Wildlife Health Australia

What Wildlife Health Australia does

Wildlife Health Australia (WHA) is Australia's national coordinating body for wildlife health, operating as a not-for-profit public company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001. Founded in 2002 (the firmographic year of 2013 likely refers to its incorporation under the current corporate form) and headquartered in Dickson, ACT, WHA is the country's designated World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) focal point for wildlife health matters and administers the National Animal Health Information Program. Its core technology is the electronic Wildlife Health Information System (eWHIS), a secure web-enabled national database that captures wildlife health surveillance and disease investigation data sourced from government agencies, zoo-based wildlife hospitals, sentinel veterinary clinics, and universities. WHA also coordinates the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird Surveillance Program (164,000+ wild bird samples tested since 2005) and an integrated Sentinel Surveillance Program spanning ten zoos, eleven clinics, and seven universities that collectively observe more than 70,000 free-ranging wildlife cases annually across 250+ species.

WHA's product portfolio extends beyond surveillance to include disease investigation funding mechanisms (the NSDI Program administered on behalf of Animal Health Australia, the WHA Wildlife Disease Investigation Fund, and the One Health Investigation Fund), national biosecurity and disease management guidelines (including Australia's first national guidance for vaccination of koalas against chlamydia and antimicrobial prescribing guidelines for wildlife), and decision-support tools such as AviFluMap. Its commercial model is that of a publicly-funded coordinator rather than a product vendor: core operating revenue is delivered through a cost-shared funding agreement between the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and all state and territory governments, supplemented by project-specific Commonwealth grants (notably A$7 million for H5N1 preparedness in October 2024 and the DCCEEW-funded Koala Health Project), in-kind contributions from delivery partners, and a modest tax-deductible donation and bequest stream. Go-to-market is community-led and stakeholder-coordinating, serving primary segments of government agencies, zoos and wildlife hospitals, universities and research institutions, wildlife rehabilitators, and Indigenous ranger groups, with secondary segments including industry associations and individual wildlife carers.

Name

Wildlife Health Australia

Legal name

Wildlife Health Australia Limited

Website

https://wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wildlife Health Australia is the national coordinating body for wildlife health surveillance, disease response, and One Health policy in Australia, serving government agencies, zoos, universities, veterinarians, and wildlife rehabilitators through the eWHIS database and integrated sentinel surveillance programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Health Coordination Services

NAICS

Administration of Public Health Programs (923120), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildlife Health & Conservation Disease Management (HLAMAJAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Animal Disease Surveillance & Reporting Systems (HLAMAJAB), Animal Health Emergency Preparedness & Outbreak Response (HLAMAJAD), Animal Health Policy, Standards & International Coordination (e.g., WOAH/FAO) (HLAMAJAO)

Keywords

• Wildlife disease surveillance
• One health coordination
• Wildlife health information systems
• Zoonotic disease monitoring
• Animal biosecurity guidelines

Headquarters

HQ city

Australian Capital Territory

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Core funding is provided through a cost-shared agreement with the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and all Australian state and territory governments. Additional significant in-kind funding and support is provided by states and territories.
2. Tax-Deductible Donations: Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible. Individuals can make tax-deductible donations to support wildlife health work. Corporate partnerships and philanthropy are also accepted.
3. Bequests: Individuals can leave a bequest to Wildlife Health Australia in their will. WHA maintains a gift fund for donations supporting environmental endeavors.
4. Project-based Government Grants: WHA received $7 million from Federal Government as part of a $95 million H5N1 preparedness package. The organization also leads the Koala Health Project funded by the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Wildlife Health Australia (WHA) is the national coordinating body for wildlife health in Australia, administering the electronic Wildlife Health Information System (eWHIS) database and coordinating national surveillance programs for wildlife diseases including avian influenza. The organization provides technical advice, facilitation, communications, and professional support to government agencies, zoos, universities, veterinarians, and community stakeholders, and manages multiple disease investigation funding programs and national biosecurity and disease management guidelines.

Product overview

Wildlife Health Australia (WHA) operates as a national coordination body rather than a traditional software company. Its portfolio consists of surveillance systems, information platforms, and expert networks. The core offerings include: the electronic Wildlife Health Information System (eWHIS) as the national wildlife health database; the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird Surveillance Program for wild bird disease monitoring; and the Sentinel Surveillance Program integrating data from zoos, veterinary clinics, and universities. WHA also provides disease investigation funding through three programs (NSDI, WDIF, OHIF), publishes national biosecurity and disease management guidelines, and develops specialized tools such as the AviFluMap for H5 bird flu risk modeling. The organization coordinates the WHA Coordinator Network across all Australian states and territories and facilitates the Bat Health Focus Group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• eWHIS (electronic Wildlife Health Information System)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 70,000 free-ranging wildlife cases captured through sentinel surveillance annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered key, core and supporting.

• Armidale Local Aboriginal Land CouncilkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Led the first Message Stick meeting on H5 bird flu in partnership with WHA. Co-designed and co-hosted the event for two-way learning with Aboriginal community members about bird flu risks.
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal government department providing core cost-shared funding and project-specific grants including $7 million for H5N1 preparedness. DAFF supports the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird Surveillance Program and national coordination of wildlife health.
• Animal Health AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManages the National Significant Disease Investigation (NSDI) Program which provides funding to veterinary practitioners to investigate significant disease events in wildlife and livestock. WHA administers the NSDI Program on behalf of AHA.
• Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for the Zoo Based Surveillance Program which includes ten zoo-based veterinary hospitals seeing over 39,000 free-ranging wildlife cases annually. WHA and ZAA have collaborated for 15 years through the Wildlife Disease Sentinel Surveillance Program.
• CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease PreparednesscoreTechnology or IntegrationConfirmatory testing for the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird Surveillance Program occurs at CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness. CSIRO researchers also conduct bat health research including filovirus antibody studies.
• Deakin UniversitykeyTechnology or IntegrationPartnered with WHA to develop AviFluMap, an online H5 Bird Flu Model Tool for Australia's Wild Birds. Professor Marcel Klaassen from Deakin's Centre for Integrative Ecology led the technical build of the tool.
• BirdLife AustraliakeyTechnology or IntegrationCollaborative partner in developing AviFluMap. BirdLife Australia's Birdata and BirdMark project data underpin the tool's functionality. BirdLife Australia also prepared reports on waterbirds and Japanese encephalitis for WHA.
• Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany)supportingTechnology or IntegrationInternational collaborator providing key input to the AviFluMap H5 Bird Flu Model Tool development.
• Australia Zoo Wildlife HospitalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOne of ten zoo-based veterinary hospitals participating in WHA's Zoo Based Surveillance Program, seeing free-ranging wildlife cases and entering disease data into eWHIS.
• RSPCA Queensland Wildlife HospitalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOne of eleven sentinel veterinary clinics participating in WHA's Sentinel Clinic Surveillance Program, seeing over 35,000 free-ranging wildlife cases annually.
• Murdoch UniversitykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity-based surveillance program participant. Researchers at Murdoch University lead investigation of neurological syndrome in magpies in Western Australia.
• University of QueenslandkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity-based surveillance program participant. UQ researchers encourage public reporting of water dragons with skin lesions for Nannizziopsis disease research.
• University of MelbournekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity-based surveillance program participant. Led disease risk assessment for white-nose syndrome potential introduction to Australia.
• James Cook UniversitykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity-based surveillance program participant. Authors of the Disease Strategy Manual for Chytridiomycosis.
• University of SydneykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity-based surveillance program participant. Requests citizen scientists to report lorikeet paralysis syndrome observations via iNaturalist.
• Australasian Bat SocietysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the Bat Health Focus Group which considers bat health issues in relation to biosecurity, public health, domestic animal health and environmental impacts.
• Indigenous Ranger GroupskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipant in Message Stick meeting on H5 bird flu. Rangers are targeted for further training opportunities and capacity building in Aboriginal communities.
• National Koala Recovery TeamkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHA developed the National guidance for vaccination of koalas against chlamydia for this team with funding from DCCEEW.
• Wildlife Disease Association (Australian Chapter)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization contributing to wildlife health professional networks and collaboration.
• AMR Vet CollectivesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with WHA to develop Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prescribing in Australian Wildlife, Australia's first national guidelines for wildlife treatment.
• NESP Threatened Species Recovery HubsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped guidelines for treatment of Australian wildlife with sarcoptic mange through the NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Animal Health Australia: Australia's sister animal-health coordinating body, managing the National Significant Disease Investigation (NSDI) Program that WHA administers. Operates the same cost-shared government funding model across livestock and wildlife health, with directly overlapping board membership and partner ecosystem.
• Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative: Canada's national wildlife health coordinating network across provinces, universities, and government agencies, operating surveillance and disease investigation programs — a near-analogue of WHA's Canadian counterpart.
• USGS National Wildlife Health Center: United States federal wildlife health reference laboratory and coordinating body operating surveillance, diagnostics, and emergency response for wildlife diseases. The most direct international equivalent of WHA's mandate, scope, and operating model.

Broad incumbents

• CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness: Australia's high-containment diagnostic and research facility performing confirmatory testing for WHA's National Avian Influenza Wild Bird Surveillance Program. A critical upstream partner and capacity peer in wildlife health diagnostics.
• UK Animal and Plant Health Agency: UK government agency responsible for animal and plant health, including wildlife disease surveillance and emergency response. Larger and broader in mandate than WHA but operating a comparable national coordinating function for wildlife health.
• Wildlife Disease Association: International scientific association supporting wildlife health professionals and disease research, with which WHA partners through its Australian chapter. Adjacent in mission rather than a direct operational peer.

Emerging players

• Taronga Conservation Society Australia: Major Australian zoo and wildlife conservation organisation with in-house veterinary and wildlife hospital capabilities, partnering with WHA on Zoo-Based Surveillance. Comparable as a wildlife health delivery organisation but with a narrower geographic footprint.
• EcoHealth Alliance: Global non-profit focused on understanding connections between wildlife health, domestic animal health, and human health — a One Health framing directly aligned with WHA's mandate but oriented toward research rather than national coordination.

Regional players

• Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand): New Zealand's primary industries regulator with wildlife and animal health responsibilities, operating surveillance and biosecurity programs with a comparable mandate to WHA but in a different national jurisdiction.

Others

• IUCN Species Survival Commission - Wildlife Health Specialist Group: International volunteer specialist group under the IUCN that supports wildlife health policy and practice globally. Comparable in focus area but operates as a scientific advisory body rather than a national coordinating organisation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/healthywildlife
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wildlife-health-australia
• Instagraminstagram.com/wildlifehealthaustralia

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wildlife Health Australia