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Koala conservation

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Discover how we protect koalas and how you can help them. Learn about our koala population, their diet and habitat.

Koala in a tree at Brisbane Koala Bushlands.

Did you know one of Australia’s most loved animals is also an endangered species? 

Council protects Brisbane’s koalas and their natural habitat.

We also invest in conservation and research projects to protect our local koala population. 

Brisbane’s koala population is spread across natural areas around the city.

Across Australia, koala population is under threat because of:

  • habitat loss
  • dog attacks
  • vehicle strikes
  • disease.

National and state laws classify koalas as an endangered species. 

In Brisbane, Council protects koalas as significant under our Brisbane City Plan 2014. We also protect koala habitat as part of our Natural Assets Local Law 2003.

You’ll find koalas in many areas of Brisbane, including large bushland reserves and smaller habitat patches in urban areas. 

They tend to hang out in trees in backyards, urban parks and vegetated areas where they find food and shelter.

Some also live in large, forested areas and creek corridors including:

These places are important koala habitats and act as links between larger forested areas. 

You can access up-to-date records of koala sightings in Brisbane using the Atlas of Living Australia.

In South East Queensland, koalas eat the leaves of eucalyptus varieties including:

  • Eucalyptus tereticornis (blue gum)
  • Eucalyptus microcorys (tallowwood)
  • Eucalyptus moluccana (gum-topped box) 
  • Eucalyptus propinqua (small-fruited grey gum)
  • Eucalyptus resinifera (red stringybark)
  • Eucalyptus robusta (swamp mahogany)
  • Eucalyptus seeana (fine-leaved red gum) 
  • Eucalyptus major (Queensland grey gum).

In Brisbane, koalas also eat Lophostemon confertus (brush box) and Melaleuca quinquenervia (broad-leaved paperbark).

Looking for something else?

Brisbane Koala Bushlands

Conservation programs

Wildlife Movement Solutions

What we’re doing to help

To help protect and conserve Brisbane's koalas, we:

  • partner with leading experts at universities to undertake research which addresses threats to koalas, such as disease 
  • build special crossings in areas where roads go through koala habitat to help them cross safely  
  • manage pest plants and animals that may impact koalas or their habitat
  • protect and enhance important koala habitats including Brisbane Koala Bushlands, Toohey Forest, Whites Hill Reserve and Belmont Hills Bushland
  • purchase key properties in koala habitats to connect and consolidate our bushland protected area network with the Bushland Preservation Levy
  • rehabilitate and restore cleared or degraded land, with a focus on delivering koala habitat in key locations with environmental offsets 
  • established and manage a koala fodder plantation at Wacol
  • work with landowners to improve koala habitat on private land through the Wildlife Conservation Partnerships program
  • implement the Natural Assets Local Law 2003 to protect significant vegetation, including koala habitat
  • offer wildlife carer and environmental grants.

How you can help

If you live in a koala habitat area or an area where koalas move around:

  • check trees on and around your property for signs such as scratch marks, droppings, and distinctive sounds
  • ensure you’re a responsible dog owner and walk your dog on a leash
  • drive carefully, especially during the koala breeding season (from July to December)
  • ensure koalas can escape from your swimming pool if they fall in (e.g. have a rope ladder to allow them to climb out, or provide flotation devices for refuge)
  • join a local Habitat Brisbane community bushcare group or Creek Catchment group
  • plant koala food and shelter species on your property - Council's Free Native Plants Program offers free plants to support local wildlife
  • register as a Land for Wildlife program partner
  • if you have pets, install animal-proof fences around the parts of your property which your pets use to prevent koalas from climbing or entering (avoid using barbed wire)
  • install wildlife-friendly fencing around your property to help koalas move safely between habitat and avoid using barbed wire.

Download the Wildlife movement fencing guidelines for more information.

information outline

 Note 

  • To report sick, injured or orphaned koalas or other native species, phone the RSPCA Native Animal Ambulance Service on 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625).
  • To report a dead animal, phone Council on 07 3403 8888.
  • To actively care for injured wildlife, become a registered wildlife carer.

Frequently asked questions

To check if there are koalas at your property:

  • look for koalas in the forks of trees
  • check for scratch marks on tree trunks
  • examine the ground for koala droppings (hard, firmly packed cylindrical droppings containing coarse fragments of leaf and a strong eucalyptus smell). 

To reduce the chances of your dog attacking a koala:

  • install an animal-proof fence to prevent koalas climbing/entering your dog's area
  • walk your dog on a leash, unless in a designated off-leash area.