Government birds are safe with the H5N1 vaccine. Sorry bird owners/carers but you are just unlucky.

This petition is about privately owned pet, aviary, and native birds kept in captivity — not wild birds. We are asking for the right to vaccinate the birds we personally own and care for, at our own cost.

Minister Collins, bird flu (H5N1) is spreading across Australia's wild bird populations, with over 200 confirmed cases concentrated in South Australia. While no companion or aviary bird deaths have yet been confirmed, biosecurity measures — the current first line of defence for bird owners — are not a permanent solution. Wild bird contact, environmental exposure, and the sheer scale of this outbreak mean biosecurity alone will eventually be breached for some collections. Vaccination is the second line of defence, and it needs to be available before that happens — not after.

This costs the government and Australian taxpayers nothing. We are asking for the right to pay for our own vaccine, our own vet, and our own import costs — entirely at private expense, with zero draw on the national stockpile or public funds.

Background

The H5N1 strain (clade 2.3.4.4b) has caused mass mortality in wild birds globally since 2021, affecting over 100 seabird species and spreading across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Australia had 4-5 years of advance warning before the virus reached our shores in June 2026.

Despite that lead time, while one H5N1 vaccine is understood to be registered in Australia with an import permit maintained by DAFF, its use remains restricted to the government's own priority-species program. There is no established pathway for private veterinarians or bird owners to access it. The government's own vaccination pilot-study framework, run under the Animal Health Committee, was only finalised in March 2026 — months before the outbreak. The public vaccination rollout wasn't announced until 11 August, after outbreaks were already well underway in South Australia, which remains the national epicentre.

Now that it's a declared emergency, the government has used emergency-use import and permit pathways to bring vaccine doses into the country — but only for its own captive, priority-species program. Private bird owners currently have no equivalent pathway, even under full veterinary supervision, even fully self-funded.

Government's Own Position Confirms This Outbreak Will Not Simply Go Away

Government ministers have themselves confirmed this outbreak cannot be stopped and will persist long-term. Minister Collins has stated Australia "cannot stop" the spread of this "very virulent, very contagious disease," and that the country will be managing it "for a long period of time." Environment Minister Watt has confirmed more mass mortality events are expected, noting overseas experience shows the spread of H5 bird flu among birds and mammals cannot be stopped. If the government's own position is that containment alone will not work, a private vaccination pathway is not a fringe request — it is a logical response to the government's own assessment of the outbreak's trajectory.

Why This Needs to Be Addressed Now, Not After the Fact

Biosecurity — restricting contact with wild birds, controlling site access, managing feed and water — is a genuinely important first line of defence, and one bird owners are already following. But biosecurity reduces risk; it does not eliminate it. No containment measure is perfect against a virus spreading through wild bird populations at this scale — the government's own program confirms this, since it is not relying on biosecurity alone for its priority species. It is vaccinating them, because it knows biosecurity has limits.

If a bird owner does everything right — full biosecurity, careful management — and their birds are still exposed, the outcome should not simply be "bad luck." A vaccine already exists. It is already proven safe and effective. It is already being used by the government. The only reason it is not available to that owner is a policy decision to withhold access, not a lack of a solution. That is a fundamentally different situation to an unavoidable loss — it is a preventable one, blocked by regulation rather than by science or supply.

This is why the pathway needs to exist now, not after biosecurity fails somewhere in Australia. Waiting until companion or aviary bird deaths are confirmed treats an already-available solution as something to be rationed out only after loss has occurred. A self-funded, veterinary-supervised vaccination pathway should exist before that point — so that when biosecurity is breached, as it eventually will be for some bird owners, the second line of defence is actually there to use.

A Preparedness Gap Australia Has Solved Before

Australia has direct, recent experience showing emergency vaccine access pathways can move quickly when there's political will. During COVID-19, Australia stood up novel, unregistered vaccines for mass public use within months under emergency provisional approval. H5N1 is a different disease with a different risk profile — but the underlying regulatory question is the same: when a genuine emergency exists, government has repeatedly shown it can create fast, flexible access pathways. The infrastructure and legal mechanisms already exist; extending access further is a matter of policy choice, not capability.

While DAFF and APVMA carry out the technical assessments, this issue sits squarely within your portfolio, Minister Collins. The decision to leave private bird owners without any pathway — while the government's own program proceeds — is a policy choice made under your responsibility as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Ministerial responsibility means you are accountable for whether that gap is addressed, regardless of which department drafts the response. We ask that any reply to this petition come from you directly, and reflect a considered position — not a template response deferring to departmental process.

Addressing the "Not Tested" Argument

Government agencies may argue this vaccine isn't sufficiently tested for private use. This doesn't hold up to scrutiny: the government is using this exact vaccine on Australian wildlife right now. If it weren't safe and effective, it wouldn't be deployed in the government's own program. Australia also repeatedly stated an H5N1 outbreak here was inevitable, given the virus's established presence throughout the East Asian-Australasian Flyway — this was a foreseeable risk with years of lead time for proper testing and planning, not a surprise. If the vaccine is safe enough for government use on threatened native species today, it is safe enough — under registered veterinary supervision — for bird owners to use on their own birds, at their own cost.

The Evidence: This Vaccine Is Safe and Effective, Including in Non-Poultry Species

South Africa — full protection against a real field challenge. An inactivated H5N1 vaccine gave 100% protection against clinical disease and death when challenged with a real HPAI H5N8 field strain closely related to the current outbreak clade. "The efficacy of an inactivated avian influenza H5N1 vaccine against an African strain of HPAI H5N8 (clade 2.3.4.4B)" — Avian Pathology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37079321/

New Zealand — a real government precedent. New Zealand's Department of Conservation directly vaccinated five endangered native species, including kākāpō and takahē, with strong antibody responses and no adverse reactions — a working government program in a comparable jurisdiction. New Zealand Department of Conservation: https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2025-media-releases/docs-bird-flu-vaccine-trial-a-success/ | New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/biosecurity/pest-and-disease-threats-to-new-zealand/animal-disease-threats-to-new-zealand/high-pathogenicity-avian-influenza/protecting-our-native-species-from-avian-influenza

United States — safely used in critically endangered wild raptors. Following a fatal 2023 H5N1 outbreak in California condors, researchers safely trialled the same poultry-derived vaccine in black vultures and condors, generating a protective antibody response. "Safety and Immunogenicity of Poultry Vaccine for Protecting Critically Endangered Avian Species Against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus" — Emerging Infectious Diseases (CDC). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12123928/

Switzerland — proven safe across 23 zoo bird species. A newer H5 vaccine was administered to 317 captive birds across 23 species, with zero adverse side effects and full protection demonstrated in challenge trials. "RNA replicon vaccination confers long-lasting protection against H5N1 avian influenza in 23 zoo bird species" — Nature Communications. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41115934/

Vaccine Safety — No Significant Adverse Outcomes Found

Across every documented trial of this vaccine in non-poultry species, no significant adverse effects have been reported. In the United States trial, no adverse effects of vaccination were observed in either black vultures or California condors, with vaccinated birds developing strong antibody responses. In New Zealand, the Department of Conservation reported no adverse reactions across all five endangered native species vaccinated, including kākāpō and takahē. Across both independent government-run programs, in two different at-risk species groups, the safety outcome has been consistent.

This vaccine does not carry an unusual or elevated safety risk. The barrier to access is not a safety concern — it is a lack of an established private pathway.

Our Specific Requests

Minister Collins, we are asking you to direct DAFF and APVMA to:

1. Publish clear guidance confirming registered veterinarians can apply for Import Consent and minor-use permits to source an H5 vaccine for privately held companion and native birds not intended for food production.
2. Clarify current settings for non-food-producing birds specifically, given available H5 vaccines are generally intended for non-food-producing animals — ensuring pet, aviary, and native birds kept privately (not for sale or consumption) are clearly covered by any private access pathway.
3. Publicly confirm which vaccine product is currently used in the government's own native bird vaccination program, so this evidence can inform private veterinary applications.
4. Ensure any private access pathway operates entirely independently of the national stockpile, at no cost to taxpayers.

This costs government nothing. It costs taxpayers nothing. It only requires the Minister to confirm that existing legal pathways can be used.

Minister Collins, this petition asks for your direct response. Australians signing this are asking you personally to either commit to establishing this pathway now, as genuine preparedness — or publicly explain why bird owners should be left to rely on biosecurity alone, when a proven vaccine already exists and is already in government use.

Sign this petition to call for equal, self-funded access to vaccine protection for every Australian owner of pet, aviary, and native birds.

 
Decision maker: The Hon. Julie Collins MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry