H5 Bird Flu in Australia: What Bird Owners Need to Know

In late June 2026, Australia recorded its first detections of H5 high-pathogenicity avian influenza, the strain often called H5 bird flu or H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b. On 20 June, testing at CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness confirmed the virus in a wild brown skua, a migratory seabird, found in Cape Le Grand National Park about 50km east of Esperance in Western Australia. A second Western Australian case, a northern giant petrel from the same area, was confirmed soon after. On 24 June, South Australia confirmed a third case, a southern giant petrel found on Knights Beach at Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula. All three are migratory seabirds. Further testing has since confirmed more Western Australian seabird cases, including a giant petrel found at Roses Beach west of Esperance. On 4 July, CSIRO confirmed a case near Hawks Nest, making New South Wales the third affected state. On 24 July, CSIRO confirmed Queensland's first case, a petrel found by rangers at Moreton Island, making Queensland the fourth affected state. On 30 July, CSIRO confirmed Victoria's first case, a greater crested tern found at Portland, making Victoria the fifth affected state. On 14 August, CSIRO confirmed Tasmania's first case, a brown skua at Rocky Cape National Park, making Tasmania the sixth affected state. Since then the number of positive events has climbed quickly, driven mainly by greater crested terns and silver gulls in South Australia and Victoria. From 12 August 2026, authorities report by events, where each event can involve one or more birds, rather than individual detections. As at 14 August 2026, birdflu.gov.au reported 205 confirmed events nationally, all in wild birds. The count is rising regularly, so check birdflu.gov.au for the current figure.

This is the strain that has spread across every other continent in recent years, including the Antarctic Peninsula, killing wild birds and marine mammals in huge numbers. It reaches new places through the movement of wild birds, and Australia sits on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, a migration route that links us to regions where the virus is active. Until now, Australia was the last continent free of it.

One important distinction: H5 is not the same as the H7 bird flu that hit Victorian, NSW and ACT poultry farms in 2024, which led to about 1.8 million birds being destroyed. Those H7 outbreaks are separate and being managed. The current H5 detections are almost all in wild birds along the southern coast, now spread across six states and territories, with South Australia and Victoria carrying the largest share. In early August 2026, authorities confirmed Australia's first mass mortality event in wildlife from H5 bird flu, in South Australia. There are still no detections in poultry or pet birds, and authorities have moved from preparing for H5 to actively managing it.

The honest answer is that every species of bird can catch H5 bird flu, including cockatiels, budgies and budgerigars, galahs, lorikeets, Indian ringnecks, conures, macaws, canaries and finches. Susceptibility is not the thing that decides your bird's risk. Exposure is. This virus reaches birds through contact with infected wild birds or their droppings, so a bird kept indoors, or in a covered aviary with no contact with wild birds, is at very low risk.

That is the key for pet and cage bird owners. The cases in Australia so far are in wild migratory seabirds in remote coastal areas, not in pet birds. Keeping your bird away from wild birds and their droppings is what keeps it safe, whatever the species.

If your bird lives indoors, keep it inside for now, and keep its food and water where wild birds cannot reach. If your bird lives in an outdoor aviary, cover or net the top, screen the sides where you can, and move feeders and water bowls under cover so wild birds are not drawn in. Give each bird its own clean food and water, disinfect bowls and perches regularly, and wash your hands before and after handling your birds. If you also keep backyard chickens or other poultry, treat them as higher risk and follow your state agriculture department's biosecurity advice, since poultry are highly susceptible.

Watch your birds for any sudden change, and see an avian vet promptly if a bird becomes unwell. The signs to watch for are in the FAQs below.

For most pet and backyard bird owners, the immediate risk right now is low. The cases so far are in wild seabirds in remote places, not in cages, aviaries or backyards. The way the virus would reach your birds is through contact with infected wild birds or their droppings, so an indoor budgie or a covered aviary kept away from wild birds is at very low risk today. BirdLife Australia puts it plainly: the risk to backyard chooks and pet birds in outdoor aviaries is low, provided you practise basic biosecurity.

The human health risk is also low. The Australian Centre for Disease Control notes that most bird flu viruses do not spread easily to people, that human infections are rare and usually follow close contact with sick birds, and that the risk to Australians is very low. Poultry and wildlife workers are the most exposed. None of this means do nothing. It means act sensibly rather than panic, and put a few simple habits in place now while the situation is developing.

The single most effective thing you can do is keep your birds, and their food and water, away from wild birds and their droppings. State agriculture departments set out clear steps, and they are worth following now even though the risk is still low.

• Keep birds enclosed and away from areas where wild birds gather. Use fencing or netting to separate free-range or aviary birds from wild birds.
• Place food and water inside a shelter so wild birds cannot reach or foul them, and clean up spilled seed that draws wild birds and rodents.
• Keep your birds away from natural water like dams, streams and ponds, and use clean, treated water for drinking and washing.
• Quarantine any new bird before it joins your flock, and keep unwell birds separate.
• Keep a dedicated pair of shoes and clean clothes for the aviary, wash your hands before and after, and limit visitors who have been around other birds.
• Skip bird shows, swaps and markets for now, and disinfect any equipment that has been off-site.

Anything that makes birds gather in one place helps disease spread, and shared feeding is the clearest example. BirdLife Australia generally advises against feeding wild birds at the best of times, and is blunt about outbreaks: we can help birds with their social distancing by not feeding them, because feeding brings them into close contact and makes disease easier to pass on.

So for now, the cautious move is to pause communal outdoor feeders and shared bird baths, especially where wild birds gather, and to skip the open shared bowl that several birds dip into through the day. If you keep more than one bird, give each its own food and water rather than one communal dish, and choose feeders you can lift out and disinfect quickly. An enclosed, individual feeder keeps food off the floor, keeps wild birds out of it, and is far easier to clean than an open tray, which is exactly what you want while biosecurity matters most. You can see the enclosed Seed Cube feeders here.

Cleaning is part of every biosecurity plan, so keep equipment clean and disinfected whatever else you do. Empty and refresh food and water daily, and regularly wash bowls, feeders, perches and nearby surfaces. Authorities advise a two-step routine: clean with detergent first to remove organic matter, then disinfect with a product that is effective against viruses.

Use a disinfectant made to be safe around birds and follow the label. A bird-safe, hospital-grade product such as Vetafarm Avicare is designed for exactly this kind of routine cleaning of cages, perches, bowls and feeders. To be clear, routine disinfection is general hygiene and one part of a biosecurity routine. It does not replace keeping wild and pet birds apart, and no cleaning product is a treatment for, or a guaranteed shield against, bird flu. Clean thoroughly, separate sensibly, and follow official advice.

Not everyone reading this owns a bird. Many people just have a wild bird that visits the garden and want to know what to do if it looks sick. The steps below follow the advice authorities use: avoid, record, report.

• Avoid contact. Do not touch the bird, do not bring it inside, and do not try to feed it or give it medicine. Keep children, pets and other people away from the bird and from where it has been.
• Record what you see. Take photos or a short video from a distance, and note the exact location and how many birds are affected.
• Report it. Call your state wildlife rescue service for rescue advice. In New South Wales, WIRES is 1300 094 737. Report sick or dead wild birds to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888, especially if you see several sick or dead birds in one area.

Only handle the bird if a rescue service tells you to. If you are directed to, wear a P2 or N95 mask, goggles and gloves, use a towel and a ventilated box so there is no direct contact, and wash thoroughly afterwards.

Be realistic about the outcome. If it is H5 bird flu, there is no treatment and recovery is unlikely once a bird shows clinical signs. But most sick garden birds have something else, and many of those problems are treatable, so reporting is still worth doing. Reporting also helps authorities track where the virus is moving.

Australia has moved from preparing for H5 bird flu to managing it. The National Management Group, Australia's peak biosecurity decision-making body, has enacted the National Management Agreement for H5 bird flu, following advice that the virus is not feasible to eradicate in wildlife. Nationally agreed, cost-shared response arrangements are now in place, and a national poultry biosecurity framework commenced on 31 July 2026, with state and territory governments issuing risk-based biosecurity advice. Governments and industry are investing more than $113 million in surveillance, preparedness and response, a national taskforce is in place, and authorities have procured an H5 vaccine that is being trialled for captive populations of endangered species. Vaccinating wild birds is not feasible, and for poultry the standard response to an outbreak is to contain and stamp it out, since there is no effective treatment once birds are infected.

For pet and backyard owners, though, the takeaway has not changed. It is still calm and practical. The detections so far are in wild seabirds, not pet birds, and birds kept away from wild birds are at low risk. Keep your birds separate from wild birds, pause shared feeders and baths for now, give each bird its own clean food and water, disinfect regularly, and watch for any change. Because this is moving quickly, check birdflu.gov.au, Wildlife Health Australia and your state agriculture department for the latest, since the official sources are the ones to trust.