Boffa Miskell ecologists and biosecurity consultants worked with councils in Marlborough, Canterbury, Wellington, and the Chatham Islands to strengthen preparedness for HPAI H5N1. Through workshops, site assessments, planning exercises, and stakeholder discussions, we helped councils understand their risks, identify preparedness gaps, clarify responsibilities, and develop practical plans for future response activities.

This work was particularly valuable for councils that lacked the capacity and specialist biosecurity expertise to undertake it themselves, especially for an emerging threat that falls outside their day-to-day responsibilities.

The work was delivered at a pivotal moment, with HPAI H5N1 arriving in Australia during the project, and in Aotearoa not long after. This rapidly shifted the risk to Aotearoa from a theoretical future threat to an imminent challenge.

Regional HPAI preparedness plans provide a practical, consistent framework that councils can immediately adopt and continue to build upon as they prepare for the arrival of, and response to, avian influenza.

The project encouraged councils to stop and think critically about how an HPAI outbreak could affect their district; including which sites would be most vulnerable, what resources might be required, or how they would coordinate with other agencies. By working through these questions in advance, councils developed a clearer understanding of their responsibilities and the practical realities of responding to an outbreak of bird flu in their district.

Perhaps most importantly, the Regional HPAI Preparedness Plans identified gaps and the actions that could be taken to address them before an outbreak occurs.

The Regional HPAI Preparedness Plans are also an important tool for securing organisational buy-in. By providing a structured, evidence-based framework, councils can now engage managers, executive leadership teams, and decision-makers in preparedness discussions, creating support for future planning and funding.