Bali police are searching for two Australians over the death of a local traffic cop whose body was found on Kuta beach, officials say.

An alert on the two Australians — believed to be a man and a woman— was issued on Thursday to immigration officials on the island in a bid to prevent the pair from leaving the popular tourist destination, Bali police spokesman Made Sudana told AAP.

Mr Sudana said the two Australians were “suspected perpetrators”.

Police say the body of Wayan Sudarsa was discovered in his uniform lying on the Kuta beach at around 3.30am local time (5.30am AEST) on Wednesday by nearby hotel security officers.

He had a wound to his forehead and leg, while his shirt was unbuttoned and bloodied.

The smashed remains of a beer bottle was also discovered near his head.

Meanwhile, about 50m from the body a woman’s black leather purse was found, along with the policeman’s binoculars.

A security officer at the nearby Pullman Hotel has told police he heard screaming at about 1.15am and went down to the beach.

There he allegedly saw a man being set upon by a group of women.

Thinking the group were “just fooling around”, he went back to the hotel.

More than an hour later the body was discovered.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was “aware of media reports of a tourist or tourists possibly being implicated in the death of a Balinese policeman in Indonesia”.

“We stand ready to provide consular assistance, in accordance with the Consular Services Charter,” it said in a statement.