The discovery of the H5 bird flu virus in a dead migratory bird on a remote Western Australian beach east of Esperance at Cape Le Grand has sounded alarm bells in biosecurity and agriculture.
Until now, Australia had been the only continent where the virus was undetected.
That all changed on 20 June 2026 when the Australian Government announced a detection of H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (bird flu) was confirmed by the CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in single brown skua (migratory seabird) in Western Australia.
This is the highly pathogenic strain of concern that has been circulating globally and is the first detection in Australia.
The wild bird was found sick in an isolated area in southern Western Australia on 14 June 2026.
As of 20 June 2026, ACDP is also testing samples taken from a sick giant petrel from the same region that returned a suspect positive result at the Western Australian government lab. These species are migratory seabirds that occasionally visit southern Australia.
There have been no detections in poultry and there is no evidence of mortalities in other species at this time. This detection does not change Australia’s status as free from HPAI in poultry in accordance with international standards.
The Australian Centre for Disease Control advises that H5 bird flu is a low health risk to the public as it rarely affects humans. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand advise that bird flu is not a food safety risk for chicken meat and eggs if they are handled and cooked correctly.
Further information can be found at: Australian Centre for Disease Control and Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is supporting the response through national coordination. A key priority is to undertake surveillance to determine the extent of infection in wildlife.
Australia is well prepared to respond to H5 bird flu and has well-established national response arrangements in place to respond to animal disease incidents.
What you can do
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.
