The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has arrived on the Australian mainland with test results confirming a migratory seabird found on the Western Australian coast was positive for the disease.
The agriculture minister, Julie Collins, confirmed a brown skua – found unwell last Sunday at Cape Le Grand national park near Esperance in southern WA had died from H5N1.
Tests taken in WA suggested a sick giant petrel found in the same area was also infected.
Collins said samples from the petrel were being sent to the CSIRO’s laboratory for confirmation.
The highly pathogenic strain has killed millions of birds globally and crossed over into mammal species including elephant seals.
Experts in Australia have feared the virus could devastate native bird species and potentially threaten marine mammals and other species.
Until this week Australia had been the only continent to have escaped the devastating strain, with Collins telling Saturday’s media conference “we all knew that we couldn’t be bird [flu]-free forever”.
BirdLife Australia chief executive, Kate Millar, said the potential significance for Australian wildlife could not be overstated.
“This virus has devastated wildlife populations overseas. This could be the beginning of a long fight to protect birds and wildlife in Australia,” she said.
The disease had been detected on the remote Australian subantarctic territories of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands in October last year.
Collins promised a nationally coordinated response that would initially focus on determining the extent to which the disease may have spread in wildlife.
“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,” she said.
She said there was no evidence of mass mortalities so far or of infection of any poultry.
Anthony Albanese said earlier on Saturday the arrival of H5N1 bird flu was “concerning” but the government had spent $113m in preparation and was focused on trying to limit its spread.
“What we’re about is making sure, firstly, that we do whatever we can to restrict the spread,” the prime minister said.
“We, of course, always examine these issues carefully. We have prepared for it.
“This is something that has happened through migratory birds. It’s happened, by definition, around the world, and that is why we’ve been preparing for this.”
Chief veterinary officer Beth Cookson said the WA government was conducting on-ground surveillance to investigate whether the disease was present in any wild native bird populations.
She said members of the public should avoid contact with any sick or dead birds they encountered but should take a photo and report the bird’s location to authorities.
“At this early stage, it is difficult to make a conclusion about whether the infection has established in wildlife populations,” Cookson said.
“It is not present in our poultry or agriculture production systems.”
‘An evolving situation’
Cookson said she understood the arrival of H5N1 to the mainland would be “concerning news for many Australians who, like me, have a strong connection to our wildlife”.
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“We have been carefully preparing for this event for a long time,” she said.
Cookson said Australia had been able to learn from the international experience and federal, state and territory government investments “have left us as best prepared as possible to respond to this situation”.
A meeting on Saturday morning of the consultative committee for emergency animal disease discussed the test results and response measures, including increased surveillance.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
Western Australia’s agriculture minister Jackie Jarvis said the two birds had been found by trained wildlife carer who reported them.
She said while it remained “an isolated incident in an isolated area”, the community should be alert and prepared for the possibility other birds and mammals would be affected.
She said community members could report sick or dying birds to an emergency hotline and should keep pets away from wildlife.
The development comes days after scientists confirmed thousands of southern elephant seal pups on Heard Island and hundreds of adult king penguins in the subantarctic had died from the disease through 2025 and 2026.
Fears for fur seal and sea lion populations
The threatened species commissioner, Fiona Fraser, said governments had analysed which of Australia’s birds and mammals could be most susceptible to the disease. She said if H5N1 did become established in wildlife there was little that could be done to stop the spread.
“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,” she said.
Fraser said a range of animals including the Tasmanian devil, a scavenger species, and the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot were considered particularly susceptible.
She said there was also the potential for H5N1 bird flu to push more common species such as the black swan on to the threatened list. Marine mammals including the Australian fur seal and sea lion were also particularly at risk if the disease became established.
“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,” Fraser said.
She said the WA government was also working on species-specific plans for birds including the black swan, little penguin and blue-billed duck.
Fraser said governments had developed more than 100 response plans for at risk animals and important natural sites such as Ramsar wetlands and islands.
