Issued by:
- Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The Australian Government has worked with state and territory governments to strengthen and accelerate preparedness and response planning for priority wildlife species and locations as a key aspect of Australia’s national preparedness for H5 avian influenza (bird flu).
Plans have been developed by environment agencies as reference documents for internal use as jurisdictions prepare for and respond to H5 bird flu in Australia. Plans may be used to:
- inform broader emergency response plans under the National Management Agreement for H5 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza in Wildlife
- brief operational staff to take on-ground action in high-risk / high biodiversity value areas
- support emergency conservation interventions.
The plans bring together key information to help guide wildlife response activities in priority locations. This includes:
- who is responsible for managing the area
- the key organisations involved
- wildlife species and locations that may be at higher risk
- the potential management actions to help protect wildlife.
Having this information prepared in advance will help support a coordinated, timely and informed response.
The plans vary in form and approach, reflecting different jurisdictions’ respective needs and contexts. They will remain, necessarily, living documents – given the uncertainty around how H5 bird flu will impact wildlife in the Australian context. It is not feasible to plan ahead for every possible permutation. Operational planning documents are not routinely shared, and some of the information is not suitable for public release. For example, sensitive records on the location of at-risk populations, personal details for operational staff, and information on land tenure arrangements.
The department recognises the strong interest in these plans from conservation organisations and the broader community and is working with jurisdictional counterparts to respond to this interest.
Jurisdictions will make appropriate information from the plans publicly available in the coming weeks. Jurisdictions are also considering the most effective way for their environment agencies to consider feedback from stakeholders, noting their priority at this time will be on response actions.
