One in five mammal and bird species in Australia are on a bird flu "doom list" published by the federal environment department, Invasive Species Council chief executive Jack Gough said on Tuesday.
"We have a tsunami about to break over them from this H5N1 bird flu," he said.
"We are not going to be able to stop bird flu ripping through our wildlife populations and that's going to be devastating".
Mr Gough raised the alarm at Parliament House and said the federal government was not prepared, hours after the agriculture minister announced the rollout of a vaccine to curb the deadly virus.
There will be 1500 vaccine vials - worth about $2 million - rolled out in a bid to stop the further spread of the strain, Julie Collins said.
"Australians should expect to see more spread and larger numbers, particularly of dead birds and mass mortalities around the country from the H5 bird flu," Ms Collins told reporters in Canberra.
"We have been very clear that this will continue to spread across the country.
"We cannot stop the H5 bird flu from spreading amongst wild birds. But we can take action to protect the species most at risk, and the vaccination is now part of that response".
Australia has already reported 231 cases of bird flu since the virus appeared in June.
However, individual counting is set to stop.
"Counting individual confirmed birds no longer gives us the clearest picture of how this disease is spreading," the minister said.
"So our reporting will evolve to focus on confirmed H5 events ... where the disease is spreading, new locations, or species affected in emerging areas of risk".
Vaccines would not be the silver bullet to stop the spread of the bird flu and its effectiveness in wildlife remained unknown, Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson said.
"It is not a standalone solution. Biosecurity will remain important, the protection of these species," she said.
"We have been working very carefully for the last 18 months as part of our national preparedness to make sure that we have safety and efficacy data available to us."
The federal government's efforts over the past year and a half were insignificant, Mr Gough said.
"The government has acknowledged - if this bird flu gets in, we're looking at an extinction-level event," he said in relation to five individual species.
"Last week, we had the release of a list that said one in five of our native wildlife, mammals and birds, is directly threatened by this at a high to extreme level.
"And the thing I'm really concerned about is (the government) had this list last year, and yet this budget, this year in 2026, we actually saw funding for on-ground environmental programs go backwards".
He said it was a wildlife emergency but feared the vaccines would be prioritised in the poultry industry, where the deadly strain was yet to infiltrate.
The vaccine needed to be delivered twice to take effect and Ms Collins said while wild birds would be vaccinated if possible, the priority would be on birds in captivity.
Influenza vaccination expert Mohammed Alsharifi said the rollout of the immunisation would be crucial.
"It's the right approach if we want to keep or conserve those species, because the virus is very lethal and we've seen dead animals around in the news everywhere," the Adelaide University associate professor said.
"We need to remember the virus may mutate. But at least if we have good immunity against the clade (variety) of the virus that's circulating, then it will be the right approach."
States and territories will be responsible for providing the federal government with its shortlist of priority animals requiring vaccination.
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