A giant petrel found on Western Australian coast. Source – Facebook.

NEW South Wales has reported its first H5 bird in a wild migratory seabird, with further testing underway to determine it is infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain.

The NSW Government said samples from a Giant Petrel near Hawks Nest has tested positive for H5 influenza in preliminary testing at DPIRD’s laboratory at Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute.

Samples have been sent to CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness for further testing. The case marks the first wild migratory seabird in NSW to return a suspect positive result for H5 bird flu. At this stage, there have only been confirmed detections in vagrant migratory seabirds that occasionally visit southern Australia.

In the last two weeks, highly pathogenic bird flu has been found in four migratory seabirds in Western Australia and one in South Australia.

Surveillance operations have been ramped up in NSW in preparation for a potential detection across the state, including establishing a H5 bird flu call centre, and training over 500 additional staff, including Local Land Services and National Parks and Wildlife Service field officers to undertake surveillance for H5 bird flu.

NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said the latest development is incredibly concerning for agriculture and wildlife.

“The impact of H5 worldwide on wild birds and poultry has been devastating.

“But NSW and the rest of the country have been preparing for this moment for many years,” she said.

“We are working with federal, state and territory governments as we roll out plans that have been developed with all stakeholders including industry, agriculture and wildlife organisations.

“The community can help by avoiding contact with sick or dead wildlife and their environment, recording what you see and reporting any unusual sickness or mass mortality to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline,” Ms Moriarty said.

“We will be relying on our partners in industry to help with this and that’s why we have delivered more than 50 briefings and workshops to key agricultural and wildlife stakeholders, ensuring the community have the vital information to manage an outbreak.”

NSW Chief Veterinary Officer Jo Coombe said the state’s focus now is to increase surveillance and to detect any further infections early.

“We have now ramped up surveillance operations having trained more than 500 additional staff, including Local Land Services and National Parks and Wildlife Service field officers to undertake surveillance for H5 bird flu.

“The State Coordination Centre has been stood up in Orange, we have established the H5 bird flu call centre and we are briefing all key stakeholders on the current situation,” he said.

“We have innovative spatial mapping tools, decision-support systems and response databases to enable rapid, evidence-based action during a wildlife outbreak.

“We are using the best available data now to target actions for our most at-risk wildlife species and important natural places.”

The government said importantly, bird flu has not been detected in commercial poultry flocks, captive birds or any other birds in NSW, nor has it become established in any part of Australia. The risk to human health remains low.

If unusual deaths or illness in wild birds are observed please AVOID contact, RECORD by taking photos or video and REPORT immediately to the Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) Hotline on 1800 675 888.

The State Coordination Centre is operating at the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development (DPIRD)’s Orange Agricultural Institute since 19 June 2026 to provide coordination of surveillance operations and NSW’s response.

To report a sick bird call the 24-hour Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

For more information visit: birdflu.gov.au