CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness is marking four decades in operation with a warning that rising infectious disease threats are intensifying the importance of its work.
Based in Geelong and operated by Australia’s national science agency, the centre is the nation’s high biocontainment reference laboratory for animal and zoonotic diseases. With pressures ranging from H5 avian influenza to dengue and lumpy skin disease at Australia’s doorstep, its specialists say the facility remains on the frontline of biosecurity.
“Emerging infectious diseases are increasing in frequency and complexity, driven by factors like climate change, global trade, and interactions between wildlife, livestock and people,” Dr Debbie Eagles, the centre’s director, said.
“For 40 years, the dedicated people at this facility have helped Australia respond to outbreaks, develop vaccines and diagnostics, and build resilience in our animal health systems. That work continues today, with new technologies and international collaborations helping us prepare the country for the next biggest threat.”
Opened in 1985 as the first high-containment facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the complex was engineered with a 100‑year operating life in mind. Its “box‑in‑a‑box” design and overlapping physical and process barriers were considered so advanced that its laboratories still exceed current biocontainment requirements. The secure areas are maintained under negative pressure to ensure air flows inward, preventing any leakage, and the site houses Australia’s largest combination of Physical Containment Level 3 and 4 laboratories.
An on-call CSIRO team runs around the clock, conducting about 50,000 tests annually for state and territory authorities to confirm, exclude or identify emergency animal diseases. Before the Geelong facility came online, many samples had to be shipped overseas for analysis, delaying responses and ceding control of crucial trade-related data.
“Before ACDP opened, most samples that needed to be tested for exotic animal diseases had to be sent overseas for analysis – a slow process that meant Australia didn’t have control over its own trade information,” ACDP Deputy Director Dr Dwane O’Brien said.
“Now ACDP helps diagnose exotic diseases in a short time, and our teams run genetic analysis that helps authorities quickly identify and control animal disease outbreaks.
“This helps reduce the spread and impact of diseases and provides continuing evidence of freedom from diseases which enables ongoing international trade,” Dr O’Brien said.
The centre’s track record spans detection and response to some of the world’s most consequential pathogens. It was instrumental in identifying Hendra virus and supporting the development of the Equivac HeV vaccine for horses, and contributed to international efforts on SARS, Nipah virus and Ebola. During the COVID‑19 pandemic it helped characterise the virus and test vaccine candidates. More recently, its teams supported responses to multi‑state H7 avian influenza outbreaks in 2024 and 2025, a multi‑state Japanese encephalitis outbreak, and reported the discovery of the Salt Gully virus, a Hendra relative, in Australian flying foxes.
Beyond diagnostics and research, the facility provides technical advice and training to veterinarians and government personnel across Australia and the Indo‑Pacific, bolstering frontline detection and regional surveillance. Its work is underpinned by a One Health approach linking human, animal and environmental health.
“At ACDP, we’re not just responding to outbreaks — we’re working to understand the pathogens behind them, how they spread and how we can stop them,” Dr Eagles said.
The centre holds designation as a World Organisation for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for avian influenza and other high‑consequence diseases, alongside three reference centre roles with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The scale of the original construction reflects its mission: more than 600 concrete piles, 42,000 cubic metres of reinforced concrete, 2,300 pre‑cast wall panels, hundreds of air‑lock doors, and extensive air‑handling and filtration systems were installed to meet stringent microbiological security standards—without the benefit of today’s engineering software. Its guiding principle remains that containment should never rely on a single barrier.
