Avian influenza (bird flu)

Current situation

Last updated 22 April 2025

H7 avian influenza (bird flu) was confirmed at 4 poultry properties in northern Victoria near Euroa in February 2025.

Diagnostic tests done at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong confirmed a high pathogenicity strain of H7N8. This is a new outbreak and not related to the 2024 outbreaks in Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, which were successfully eradicated.

This is not the H5N1 bird flu strain that is impacting other parts of the world.

A restricted area with a radius of about 5 km has been in place around the infected properties since February. This is part of a larger control area where controls have been placed on movements that could spread the virus.

Specific rules apply in the control and restricted areas.

There have been no new disease detections since 24 February 2025 and good progress has been made on the cleaning and decontamination of affected properties.

As a result of progress made in the response, the control area has been reduced in size to about 40 kilometres from east to west and 30 kilometres from north to south.

Townships still impacted by restrictions include Euroa and Longwood. Strathbogie, Violet Town, Ruffy and Avenel have been removed from the control area from 31 March 2025.

Mandatory movement controls on birds, bird products (including eggs) and poultry equipment, as well as restrictions placed on game bird hunting and hunters. are no longer in place for areas outside the redrawn control area.

The housing requirement for premises with 50 or more birds in the restricted area is now also lifted. The voluntary housing of birds is still encouraged.

Any suspicion of an emergency animal disease (EAD) should be immediately reported to the 24-hour EAD Hotline on 1800 675 888 or to your local vet.

Agriculture Victoria is continuing to work with impacted property owners.

Illness in humans who have direct contact with animals infected with high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses has been reported overseas. However, the risk to the public is low. Find out more about avian influenza in humans from the BetterHealth Channel.

Game bird hunting

Recreational game bird hunting remains banned in the restricted and redrawn control areas near Euroa, to help prevent the spread of avian influenza.

An avian influenza game bird hunting permit can be obtained from Agriculture Victoria and is required if you want to:

  • move game bird carcasses or parts from outside areas to control or restricted areas
  • move equipment associated with game bird hunting from control or restricted areas to outside areas, if the equipment has come into contact with poultry or birds.

Permits are issued for 4 weeks and can be reapplied for after they expire.

Exemptions are in place that allow vehicles transporting game bird carcasses or hunting equipment to travel along the Hume Freeway. You do not need a permit so long as you don’t leave the Hume Freeway and don’t stop in the restricted or control areas.

Apply for a permit

Restricted and control areas

Areas shown in red on the map below are located in the restricted area.

Areas shown in purple on the map below are located in the control area.

Read the order for the restricted and control areas.

Movement of poultry and other birds and control measures

All movements of bird (including game birds), bird products (including eggs, and manure) and poultry equipment into, within or out of the declared areas are prohibited unless under a permit. This includes collecting, processing or packaging eggs on a premises for the purpose of the eggs being moved and also applies to meat and carcases from poultry and birds (including game bird carcasses).

Under movement restrictions for both the control area and restricted area, chicken meat and eggs can still be moved into, out of or within the area as long as they come from an approved supplier. This includes:

  • supermarkets
  • butchers
  • grocery stores
  • cafés
  • restaurants
  • bakeries
  • pet stores selling poultry meat for pet consumption (sourced from a PrimeSafe-licensed processor)
  • businesses supplying animal feed containing poultry material under biosecurity regulations.

A permit is required for all other movements of birds, bird products (including eggs and manure) and poultry equipment in and out of a control area or restricted area.

Exemptions are in place that allow vehicles transporting poultry or birds and other poultry/bird products to travel along the Hume Freeway, so long as they don’t leave the Hume Freeway or stop in the restricted or control areas.

Truck deliveries of poultry feed to poultry farms in the control area are exempt from the need for a permit. There is no exemption for the delivery of poultry feed to poultry farms in the restricted area.

There are no restrictions on the movement of stock feed for livestock species other than poultry or birds, into, within or out of the restricted area or control area. Good biosecurity practices should be followed.

To apply for a permit use the button below and navigate to ‘Agriculture Victoria Permits; Avian Influenza’.

Apply for a permit

If you are having issues accessing the page, please call the VicEmergency hotline on 1800 226 226 for assistance.

Waste disposal

Activity at the Rutherglen Agriculture Victoria site is part of the ongoing avian influenza response near Euroa. Find out more about activities at the site.

Poultry shows

Poultry and bird sales, shows, markets and auctions or other gatherings within the control and restricted areas are prohibited until further notice.

Game bird hunting

Recreational game bird hunting is not allowed in the restricted or control areas. This includes duck, stubble quail and introduced game bird hunting. Moving game bird carcasses and any equipment associated with game bird hunting into, out of or through the restricted and control areas is prohibited unless under a movement permit.

Exemptions are in place that allow vehicles transporting game bird carcasses or hunting equipment to travel along the Hume Freeway, so long as they don’t leave the Hume Freeway and don’t stop in the restricted or control areas.

Industry information

On 19 February 2025, Agriculture Victoria in collaboration with Australian Eggs and the Victorian Department of Health, delivered an avian influenza awareness webinar. The webinar provided an overview of:

  • What is avian influenza?
  • Current situation and objectives of the response
  • Response activities
  • Advice to all bird owners and industry
  • Actions for industry
  • Risk of H7N8 avian influenza to people
  • Infection prevention strategies for people
  • What to watch out for and where to get advice
  • Where to get the latest information.

Watch the recording

Passcode: FuHLC7

Transcript

To request resources, such as fact sheets, posters or tiles for social media, email sboc.industryengagement@agriculture.vic.gov.au

About avian influenza

+ Expand all- Collapse all

Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a viral disease of birds found globally. In 2024, 7 properties close to Meredith were infected with H7N3 bird flu. A property near Terang was infected with a different strain called H7N9 bird flu. Agriculture Victoria instigated a response program working with industry, and the disease on all of the impacted farms was eradicated.

Avian influenza, commonly referred to as ‘bird flu’, is a highly contagious viral infection of birds. Severe cases of bird flu can lead to serious symptoms and sudden death in domestic poultry, affecting large numbers of birds. Virus strains are described as low pathogenicit (LPAI) or high pathogenicity (HPAI).

Mild avian influenza infections with low pathogenicity viruses may not produce symptoms in poultry. It can be difficult to detect in some birds. Despite this, it can still result in some deaths.

Influenza viruses are complex and grouped by 2 surface proteins, the haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). For example, a virus that has an HA 3 protein and an NA 2 protein is designated as subtype H3N2. At least 16 haemagglutinins (H1 to H16), and 9 neuraminidases (N1 to N9) subtypes have been found in viruses from birds.

Some LPAI virus such as subtypes H5 and H7 can become HPAI viruses when they move from wild birds to poultry.

H5N1 is a subtype of HPAI that causes serious disease in poultry, wild birds and some species of wild mammals globally. H5N1 has not been detected in Australia to date.

Birds like chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quail, pheasants, emus and ostriches are at high risk for avian influenza. Wild birds like waterfowl and seabirds can have the LPAI virus without getting sick.

Scientists think that all bird species can be affected by the H5 bird flu strain (currently not in Australia) and they have found it in 50 species of mammals.

Scientists consider wild birds the natural host for the virus. In Australia, some wild birds carry LPAI but usually do not show any symptoms of the disease.

Infected birds shed the avian influenza virus in saliva, nasal secretions and faeces.

Sometimes the virus spills over from wild birds into domestic bird populations and may cause disease. This can occur when wild birds interact with domestic birds. It can also happen when wild birds contaminate the food or water of domestic birds.

H7 bird flu can spread from property to property by the movement of people, poultry, clothing and equipment.

With the emergence of H5 bird flu internationally, many animal species have become infected following close contact with infected birds or contaminated environments. Consumption of infected bird carcases has resulted in the transmission of H bird flu1 to some predatory and scavenger species. H5 bird flu is not in Australia.

The most important sign to be aware of and report is sudden death.

Other signs that can be associated with bird flu can include:

  • respiratory signs (noisy or rapid breathing, coughing, sneezing, increased nasal secretions)
  • conjunctivitis
  • swelling of the head
  • purple discolouration of the comb and wattles
  • rapid decrease in feed and water intake
  • decreased egg production
  • ruffled feathers
  • depression
  • closed eyes
  • diarrhoea
  • nervous signs (twisted neck, inability to stay upright, inability to fly, uncoordinated movement, walking or swimming in circles, partial or full paralysis).

All bird owners need to watch for any signs of bird flu in their flocks.

Avian influenza is a notifiable disease. This means that legally you must tell us if you know of or suspect the presence of avian influenza in any birds.

You can do this by immediately calling one of the following:

Good biosecurity practices are essential to reduce the risk of disease. Take these simple steps to minimise the risk to your animals:

  • Restrict contact between pet birds, poultry and wild birds.
  • Prevent access by wild birds to food and water sources for your birds.
  • Keep equipment and yards or aviaries clean.
  • Limit visitors to your birds.
  • Bird owners should wash their hands before and after handling birds.
  • Monitor your birds’ health and report sudden death in your poultry.

For more information visit:

Ongoing outbreaks of H5 bird flu globally have increased the level of risk to Australia for incursions of HPAI viruses of global concern. Occasional outbreaks of internationally notifiable high pathogenicity avian influenza (non-H5N1) and of low pathogenicity avian influenza do occur on poultry farms in Australia, such as the H7 outbreaks in 2020, 2024 and 2025.

Annual migration of wild birds has the ongoing potential to introduce new subtypes of avian influenza virus to Australian birds.

State and Commonwealth governments share the costs of managing avian influenza outbreaks with chicken meat, duck meat and egg industries. This includes both high pathogenicity and low pathogenicity H5/H7 viruses. This ensures that a rapid and effective emergency response can be immediately mounted if the disease occurs.

Owners may qualify for compensation if they need to destroy birds or property to eradicate the disease.

Procedures for responding to outbreaks generally include:

  • euthanasia of infected and in-contact poultry (depopulation)
  • decontamination
  • strict quarantine
  • movement controls to prevent the spread of infection
  • tracing and surveillance to locate the extent of infection.

Vaccination might be an option in some circumstances but there is no vaccine currently available in Australia.

Between 1976 and the end of 2024, there were 13 outbreaks of HPAI on poultry farms in Australia.

The outbreaks happened in different states and years. In Victoria outbreaks occurred in 1976, 1985, 1992, 2020 and 2024. In Queensland there was an outbreak in 1994. In NSW, outbreaks happened in 1997, 2012, 2023 and 2024. The ACT saw an outbreak in 2024.

In 2024 Agriculture Victoria worked with the poultry industry and the community to control and eradicate outbreaks of avian influenza.

Surveillance of both domestic and wild birds was a key part of the response and is ongoing.

The ongoing surveillance activities mean we are confident that the virus is no longer present on the farms or in surrounding areas.

A wild bird surveillance program is in place across Australia, supported by Wildlife Health Australia.

Report an unusual sign of disease or death in wild birds.

A copy of the orders may be obtained:

Page last updated: 10 Apr 2025