symptoms

Symptoms usually start about 1 to 10 days after being infected.

How it spreads

Infected animals shed the virus in secretions, faeces, and other body fluids, and through the air.

People can become infected if they:

breathe in contaminated dust or air
touch an infected animal, their body fluids or something contaminated with the virus, and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth.

Infection usually happens after close contact with infected poultry – for example, chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese – or contaminated environments.

It’s very rare for bird flu to spread from person to person.

It is safe to eat properly handled, prepared and cooked meat and eggs.

Infectious period

People infected with bird flu are considered to be infectious from one day before symptoms start until either:

7 days after symptoms begin
acute symptoms are gone (if symptoms remain after 7 days).

Prevention

Vaccination

Getting an annual flu vaccination is important. It is recommended for all people older than 6 months.

Although it does not protect against bird flu infection, it:

reduces the risk of getting sick with human flu and bird flu at the same time
reduces the risk of common human flu viruses and bird flu viruses mixing to create a more dangerous influenza virus.

It’s especially important for poultry workers and other people at greater risk of exposure for this reason.

Other prevention steps

The best way to protect against bird flu is to:

wash your hands thoroughly before and immediately after handling any bird (even if healthy)
stay away from sick or dead birds and their
- surroundings
- droppings
- body fluids
- feathers
- eggs
not allow pets to touch or eat sick and dead birds
thoroughly cook meat and eggs before eating.

If travelling

If you are travelling overseas:

stay away from sick or dead animals (especially poultry) and places they are in, including
- poultry farms and backyard chicken enclosures
- areas with free ranging poultry
- live animal ‘wet’ markets
ensure meat and animal products are cooked thoroughly before eating
do not consume raw (unpasteurised) milk
regularly check the health advice on Smartraveller.

If you get symptoms within 10 days of contact with sick or dead birds (or animals, if travelling overseas):

call your health professional and tell them you have been around birds
follow general advice to prevent the spread of your viral respiratory illness.

Priority groups and settings

People at greater risk of severe disease

Because there are so few human cases and so many subtypes of bird flu, we do not yet fully know which groups are at greater risk of severe disease.

We expect they are similar to those for seasonal flu, and might include:

babies and children under 5 years old
older people
pregnant people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
people with certain chronic conditions
people who are immunocompromised
people who smoke.

If you are at greater risk, it is especially important to take steps to protect yourself.

People at greater risk of exposure

Anyone who works, cares or volunteers with birds is more likely to be exposed to bird flu, especially poultry workers and outbreak responders.

Read more about protecting your employees or yourself.

Diagnosis and treatment

Your healthcare professional can diagnose bird flu with a test.

Make sure you tell them if you have been in contact with birds.

The sample is usually collected from your nose or throat with a swab and sent to a laboratory for testing. If you have conjunctivitis, a swab may be taken from your eye.

Your healthcare professional might also refer you for blood tests.

You can use healthdirect’s directory to find a health service near you.

Find a health service

Most people with bird flu receive antiviral treatment to prevent severe disease.

Surveillance and reporting

Bird flu is a nationally notifiable disease – these are diseases that present a risk to public health.

Health authorities in each state and territory report new confirmed cases to us through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

This is part of national surveillance activities to monitor case numbers around the country and understand disease patterns.

We analyse the data and publish case numbers and other data through our data visualisation tool, where you can filter and search the latest information.

Agricultural authorities work with non-government organisations to monitor wild birds for bird flu.

Outbreaks

All outbreaks in animals require a public health response to reduce the risk of transmission to humans from infected animals.

Previous outbreaks in Australia have been in poultry and were successfully eliminated.

Actions public health authorities might take include:

identifying and managing people exposed to infected animals
educating people about how to protect themselves and others
working with agricultural authorities and affected industries
putting in place extra infection prevention and control precautions – such as personal protective equipment
encouraging annual flu vaccination for people who work in the outbreak site.

Read more about how the Australian Government defines and plans for outbreaks and pandemics.

Support

For more information see:

prevention posters for protecting yourself from bird flu
the Australian Government H5 bird flu webpage
the Australian Government animal outbreaks webpage
CDNA national guidelines to protect bird and wildlife workers
Food Standards Australia New Zealand information about avian influenza and food safety.

For information about bird flu in your state or territory see:

If you need mental health support, see a list of organisations, websites and services that offer support, counselling and information.

For travel advice, see Smartraveller.
...

https://www.cdc.gov.au/diseases/bird-flu-avian-influenza#current-status

**Commonground** · June 21, 2026, 03:50 PM

h/t @MackayIM
2h ago

Dead birds wash up on WA coastline as expert warns of black swan 'wipe-out' from bird flu

In short:
At least 16 dead birds have been reported to authorities after washing up on southern WA beaches, a day after Australia's first case of H5 avian flu was confirmed in a migratory sea bird.
Experts are warning that number could be the tip of the iceberg.

What's next?
Samples are being taken from some of the dead birds, and people are being warned to be on the alert for sick wildlife.

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-..._content=other

**sharon sanders** · June 21, 2026, 11:28 PM

In a Northern Giant Petrel

VIDEO: Agriculture Minister confirms another case of H5 bird flu in Western Australia

Agriculture Minister confirms another case of H5 bird flu in Western Australia

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-22/agriculture-minister-confirms-another-case-of-h5/106827850

Follow the latest headlines from ABC News, Australia's most trusted media source, with live events, audio and on-demand video from the national broadcaster.

**Commonground** · June 22, 2026, 06:28 AM

2026-06-22
Australia reports 2nd mainland case of deadly H5N1 bird flu

CANBERRA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A second migratory bird found in Western Australia (WA) has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, authorities have confirmed.

Julie Collins, minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, told reporters in Canberra on Monday that a northern giant petrel that was found sick on a beach in southern WA on Thursday has tested positive for the highly pathogenic strain.

It comes two days after Collins on Saturday announced that a brown skua that was found sick in the same region of southern WA on June 14 had died from the H5N1 strain, making it the first confirmed case on the Australian mainland.

Collins said on Monday that there was so far no evidence of mass mortalities in wildlife or of the strain spreading to Australia's poultry or agricultural systems.

"We are working to determine whether the H5 bird flu has established in the wildlife or Australia, other than these two isolated birds," she said.

Ingham's, one of Australia's largest poultry producers, announced earlier on Monday that it was implementing a complete lockdown of its entire WA operations to mitigate potential risks posed by avian influenza.

Murray Watt, Australia's Environment Minister, said on Monday morning that the country is as well prepared for a local outbreak of the strain. ■

Australia reports 2nd mainland case of deadly H5N1 bird flu

https://english.news.cn/asiapacific/20260622/ecc98d32e167443a850f883f9375d8e2/c.html

Australia reports 2nd mainland case of deadly H5N1 bird flu-

**Pathfinder** · June 22, 2026, 10:47 AM

Doorstop at Parliament House, Canberra

22 June 2026

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
MONDAY, 22 JUNE 2026

SUBJECTS: H5 bird flu

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: I should start with it’s terrific to have with us the Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook, who is obviously in Canberra for National Cabinet. My colleague Minister Murray Watt, of course the Minister for the Environment, our Chief Veterinary Officer, Beth Cookson, and our Threatened Species Commissioner, Dr Fiona Fraser, here again. This is because the testing at the CSIRO Australia Centre for Disease Preparedness has confirmed the H5 high pathogenic avian influenza in the brown skua in Western Australia, but further testing has now confirmed that we also have the H5 bird flu in the northern giant petrel found in the same region. So I want to reiterate that this is two birds that have been found with the H5 bird flu in an isolated area of Western Australia. I also want to reiterate at this time there are no, there is no evidence of any mass mortalities, particularly in our wildlife. I also want to reiterate that our poultry system and our agricultural systems remain free from the H5 bird flu. This is very important, particularly in terms of our trading partners. It’s also important that I reiterate that there is a low risk to human health when it comes to the H5 bird flu. Of course, we’ve now activated our national biosecurity response. As I indicated on Saturday, that response is being managed on the ground by Western Australia, and I’ll soon hand over to Premier Cook to talk about that on the ground in Western Australia. But from the Federal Government’s point of view, it is being coordinated right across government under the One Health, so myself, Minister Watt, Minister Butler and Minister McBain are involved primarily in making sure that right across the Federal Government we are coordinating the response at the national level. We have had meet twice now the emergency response group that will make decisions about whether or not we can eradicate or manage the H5 bird flu in Australia. That investigation and where we are is still in progress. We are working to determine whether or not the H5 bird flu has established in the wildlife or established in Australia other than these two isolated birds. I’ll hand over now to Premier Cook to talk about Western Australia’s response on the ground.

ROGER COOK, PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Julie. I’m delighted to join Minister Collins and Minister Watt to continue to provide information and updates in relation to this latest biosecurity threat. Western Australia is – has a vast coastline, one that’s very exposed, particularly to migratory birds. And so from that point of view our absolute vigilance is key for that early detection to make sure that we can stay on top of any outbreaks of the disease. Can I just take the opportunity in the first instance to commend the Commonwealth for the work that they’ve done in early preparation. A lot of work has been done between the Commonwealth and the states to understand what we needed to do in the event that we had that detection. And that – those programs and protocols are now being stood up and the Agriculture Minister in Western Australia, the Honourable Jackie Jarvis, is working with the Commonwealth very closely to make sure that we are working together, hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. And being overprepared here is obviously key to making sure that we can respond to any biosecurity threat. Can I also commend the Western Australian community and their vigilance in relation to early detection of any outbreaks. The fact that these two particular specimens were found and acted upon, it just really is so commendable in relation to the actions of those two individuals, which now means we are in possession of the information that we need to stand up the protocols to respond as we need to do. My government has stood up a hotline for people to report any concerns or activity that they see in local wildlife or agricultural animals just to make sure that we’ve got the very best opportunity for continued early detection. And we want people to be vigilant. This is obviously a very concerning situation, but it’s one that we’re prepared for. And I want to continue to just also do the shout-outs to Western Australian industry. We know that there’s one particular poultry processing operation which has now taken proactive actions to make sure that they can do everything they can to ensure that there is no spread to the agriculture industry and that we can do everything we can to maintain the reputation and the health of the agriculture sector in Western Australia. So we’re continuing to work with the Commonwealth, and we from here on in, to make sure that we have every resource that we need and every opportunity that we can take to ensure that we stay on top of this – these early detections and minimise or eliminate any risk to the West Australian agriculture industry. Thank you.

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Thanks very much, Premier. It’s great that you happen to be in Canberra and that we can demonstrate how closely we are working together as governments. Can I also just back in the work that Julie Collins has been doing as the lead federal minister over the last few days, working tirelessly along with all of our officials to ensure that Australians are kept informed and to continue acting in relation to this threat. As Julie has acknowledged previously, it’s obviously disappointing to see now two cases of H5 in Australia, but it’s not unexpected. As I think most Australians now know, we are the only continent in the world that until now has not had this strain on our shores. And what that has meant is that it has given us time as a country to ensure that we are as well prepared as we possibly can be for the time when this strain eventually reached our shores. It’s important to remember that at this point in time we only have two confirmed cases. But we don’t underplay the threat that this poses to wildlife and our agriculture sector in Australia should this become a wider outbreak. And that’s why since those detections late last week all of the relevant plans to deal with this incident, all of the relevant committees have met, everything has been enacted because we’ve done the work with states and territories, with industry, with environment groups to make sure that we’re ready for when Australia did have its first detection of this strain. As you’ve heard previously, our government has funded $113 million worth of preparedness activities, including $11 million in the Federal Budget. And it’s that work that has enabled training of vets so that they know what to look for. It’s enabled the planning work that states and territories have done. And it’s enabled a lot of work to be done to build the resilience of the population of endangered species in Australia to ensure that we do have strong population numbers if this strain were to arrive. My department has – to inform that work, my department has previously undertaken a susceptibility analysis to make sure that we’ve got really good information about which species would be most at risk if we did see an outbreak occur, and it’s that work that is now informing how that money is being spent. The only other thing I was going to mention is that this afternoon at 5.30 I’ve called a special meeting of federal, state and territory environment ministers. I’ve spoken with a number of those ministers on the phone over the weekend to make sure that we’re joined up, but I also thought it would be worthwhile to bring those ministers together for briefings from Beth as the Chief Vet, from Fiona as the Threatened Species Commissioner, again, just to make sure that we’re all on the same page as we continue dealing with this. Very final thing – and Julie has mentioned this a couple of times as well – to the public, thank you so much for being vigilant, for making those calls to the hotlines. This is something we need to take seriously. And again, remember the best thing that people can do is avoid contact with unwell or dead birds, avoid physical contact. Record and report anything that you do find and call that emergency hotline, which is 1800 675 888. Thanks. We’re all happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Can we just start with, this is the most basic level of advice for the public. Now that there’s been years of planning for this. We’ve seen the situation evolve in all other countries as you mentioned, Minister. What would you describe the likelihood of an outbreak to be in wild populations and in farm poultry populations? I understand that you can’t say it will or won’t get there but could you just describe your thinking around that? And just briefly, you mentioned, Minister Watt, that you’ve got lists of priority species and places, could we release that publicly? Could we see that list?

COLLINS: Thank you for that. So I’ll answer the question in terms of the likelihood and what happens from here. So we’re at the investigative stage. So we are over the next three to five days up to possibly a week actually listing and looking at whether or not there is other infections. We want to see whether or not there has been an entrenched infection in the wildlife in Australia. And I’m happy to hand over to Dr Beth Cookson to talk more about how we do that and what does that look like. But essentially those calls are coming in from the increased surveillance, and the Western Australian Government will provide some testing of some of the samples from some of the reporting that’s coming in, and then we’ll get a clearer picture of whether or not this is more than two isolated birds, and we’ll make that decision. What we have seen globally is this it is very difficult to eradicate. We have been successful in eradicating the H7 virus twice in the last five years. But we do know that the H5 virus is much harder to eradicate if it gets into our agricultural system. We have seen overseas certainly a huge amount of funding going into management of the H5 bird flu in other agricultural systems across the globe. And we have seen, of course, some devastating impacts in terms of wildlife. But let me reiterate, at this stage we’re talking about two birds on an isolated beach. We’ve had those two confirmed. We are yet to establish whether or not it’s entrenched in Australian wildlife and I’ll hand over to Dr Cookson to answer that a little bit more, and then to Minister Watt.

DR BETH COOKSON, AUSTRALIAN CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER: Thanks, Minister. As the Minister has explained, we are prioritising the investigation of the two reported birds to see whether there is any evidence that it has spread to other susceptible species. The emergency animal disease hotline has been, is being used, as the primary mechanism to encourage people who are observing dead or sick birds to report. Our WA colleagues are very actively triaging those reports and they will assess whether there’s a requirement to take samples and have those tested. So far we don’t have any indication that it has spread to other populations, but that’s the first step that we need to take to establish whether these two individual migratory seabirds that have tested positive have been able to spread it to other birds. What we know from other situations is that if that’s the case and it has spread to other populations, then it can be quite difficult to contain. There’s not many practical, feasible actions that can be undertaken to control it once it’s in other populations. And that’s why we have put the preparedness efforts into ensuring that we are learning from the international experience and as far as possible we are minimising the risk to human health, to our animal industries and minimising threats to vulnerable species and to social amenity.

JOURNALIST: Presumably given the publicity this has been given, you’ve had reports of other dead birds. Can you tell us how many dead bird cases have been reported? How many are you actively investigating? And is there a significant chance that any of those cases that we might have other positives turn up?

COOKSON: The Western Australian Government is the lead on the ground. I am aware that they have had an uplift in the number of reports coming through the emergency animal disease hotline. This is what we would expect. We have been encouraging through that public communication that the community reports sick and dead birds. That’s been happening. I don’t have the specific numbers of how many have been tested at this stage. I understand that there are a number of samples still on their way to the Western Australian laboratory that will be tested. I have been advised by the Western Australian CDO that there are no indications of mass mortalities, so I can’t say that there’s a high level of suspicion of any of those reports at this stage. We would expect a baseline level of deaths in wild populations at any time, and what we’re trying to do now in the early days of the investigation is to understand what’s being reported through the public hotline is associated with that normal baseline or whether there has been any indication of spread.

JOURNALIST: So on that basis, is it fair to say there are no other cases at this stage for which there is a high level of suspicion of contamination?

COOKSON: I have no information that would suggest that there is a suspect laboratory result or a situation of multiple mass mortalities that would indicate a high level of suspicion. That’s all I can say at this stage.

JOURNALIST: Premier, can you say more on that?

COOK: No, I don’t have any further details.

JOURNALIST: Dr Cookson, given your knowledge of migratory patterns of birds, is it a matter of when and not if that the virus eventually – does eventually spread to the East Coast or other states like South Australia? And a question for Minister Collins: given that in the past few years we’ve seen outbreaks of the avian flu increase egg prices due to the culling of birds on specific farms, should consumers prepare themselves for increased egg prices and poultry prices?

COOKSON: I’ll start with the first response. As you would be aware, we have been monitoring this situation that is been occurring globally for a number of years, and that’s why through the Australian Government investment we have been working together across all of the state and Commonwealth governments, we’ve been working across all of the different sectors, including the environment, the agriculture and the human health sectors to prepare for this incident. We’ve been very clear all along that this has been spread globally by migratory birds. We can’t prevent the entry of migratory birds, and we’ve been aware of a number of different migratory routes that might increase the threat to Australia. One of those is the spring migration that occurs with shore birds. The other situation that has been emerging is obviously the sub-Antarctic spread, and we’ve seen more reports of that over the last 18 months or so, including recently as reported from the Australian Antarctic Program through their investigation in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands. So we know that it’s moved closer into that sub-Antarctic region. These particular seabirds have their breeding sites in that sub-Antarctic region, so I would say it is unsurprising that at some stage these migratory birds, by multiple different pathways would arrive eventually on to Australian shores.

JOURNALIST: And what other states do these birds sort of nest in and sort of, I guess, migrate to?

COOKSON: Yeah, so these birds predominantly have breeding sites in the sub-Antarctic. They’re called pelagic species, which means that they spend other times out at sea where they’re feeding. They don’t often come of their own accord on to Australian shorelines. When they are sick or when there’s weather events that might blow them off course, they can come on to our shores, and there have certainly been sightings in the past. Those sightings, as far as I’m aware – and Dr Fraser may have some more information on that – can occur across the southern coastline. To help inform our coordinated surveillance efforts, the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases that I chair have met and we have convened an expert wildlife advisory group. One of the things we have asked that expert wildlife advisory group to do is to provide further information on those movements and locations where birds may be able – more able to co-mingle or come into contact with other animals. And that will help inform the enhanced surveillance approach that we’ll take to determine whether this has spread further.

JOURNALIST: There was mention of whether to –

COLLINS: Sorry, did you want me to answer the rest of the other question?

JOURNALIST: Yes, just on egg prices.

COLLINS: Okay. So I think that’s probably a bit hypothetical because what we want to do obviously is focus on the initial investigation, and I’d reiterate that there’s two birds at the moment, two migratory birds. We have done all the preparedness and done all of the work, and we’ve learned from the H7 infections and also from overseas about keeping it out of the agricultural production as much as possible. And certainly we’re working very closely with both the chicken meat and the egg poultry system and industries to do everything that we can do and improve biosecurity in those systems and those areas to stop it from getting into those production systems. So we’ll be working incredibly hard with them. They’ve done a lot of work. As I’ve said, they’ve managed to eradicate now H7 twice in the last five or so years. So there has been a lot learnt in those industries about biosecurity and movements to try and keep it out of that system. So we’ll be doing everything that we can do working with industry and working with the sector to try and keep this H5 bird flu out of our poultry system. Can we do that forever? We don’t know the answer to that. That is a hypothetical, but we certainly have done all the preparedness, we’ve done a lot of work, working pre-emptively with both the egg and the chicken meat industries. They have improved their systems. We have been working with them to make sure that we can do everything that can to protect Australia’s food system.

WATT: We’ve got time for one more, because we’ve got to get to Question Time.

JOURNALIST: Further on that, the WA poultry facility that’s pre-emptively closed down, is that a sensible thing or is it too early to be doing that? What do you make of that?

COLLINS: I understand that it’s not closed down, what it’s done is it’s just increased its biosecurity systems and strengthened its biosecurity.

COOK: That’s right.

COLLINS: I’m also aware that – and, you know, I’ve said this on Saturday in response to a question – is that the nearest chicken farm, for want of a better term, is about 300 kilometres away from where the isolated birds have been located.

WATT: Okay, sorry, guys, we’ve got to get off to Question Time. Thanks for coming along.

https://minister.agriculture.gov.au/collins/speeches-and-transcripts/doorstop-h5-western-australia-watt-cook-22-june

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Australia (mainland) - H5N1 in wild birds 2026 (n=215) - Local Transmission Confirmed by CSIRO - Mass Mortality Event Confirmed

Australia (mainland) - H5N1 in wild birds 2026 (n=215) - Local Transmission Confirmed by CSIRO - Mass Mortality Event Confirmed

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