Tiny GPS backpacks are helping bring the bush stone-curlew back to Philip Island.

The critically endangered bush stone-curlew has been returned to Phillip Island for the first time since the 1970s, thanks to a GPS tracking program to support their survival in the wild.

Led by Phillip Island Nature Parks in partnership with the Odonata Foundation and the Australian National University, the program is trialling GPS trackers in miniature backpacks fitted to bush stone-curlews reintroduced to the island.

These tiny lightweight GPS backpacks enable researchers to closely monitor the curlews, tracking their habitat use, movement patterns, breeding success and overall resilience.

Due to fox predation, the bush stone-curlew has not been seen on Phillip Island for over 50 years. Today, as few as 50 to 100 of these ground-dwelling birds remain in Victoria.

The trial aims to reintroduce 60 bush stone-curlews to Phillips Island over the next three years.

"The last call of the bush stone-curlew on Phillip Island was in the 1970s and we are thrilled to reach this historical milestone in reintroducing this beautiful bird to its former home," said Nature Parks CEO Catherine Basterfield.

"This unique, fox-free island is expanding its role as a haven for threatened species, which has been made possible through the support of our island community, our conservation partners and the Victorian Government."

Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos said the government was proud to support the project, "welcoming this iconic species back to its rightful place in the natural environment".

Over the course of the program, researchers will study how the species adapts and survives on the island with the goal of establishing a self-sustaining population in the area.

This important work builds on previous conservation successes, including recent efforts that brought the Eastern barred bandicoot back from the brink of extinction in the region.