24/08/2026
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Apologies for the delay on this update, there's been a lot to verify and this situation has moved fast.
Since our last post, this outbreak has escalated significantly. Every Australian state has now recorded cases, with South Australia and Victoria worst affected. The national count has passed 290 confirmed events (authorities switched from counting individual birds to counting outbreak events as numbers climbed too high to track one by one).
Australia has recorded its first mass mortality events in wildlife, more than 1,000 greater crested terns lost across three separate events in South Australia. And the virus has now jumped species. A long-nosed fur seal found at Beachport, SA is Australia's first confirmed mainland case in a mammal, a genuinely concerning development given how fast bird flu has torn through seal colonies overseas.
The federal government has committed $113 million to surveillance, preparedness and response. That includes $2 million in vaccine doses now rolling out to priority native species in captivity, and a program to vaccinate more than 5,000 wild little penguins at Phillip Island as a precaution.
The good news that hasn't changed: still zero detections in poultry or the wider agriculture industry, and human health risk remains low.
The flow-on effects are real though. The Melbourne Royal Show, Royal Adelaide Show and Royal Hobart Show have all cancelled their poultry exhibitions this year as a precaution. Brisbane's Ekka went ahead with its poultry competition as planned this year under strict biosecurity checks, but that's very much a live decision each show organiser is reassessing as the situation develops.
For Brisbane dog and cat owners, the core risk picture hasn't shifted, this remains a wild seabird story, not a backyard pet story. Keep dogs leashed and away from dead or distressed birds, keep cats indoors near the coast, don't let either investigate a carcass. If you find a dead bird, don't touch it, photograph it, note the location, and call 1800 675 888.
