Australia’s vets on the frontline as first H5 bird flu detected on the mainland revealing critical need for urgent government investment in the profession
The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) has acknowledged the confirmed detection of H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) on the Australian mainland for the first time, describing it as a sobering milestone that underscores both the readiness of Australia’s veterinary profession and the urgent need for government investment in the veterinary workforce that the nation’s biosecurity depends upon.
On Saturday 20 June 2026, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Julie Collins MP, and Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson, confirmed that testing by the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness had identified H5 avian influenza in a brown skua found on Western Australia’s south coast on 14 June. A second bird, a giant petrel, has also returned a positive result and is undergoing further testing to confirm the strain. The detection follows the arrival of the strain on Australia’s sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonald Islands in October 2025; until now, mainland Australia had been the last continent free of H5 bird flu.
At this stage there is no evidence of any mass bird or animal mortality in Australia, and no evidence of infection in poultry. The national committee for emergency animal disease has convened, and state and territory governments are coordinating the response, including heightened surveillance.
“This detection is sobering but, as authorities have long forecast, not unexpected. What it demonstrates beyond doubt is that veterinarians are Australia’s frontline against biosecurity incursions and emergency animal disease,” said AVA President, Dr Diana Barker.
“From the first sick bird on a remote beach to laboratory confirmation, surveillance, diagnosis and response, it is veterinarians who detect these threats and stand between an incursion and the prevention of a national crisis. Our federal and state governments rely on this work and can’t overlook the importance of that contribution any longer. Australian vets protect our $90 billion agricultural sector, our world-class biosecurity status, public health, and the millions of animals in our homes and communities.”
The AVA said the detection lays bare a confronting reality: the profession charged with safeguarding the nation against H5 HPAI is itself under acute and sustained strain. Australia’s veterinary sector is now in its ninth consecutive year of workforce shortage, with the deficit most severe in the regional, rural and remote areas where incursions are most likely to first emerge.
“We cannot ask a depleted and exhausted workforce to carry the weight of the nation’s biosecurity defence indefinitely without urgent investment,” said Dr Barker. “A response to an event like this draws on the very veterinarians who are already in critically short supply in the bush, including in the WA community where the first detections were made. If we are serious about protecting Australia from H5 bird flu and the next emergency animal disease event, we must be serious about the workforce that delivers that vigilance and protection.”
To immediately support veterinarians as our nation’s first responders to this event and other biosecurity emergencies, the AVA is calling on the Australian Government to urgently commit to funding $7.5 million over 4 years for a pilot program that will compensate veterinarians who are caring for infected animals presented to them by the public in clinic. “This investment would instantly support the capacity of Australia’s veterinarians in responding to emergency animal disease outbreaks at the coalface and ensure the viability and sustainability of veterinary businesses who remain unpaid for this critical work,” said Dr Barker.
“This incursion is a national test of preparedness, and the veterinary profession is ready to play its part,” said Dr Barker. “But readiness is not free. We urge the Government to match the dedication of Australia’s veterinarians with the investment the profession has needed for nearly a decade. A profession under pressure for nine years deserves a government that has its back.”
The AVA is monitoring the situation closely, is engaged with the relevant departments, and has activated its preparedness resources to support members and the broader profession, including its High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Private Veterinary Practitioner Preparedness Toolkit.
The AVA reminds the public not to touch sick or dead birds or animals, and to report them to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888 or via birdflu.gov.au. While transmission to humans is rare and there is no evidence of person-to-person spread of the current strain, appropriate precautions should be taken when handling suspected.