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, in a remote part of Cape Le Grand National Park in Western Australia. On 24 June, South Australia confirmed a second case in another wild seabird, a giant petrel, on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

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. As at late June 2026 the H5 cases are in wild migratory seabirds in isolated coastal areas, with no detections in poultry or pet birds, and authorities are monitoring closely.

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.

This is a developing situation, and Australia has been preparing for it. Governments and industry are investing more than $100 million in surveillance, preparedness and response, a national HPAI 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 considered feasible, so 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 is calm and practical. The cases so far are in wild seabirds in remote areas, 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 Wildlife Health Australia, BirdLife Australia and your state agriculture department for the latest, since the official sources are the ones to trust.