On 25 June, a citizen scientist in South Australia called the national Emergency Animal Disease Hotline to report a dead pied cormorant at Glenelg and was advised to collect the bird, directly contradicting the official “avoid, record, report” protocol. The state government has launched an investigation, and Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said no staff member had yet been identified as giving the incorrect advice, though all operators have been reminded to provide up-to-date information. The hotline failure occurred as Australia confronts the first detections of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza on its mainland.

Since the initial confirmation in Western Australia, authorities have recorded three confirmed cases in migratory seabirds—two in WA and one in South Australia—with two further suspected cases awaiting laboratory results. The latest suspected case involves a giant petrel found at Roses Beach near Esperance; four other petrels from the same site tested negative. Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson stated there is no evidence of mass mortality or spread to domestic poultry, and the risk to human health remains low. Earlier research documented the same H5 virus lineage killing over 13,000 seal pups on a remote sub-Antarctic island group.

BirdLife Australia ecologists warn that native duck populations, already stressed by habitat loss and hunting, could face severe pressure if the virus reaches inland wetlands. The East Australian Waterbird Survey recorded a decline from nearly 900,000 ducks observed in 1984 to fewer than 100,000 in 2022, though numbers have ticked up slightly since 2023. In Queensland, which hosts 15 per cent more bird species than any other state, former chief scientist Hugh Possingham urged the government to mobilise volunteer bird-watchers for surveillance, while virologists cautioned that community monitors would need training to avoid infection. The poultry industry has begun precautionary measures: Inghams, a major producer, moved all birds indoors in WA, and federal authorities are considering vaccination for poultry and some native species.

Meanwhile, Western Australia is battling a separate biosecurity threat. The polyphagous shot-hole borer, a 2 mm beetle, has killed 4,800 trees in Perth since its detection in 2021. A government-funded study published in the Journal of Biogeography identified Brisbane as highly suitable habitat for the pest, which threatens the city’s iconic Moreton Bay figs and north Queensland’s avocado industry. Containment efforts in WA have shifted from eradication to slowing the spread, with quarantine restrictions on wood and plant material across the Perth metropolitan area.

The South Australian government is scheduled to meet with veterinary sector representatives today to provide updated guidance on H5N1. Laboratory confirmation of the two suspected cases in WA is pending. In Queensland, biosecurity officers are expanding surveillance partnerships with wildlife carers and community groups, while the invasive species council has called for a formal memorandum of understanding between Brisbane City Council and the state government to clarify responsibilities should the borer arrive.