Help us halt the extinction of NSW koalas
URGENT: Will you speak up for endangered NSW koalas?
Lodge an informed submission to the NSW Koala Strategy today.
Can you imagine a world without koalas? Neither can we.
We know you love our precious koalas and share our concerns about their trajectory towards extinction by 2050. Koalas are an umbrella species and by protecting them, we can protect many other species and their habitat. Koalas are one of our most iconic species and hold immense cultural significance to First Nations people.
The NSW Koala Strategy, aimed at supporting koala conservation, is undergoing a crucial review. This strategy, designed to enhance habitat, support local initiatives, and protect koala welfare, needs your input to ensure its effectiveness. Following the recent Koala Summit, the NSW Government released a Discussion Paper for public consultation. Your feedback will directly influence future actions that governments, community groups, businesses and individuals can take to conserve koalas in NSW – your voice matters!
We’ve made it easy for you to have your say on behalf of our iconic and endangered NSW koalas. For greater impact, we strongly recommend you tailor your submission to personalise your views, submission points, and any personal experiences. You can use our flexible submission guide to lodge a direct emailed objection, or as a guide for your own personal objection.
Anyone can lodge a submission – you do not need to live in NSW to have your say and you can lodge your feedback in two ways:
You can use this flexible submission guide, or complete the online consultation form.
Lodge your submission by 11.59pm, Friday 24 May 2024
Shockingly, Australia ranks second in the world for biodiversity loss and we lead the world in mammal extinctions. Worldwide, our losses represent a staggering 35 percent of all mammals who have become extinct since European colonisation. Adding to the concern, Australia has been singled out as the only developed nation on Earth that is a deforestation hotspot.
NSW koalas are facing extinction from a range of threats which risk their very survival, and these threats are increasing every day. Development, habitat loss and diminishing wildlife corridors, stress and disease, car strikes, dog attacks and the climate emergency, are all pushing NSW koalas to the brink of extinction, and extinction is forever
Background history
Learn more about recent koala conservation initiatives below, as we delve into the ongoing efforts and challenges faced in safeguarding these beloved Australian icons in NSW. Simply click a year to learn more.
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In 2018 the NSW Koala Strategy set out actions for the first 3 years of a longer-term vision to stabilise and increase koala populations across New South Wales. Then in 2019 and 2020, we experienced the catastrophic 2019–20 summer bushfires which burnt thousands of hectares of important koala habitat; followed by the 2020 NSW Legislative Council Parliamentary Inquiry into koala populations and their habitat which found that without urgent action, koalas would become extinct in NSW by 2050.
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In 2020, the State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2020 replaced and repealed the 2019 Koala SEPP. The 2020 SEPP largely reinstated SEPP 44.
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In 2021, the $190 million NSW Koala Strategy 2021 to 2026 was developed in response to the inquiry’s findings of declining koala populations. State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2021 commenced, applying to non-rural land zones across NSW. Koala SEPP 2020 remained in force across rural land zones in NSW.
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In 2022, the National Recovery Plan for the Koala was released by the Australian Government in March 2022 and is aligned with the NSW Koala Strategy. The conservation status of koalas in New South Wales was upgraded on 20 May 2022 from vulnerable to endangered under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. The combined populations of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory were also listed as endangered by the Australian Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in February 2022. The State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 commenced and the Koala SEPPs 2020 and 2021 were transferred to it with no policy change.
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In 2023, the NSW Government made a number of new commitments to protect koalas in NSW, including:
• Establishing a Great Koala National Park on the mid-north coast
• Establishing a Georges River Koala National Park in Sydney’s south
• Protecting the Woronora wildlife corridor near Heathcote
• Funding 3 wildlife hospitals in regional New South Wales