Nature conservation
Koala plan
The draft South East Queensland Koala State Planning Regulatory Provisions came into effect on 12 December 2008. The Department of Infrastructure and Planning is now the concurrence agency under the Integrated Planning Act 1997 for defined development in Urban Koala Areas and in Koala Sustainability Areas that are within the Urban Footprint as defined in the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026. You can find out if your property is within the Urban Footprint by using the Department of Infrastructure and Planning interactive mapping tool at
http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/regional-planning/land-use-categories.html
Please contact the Department of Infrastructure and Planning regarding assessing applications within the Urban Footprint at
www.dip.qld.gov.au or
Department of Infrastructure and Planning
Southern Region Planning Group
Postal address: Reply Paid 15009 City East
Brisbane Qld 4002
By fax: + 61 7 3235 4071
By email: seqkoalareview@dip.qld.gov.au
All enquiries phone: Free call 1800 070 609
Copies of the draft State Planning Regulatory Provisions are available for inspection and collection free of charge from the Department of Infrastructure and Planning Brisbane Office, Ground Level at 63 George Street, and from the DERM Customer Service Centre, Ground Level, 160 Ann Street, Brisbane.
Koala Plan in effect
The Nature Conservation (Koala) Conservation Plan 2006 and Management Program 2006-2016 (the Koala Plan) came into effect on 2 October 2006. This Plan addresses the key threats facing koalas and sets out strategies to stop the decline of koala numbers and set in train the species' recovery. Issues addressed in the Koala Plan include: habitat protection and vegetation clearing; development; State Government infrastructure; vehicle mortality; dog attacks; translocation; research; zoos; public education and the rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned koalas.
The Koala Plan has replaced the SEQ Regional Plan Interim Guideline - Koalas and Development, which provided assessment criteria applying to proposed development in Koala Habitat Areas.
Queensland Government is committed to protect the koala
The Queensland Government has committed $2.1 million over four years for the implementation of the Koala Plan to conserve koalas and their habitat in Queensland.
What does the Koala Plan do?
Habitat protection and vegetation clearing
Raising awareness of koala conservation
is an important part of the Koala Plan.
Photo DERM.
The best way to protect koalas is to protect their habitat. Some koala habitat is already protected through its inclusion within national parks, State forests and other State land tenures. However the Koala Plan provides a number of opportunities to protect habitat or manage the clearing of habitat outside protected areas.
These include:
- supporting local government to undertake koala habitat assessment and mapping, particularly in South East Queensland, and incorporate koala habitat mapping into statutory and non-statutory processes; and
- sequential clearing requirements of koala habitat trees under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 in Koala Districts A and B, and the requirement for koala spotters in Koala Habitat Areas in District A.
In addition, a range of statutory and non-statutory measures are in place or available to government, industry and the community to achieve habitat protection and retention, therefore complementing the outcomes sought by the Koala Plan. These include:
- the regulation of vegetation clearing under the Vegetation Management Act 1999. This involves the phasing out of broadscale vegetation clearing across Queensland and the assessment of clearing in areas where essential habitat for koalas has been identified in Koala Districts A and B; and
- the voluntary conservation of koala habitat. Opportunities exist to protect koala habitat under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 through the declaration of nature refuges or co-ordinated conservation areas.
Manage development and land use in Koala Habitat Areas
A key focus of the Koala Plan is to address development and land use in Koala Habitat Areas within the South East Queensland region. Development in Koala Habitat Areas is assessed against koala conservation criteria and applicants are required to consider koala conservation measures.
The aim, particularly in Koala Conservation Areas and Koala Sustainability Areas, is to ensure the proposed future use of the land, as reflected in local government planning schemes, is compatible with the protection of koalas and koala habitat. Exceptions may include extractive industry in Key Resource Areas identified in an approved State Planning Policy, and community infrastructure that has demonstrated an overriding need in the public interest, justifying its location in a Koala Conservation Area or Koala Sustainability Area.
In Urban Koala Areas however, a recognised urban planning intent is already in place. In these areas the focus is on incorporating strategic koala conservation measures and where feasible to do so, incorporating koala sensitive design into the development layout.
DERM is a concurrence agency under the Integrated Planning Act for defined development within Koala District A in Koala Conservation and Koala Sustainability Areas. This gives DERM an active role in ensuring development in these areas is compatible with the conservation of koalas and koala habitat, or where the development is already committed, ensuring the impacts are limited to the extent practicable.
DERM is a concurrence agency for applications for a material change of use; reconfiguring a lot; or operational work if it involves one or more of the following triggers identified in the Integrated Planning Regulation 1998:
- additional lots;
- clearing native vegetation;
- new buildings or extensions to new buildings;
- extraction of resources;
- excavation or filling; or
- generating additional vehicle traffic.
The Koala Plan requires koala spotters and sequential clearing in specific areas when tree clearing (felling) occurs. See Information sheet Tree clearing and trimming - Koala Spotter requirements.
Reduce the number of koalas killed by cars
On average, more than 330 koalas are killed each year as a result of vehicle strikes. It is the biggest threat to koalas after habitat clearing and disease. Under the Koala Plan, new developments in Koala Conservation Areas and Koala Sustainability Areas are assessed to ensure that they do not contribute to higher koala vehicle mortality by increasing traffic at night when koalas are most active.
DERM is working with the Department of Transport and Main Roads to ensure new roads and upgrades to existing roads take into consideration known koala 'black spots', and to protect koalas and koala habitat through measures such as the provision of environmental offsets, ensuring 'safe' crossing points and rehabilitation following construction.
Koalas and cars
Koalas on our roads
Reduce the risk of koalas being attacked by dogs
The Koala Plan recognises the value in people owning dogs and the importance of allowing people to continue to enjoy their pets, but strongly supports the position that it is a basic responsibility of dog owners to ensure that their pets do not attack or kill other animals, including protected wildlife like the koala.
Koalas in our suburbs
Koalas and dogs
An average of more than 130 koalas die each year as a result of dog attacks. Many of these attacks occur between July and September (peaking in September) and are carried out by dogs in their own backyards. Another aspect of these attacks is that over 80 percent result in koala fatalities.
Koala surveys provide
information on koala
populations and their
distribution. Photo DERM.
The Koala Plan identifies a number of actions that dog owners can take to reduce the risk of attacks on koalas. The key is to limit a dog's movements at night when koalas are most active. This can mean keeping a dog inside or on a lead, or constructing an enclosure that will keep a dog in - and koalas out.
The Koala Plan also identifies opportunities that developers can undertake to minimise koala - dog interactions. This can include: 'dog-free' or 'small-dog' estates using covenants or community title, or incorporating koala exclusion fencing on part of a lot or premises to separate dogs and koalas.
Other issues
The Koala Plan addresses a range of other issues affecting koala management in Queensland. This includes restricting the translocation of koalas to exceptional circumstances under strict scientific guidelines, encouraging the zoo industry to develop captive species management programs to ensure koalas do not have to be taken from the wild for breeding, promoting koala research and ongoing monitoring and the establishment of partnerships with providers to ensure wider access to koala care.
Koala Districts and Koala Habitat Areas
The Koala Plan divides the State into three districts - District A, B and C - based on the level of threat to koalas. The level of threat in each district affects development in that area.
- District A: This district covers the 11 local government areas in the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026 where koala population densities are the highest and the threats associated with habitat destruction and human impact are the greatest. Consequently, reducing the threats in this District is the main focus of the strategies of the Koala Plan. District A is also within the South East Queensland Bioregion where koalas are listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- District B: This district covers 7 local governments in the South East Queensland Bioregion where koalas are listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act. Koala population densities in this district are lower than in District A and the threat to koalas here is considered to be moderate to high.
- District C: This district covers the remaining 33 local government areas where koalas are known to occur in Queensland. In this district the koala is listed as least concern wildlife under the Nature Conservation Act. The threat to koalas in this district is considered to be moderate to low.
- There are 26 local government areas in Queensland where koalas are not known to occur.
Koala Districts A, B and C
Koala district map
District A is further divided into three Koala Habitat Areas:
- Koala Conservation Areas: these are the most important areas of koala habitat with the highest koala population densities. They provide critical source areas for the survival and dispersal of koalas across the landscape because of the high degree of connection between areas of habitat. They are large areas of relatively intact remnant or regrowth eucalypt-dominated forest and woodlands but sometimes contain cleared areas and areas of fragmented forests and woodlands. Koala Conservation Areas can include a mosaic of private and public lands and park estate with limited infrastructure and urban development.
- Koala Sustainability Areas: these areas also provide important koala habitat and have many of the attributes of Koala Conservation Areas but may not be as large or provide as great a degree of connectivity between areas of habitat. They also differ from Koala Conservation Areas as they may contain open space and existing rural residential development.
- Urban Koala Areas: these are areas subject to recognised urban planning intent within local government planning instruments. They may contain patches of fragmented remnant and regrowth eucalypt-dominated forest and woodlands with cleared areas, and have varied levels of connectivity between habitat patches. These areas may contain both high and lower koala habitat values and/or high koala population densities.
Koala Habitat Areas
Koala habitat area map
Background: creating a Koala Plan for Queensland
In March 2003 the Queensland Government announced it would draft a state-wide conservation plan for koalas. In January 2005 the draft Nature Conservation (Koala) Conservation Plan 2005 and Management Program 2005-2015 was released for public comment. In October 2006, the Queensland Government released the Koala Plan after considering more than 500 public submissions as a result of two rounds of public consultation about the plan.
The Koala Plan - the first of its kind - is a strong vehicle for conserving koalas in the wild and draws on other regulatory tools, such as the Integrated Planning Act 1997 and the Vegetation Management Act 1999, to achieve greater protection of koalas than has been afforded in the past.
The preparation of the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026 (SEQ Regional Plan) provided an opportunity to incorporate the planning and land use objectives of the Koala Plan within the SEQ Regional Plan. This collaboration ensured that development and land use planning in the SEQ region, a region known to be one of the most significant koala habitats in Australia, is guided in a way that will assists koala survival.
The SEQ Regional Plan includes a koala habitat map and koala conservation policies that aim to protect identified koala habitat and reduce conflict between development and koalas. Further, the SEQ Regional Plan 'calls up' koala conservation criteria for the assessment of development in koala habitat areas.
Koala conservation
EPA researcher monitoring
koala health. Photo DERM.
Protecting the koala is a responsibility shared by many partners, including local government and the community. In 2002 DERM signed an agreement with Australia Zoo to establish a koala hospital and ambulance service for the northern suburbs of Brisbane. This complements the DERM Koala Hospital at Moggill in Brisbane. DERM's co-operative management approach extends to research projects, with DERM, the University of Queensland and industry working together on ground-breaking research into assisted reproductive and disease-screening technologies.
Koalas need our help
Queensland faunal emblem.
Photo DERM.
At the turn of the last century, there were millions of koalas in Queensland. Today Queensland's koala population is a fraction of that size with scientists estimating that there are now between 100,000 and 300,000 left. Their numbers are still declining.
This significant fall in numbers has lead to koalas - the Queensland faunal emblem and Australia's international icon - being classified in 2004 as vulnerable to extinction in the South East Queensland Bioregion: an area of south-east Queensland stretching from Gladstone to the New South Wales border and west to Toowoomba. Within this region is the Koala Coast, 375sq.km of land that has been identified as one of the most significant koala habitats in Australia.
For suggestions on what you can do see Koala Conservation: the facts and Koala information.
Threats facing the koala
The greatest threat to koalas is loss of habitat. Some of the largest populations of koalas live in the south-east corner of Queensland, the most heavily urbanised region of the State where urban expansion and population growth is expected to continue.
This urban growth means koala habitat is being cleared for houses, roads, industry and other development. Aside from the direct loss of habitat, urbanisation can also increase other threats facing koalas, being vehicle related mortality, dogs attacks and disease.
Make sure koalas are for keeps
The Koala Plan sets out a sound, integrated framework that identifies how we can all contribute to give Queensland's koalas a safer future, whether it be planting a koala food tree, keeping your dog in an enclosure or creating koala sensitive residential developments.
The koala is a unique Australian animal. Through the implementation of the Koala Plan, and with the help of all Queenslanders, we can ensure that our koalas are for keeps.
Research
The University of Queensland and Southwest Natural Resource Management are conducting a study of koala populations in Southwest Queensland. The project commenced in 2008 and aims to increase knowledge about the distribution, population and habitat dynamics and threats to koalas in western semi-arid regions (Mulgalands), which support significant koala populations.
The project objectives are to
- Identify current koala distribution, habitat suitability and potential geographic range;
- Assess population density, genetic variation and habitat characteristics;
- Identify habitat selection, physiological condition and model population viability in response to habitat change;
- Assess the impact of climate change;
- Compare population dynamics with koala populations on the Queensland east coast; and
- Develop management guidelines.
To provide feedback on observations of where koalas have been observed contact the University of Queensland.
Contact us
For more information about the Koala Plan or koala conservation please contact the DERM hotline on 1300 130 372 or the DERM Customer Services Centre on (07) 3227 8185 or email info@epa.qld.gov.au.
To obtain a copy of the Koala Plan please visit www.epa.qld.gov.au/koalaconservation/
Last updated: 22 May 2009
