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Our biosecurity measures reduce the risk of communicable diseases coming into Australia to protect human health. We work with other government agencies and countries to prevent the spread of serious diseases here and overseas.

Bird flu (avian influenza) spreads among wild water birds but can occasionally infect humans. Read about the situation in Australia and how you can help protect yourself, including if you work with vulnerable animals or travel overseas.

Communicable diseases are a significant health issue in Australia and around the world. We develop policies and work with experts, organisations and other agencies to protect the Australian population against disease outbreaks, and reduce their impact on people and our economy.

Governments carry out communicable disease surveillance in Australia at international, national, state and local levels. This helps us better understand disease patterns and the threat to public health. We can then work to prevent outbreaks and respond to them faster and more effectively.

We coordinate the operational activities to support domestic and international deployment of emergency medical teams. We also provide strategic policy and operations advice to senior leaders and the Australian Government on health emergency response issues.

We work with health authorities and other partners across Australia and the world, to prepare for and respond to emerging health threats and to minimise their impacts. We identify risks to health security through liaison with these partners, and data reporting and analysis.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a severe disease that affects your airways and breathing. Find information about MERS, what the symptoms are and how you can help protect yourself and your loved ones from severe illness.

We work with state and territory counterparts to minimise the impacts of major emergencies on human health and life, health systems, and Australian Government health services and assets.

The National Incident Centre (NIC) is our emergency response centre. It coordinates national responses to health emergencies, significant events and emerging threats.

The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry stores data about occupational respiratory disease diagnoses and exposures in Australia. This will help us better understand the diseases so we can protect workers and support those affected and their families.

We take a One Health approach to managing health challenges in Australia. This ensures policies and programs recognise the intrinsic link between the health of humans, animals and the environment, for a better coordinated and effective response to our health challenges.