Hundreds of thousands of animals have been killed in Australia's quest to rid itself of the disease after Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT experienced outbreaks.
But each instance has been carefully eradicated and with no new detections since July, the federal government on Thursday announced Australia was officially free from H7 avian influenza.
"This is something every Australian should be proud of," Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said.
"It demonstrates that governments and industry are really switched on to the risks and will act quickly to respond to emergency animal disease outbreaks."
Minister Julie Collins says Australians cannot be complacent about the risk of new bird flu strains. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
Over the past 50 years, Australia has successfully contained and eradicated H7 bird flu a number of times, but this does not mean the country can let its guard down.
The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu has devastated animal populations overseas, and while it is not yet present in Australia, the disease is proliferating due to the migration patterns of wild birds.
"The rapid spread abroad of a highly contagious and serious H5 bird flu strain, which has killed not only birds but also mammal species across the globe, means we cannot be complacent," Ms Collins said.
The federal government has invested more than $100 million to bolster national preparedness and responses to this strain of bird flu.
Avian influenza, commonly known as "bird flu", is a highly contagious virus that can cause sudden death in poultry.
The World Health Organisation says the deadly H5N1 strain rarely affects humans and is not easily transferred between people, though Australians have been urged to avoid contact with sick or dead wildlife.
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