Chair of the Australia Day committee Katherine Tollner said they wanted to avoid any issues with the bats being in contact with people attending the event and with food stalls at the site.

Last year’s celebrations were shifted at the last minute after concern about the bats.

And on Wednesday organisers moved Bathurst’s party away from Machattie Park to an indoor location because of the number of bats in the city’s park.

The Orange Australia Day Breakfast and Party in the Park will be on from 8am-1pm next Friday, January 26.

Mrs Tollner said all the activities and stalls would now be at Summer Street end of the park with the historic car display in the park near the corner of Summer and Sampson streets.

“This year there will be nothing behind the rotunda,” she said.

Hundreds of bats are roosting in trees in the park.

“We made a proactive decision after last year,” she said.

“All of the activities will be on the Summer Street side and the cars are being relocated too.

“We didn’t want to have any issues associated with [the bats].

“Last year we had to run around and move where all the stalls were on the day before.

“[This year] we knew we wouldn’t be where the bats are.”

NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service [WIRES] bat co-ordinator Storm Standford said there was little risk of harm from the bats unless a person was bitten or scratched.

She said the virus could only been spread by saliva, not by bat urine or faeces.

“If you’re bitten or scratched you do need to seek medical help,” Ms Stanford said.

About 3000 bats have moved into Bathurst’s Machattie Park since early December.

Organising committee member councillor Alex Christian said they were concerned about public health.

“Our major concerns were the bats, the health risk and the smell of faecal matter,” he said.

“On a hot day, people will naturally seek to stand in the shade and you can’t stand under thousands of bats.”

The event has been moved to the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre.