Restoring koala habitat – North Coast Koala Management Area

Some of the most important koala populations in New South Wales live on the north coast, including around Lismore and Port Macquarie. Many other koala populations occur in the area, but they are small, fragmented and usually occur in or near urban areas. 

The North Coast Koala Management Area (KMA 1) extends between Tweed Heads and Newcastle. Koala populations are located around Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Ballina, Lismore, Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Bellingen, Nambucca, Kempsey, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley and Taree. 

Coastal koala populations in this KMA are well-studied, but hinterland populations in the escarpment forests, such as Nightcap and Mount Clunie national parks, are less well understood.

Threats

Koalas and koala habitat in KMA 1 are threatened by: 

• habitat clearing and fragmentation due to urban development, especially on fertile coastal flats, which is also prime land for cattle and crops 
• lack of security of land tenure 
• limited land available for revegetation 
• vehicle strike and domestic dog attack 
• diseases such as chlamydia and koala retrovirus 
• competition from rainforest species into eucalypt-dominated koala habitat, which can smother mature eucalypts and inhibit growth of seedlings 
• high-intensity fires cause koala mortality and temporarily eliminate food sources 
• dense growth of weeds, such as lantana, which can inhibit koala movement 
• dieback across a range of plant species due to climate changes, bell miners and insects 
• potential negative impact of myrtle rust on eucalypts 
• potential impact of sea level rise. 

Restoration of habitat

Habitat restoration aims to reduce threats to koalas, increase habitat and help conserve koala populations. 

Read our Koala habitat restoration guidelines (the guidelines) for evidence-based recommendations and best-practice methods for restoring koala habitat.

Choosing an approach

Before you choose a restoration approach, such as natural regeneration, assisted regeneration, reintroductions or a combination of these, carefully assess your site and identify: 

• which plant community you aim to reinstate 
• whether the site has existing native vegetation on it. If native vegetation exists, try to facilitate natural regeneration before planting or direct seeding. The guidelines have more information. 

Plant spacing 

Plant spacing can vary depending on the vegetation structure you aim to establish (for example, woodland, open forest or tall open forest). Trees should be planted far enough apart to have good tree form or formation of lateral branches and to allow enough light through for native grasses, shrubs and ferns to thrive. 

Some tips for planting: 

• Plant trees 8–10 metres apart (150 trees/hectare). 
• Tree spacing closer than 8 metres should usually be avoided to ensure enough light is available for understorey plants that provide habitat for other animals, although in moist high-fertility sites close spacing of 3–5 metres (400–625 trees/hectare) is recommended.
• Plant shrubs 3–5 metres apart (400–625 shrubs/hectare), depending on the size of shrubs.
• Spacing for groundcover varies and can be anywhere from one to 6 plants per square metre.
• A density of 600–1,000 trees and shrubs per hectare is common.

Trees koalas prefer

Koalas use a broad range of tree species for food, shelter, rest and socialising. 

Koalas usually feed within trees of the Eucalyptus genus, but they use many non-eucalypt species for shelter and sometimes feed on trees from genera such as: 

• Lophostemon – swamp box, swamp turpentine 
• Melaleuca – paperbark/tea tree 
• Acacia – wattle 
• Allocasuarina – she oak 
• Callitris – conifer/cypress. 

We recommend you plant a range of high, significant and occasional-use tree species from our recommended tree species list. 

Not all species will be relevant for all sites. 

When you choose trees to plant, consider whether: 

• species are locally native 
• species are suitable for your site in terms of landscape position, such as near a creek, on a slope or ridge 
• you have chosen a mix of species that koalas will use for food, shelter and social activities 
• you have included shrubs and groundcover species as well as tree species.

Rainforest trees should not be included in plantings because they compete for light, moisture and nutrients. They can smother other plants and encourage bell miner-associated dieback. In wet open forests where rainforest shrubs may occur naturally, allow them to migrate naturally onto the site once koala feed trees have established. 

Tree species lists

These tree lists contain recommended tree species for koala habitat within KMA 1. The lists align with local government areas located within this KMA: 

North coast 

• Ballina 
• Bellingen 
• Byron 
• Clarence Valley 
• Coffs Harbour 
• Kempsey 
• Kyogle 
• Lismore
• Mid-Coast 
• Nambucca 
• Port Macquarie–Hastings 
• Richmond Valley 
• Tweed 

Central coast 

• Dungog 
• Maitland 
• Port Stephens

Useful resources

These resources provide further information about koala food trees across New South Wales, management plans and strategies local councils have in place to help conserve koala populations. 

Koala tree-use information

• Department of Planning, Industry and Environment – Environment, Energy and Science 2019, Koala Habitat Information Base Technical Guide, Appendix 8.2, p. 50–59. 
• Mitchell D 2015, Australian Koala Foundation National Koala Tree Planting List, Australian Koala Foundation. This list includes important koala food trees by council or local government area. 
• Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) 2018, A review of koala tree-use across New South Wales. This review identifies important koala food trees across the state by koala management area (KMA). 
• State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2019 – Schedule 2 Feed tree species. This schedule lists tree species by KMA that are recommended for protection to support and provide habitat for koalas. 
• Contact your local Landcare Group, Local Land Services or local council staff for more information or opportunities. 

Koala management plans and habitat studies

• Australian Koala Foundation 2003, Greater Taree City Council Draft Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (CKPoM); Part 1: The CKPoM, prepared for Greater Taree City Council under State Environmental Planning Policy No. 44 – Koala Habitat Protection, Australian Koala Foundation, Brisbane, Qld. 
• Ballina Shire Council 2016, Ballina Shire Koala Management Strategy, March 2016, prepared by Ballina Shire Council in association with Biolink Ecological Consultants and the Ballina Shire Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management Project Reference Group. 
• Bellingen Shire Council 2015, Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management Bellingen Shire Council Coastal Area – August 2015, Bellingen Shire Council, Bellingen NSW. Clarence Valley Council 2015, Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management for the Ashby, Woombah & Iluka localities of the Clarence Valley Local Government Area (LGA), Clarence Valley Council, Grafton, NSW. 
• Hopkins M and Phillips S 2012, Byron Coast Koala Habitat Study, report to Byron Shire Council, Biolink Ecological Consultants, Uki, NSW 
• Lismore City Council 2013, Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management for south-east Lismore, Lismore City Council, Lismore, NSW. 
• Lunney D, Moon C, Matthews A and Turbill J 1999, Coffs Harbour City Koala Plan of Management: Part A The Plan, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville, NSW. 
• Phillips S and Hopkins M 2008, Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management for Eastern portion of Kempsey Shire LGA, Volume I – Resource Study, Biolink Ecological Consultants, Uki, NSW. 
• Port Stephens Council 2002, Port Stephens Council Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management– June 2002, prepared by Port Stephens Council with the Australian Koala Foundation. 
• Port Macquarie–Hastings Council 2018, Draft Coastal Koala Plan of Management, Version 3: February 2018 
• Port Macquarie–Hastings Council 2018, Koala recovery strategy 2018, Port Macquarie–Hastings Council, Port Macquarie, NSW. 
• Tweed Shire Council 2014, Tweed Coast Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management 2014, Tweed Shire Council, Murwillumbah, NSW.