According to reports a vial "supposedly" containing Ebola virus was sent to a major newspaper.
Sky News Melbourne bureau chief Ahron Young said the vial was part of a package from a “jihadist group” sent to an office this morning, later confirmed to be the New Zealand Herald.
The vial arrived with a letter saying the liquid was a sample of Ebola. The mailroom was evacuated and staff were washed down.
The New Zealand Held and the Herald Sun both report the vial was a hoax, but the sample was sent to Australia's Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory.
Auckland police said a small amount of liquid in a plastic bottle had been sent to the Herald office in a suspicious package along with some documents, one of which mentioned Ebola.
The vial was swabbed for fingerprints and DNA before it was sent off for testing; results are expected in a few days.
Police assured the newspaper staff that risk of contamination was "almost non-existent."