Recent announcements suggest support for koala habitat - is it enough?
In southwest Sydney, the state’s only chlamydia-free and growing koala population is under threat — its critical habitat between the Nepean and Georges Rivers is being carved in two by Appin Road and encircled by expanding housing plans. Despite urgent advice dating back to 2020 calling for wildlife crossings, five years on, none of the underpasses are complete, and koalas continue to die on the road at alarming rates. [i]
Data gathered by the Sydney Basin Koala Network shows approximately 50 koalas have been killed on southwest Sydney roads since January 2024 — including 21 on Appin Road alone — and that nearly half of the last koala generation in Campbelltown LGA have been struck since 2019. A recent Biolink report states the impacted koala numbers are between 37-62% of the population in the Campbelltown LGA. According to ecologists, road strike rates as low as 3% per year are likely to drive population collapse—yet this corridor is sustaining hits of 10% or more annually. [ii]
Infrastructure Without Protection: Tragedy in the Making
The Appin Road upgrade, originally proposed to make corridors safer, now threatens instead to drive koalas closer to extinction unless immediate and wildlife-safe design is implemented. Conservation groups warn that the planned infrastructure do not provide connected and protected habitat and continued development in the region is literally paving over koala survival. [iii]
Although Transport for NSW has begun installing koala exclusion fencing, signage, and “escape doors,” progress remains slow. Construction on key underpasses — like at Noorumba Reserve — has stalled, and developers are clearing critical habitat fringes while connectivity remains severed between habitat patches. [iv]
Compounding the danger, housing developments in Gilead and Appin — planned to include over 16,000 new homes — are proceeding before adequate wildlife safeguards are fully in place.[v]
Land Clearing Accelerates: Habitat Loss Compounds the Threat
Worsening the situation, land clearing in NSW has surged. A recent report by The Guardian (29 July 2025) revealed a dramatic increase in habitat loss, with environmental experts condemning the NSW government for undermining regulatory integrity and failing to protect threatened species.
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, more than 90,000 hectares of likely threatened species habitat were cleared in NSW between 2018 and 2022 — much of it without proper assessment or federal approval. A recent report from The Nature Conservation Council found that there has been a 47% increase in land clearing from 45,252 hectares cleared in 2022. [vi]
Satellite imagery reviewed by citizen scientists also identified millions of native animals displaced in recent years due to unchecked land clearing — around 1,200 koalas each year in NSW and Queensland alone (ABC Rural).
Promises and Parks: A National Park for Koalas That Still Isn’t Here
In response to mounting concerns, the NSW government has pledged to establish:
The Path Forward: From Words to Action
WIRES welcomes the formal announcement of the establishment of Warranmadhaa (Georges River Koala National Park) by the NSW Government, and the protection of key habitat along the Georges River.
In making the announcement, the Hon. Penny Sharpe was clear that “Koalas require large, connected areas of habitat so they can eat, move and breed.”
Dr Colin Salter, WIRES Policy Lead, responded that “the new National Park can only be effective if critically important koala east-west habitat corridors, including Mallaty Creek, are also protected.” He went on to say, “Appin Road continues to have devastating consequences on our unique and precious wildlife, with koala deaths and other impacts continuing to increase. The current government approach of exclusion-first is exacerbating the impacts, with wildlife crossings still a no show, despite years of promises” he said.
WIRES hopes that the announcement of Warranmadhaa will be one of many further actions taken by the NSW Government to prevent wildlife vehicle strike, including ensuring that all overpasses and land bridges adopt wildlife-centred designs and are fit-for-purpose.
[i] Yahoo News Australia+8tec.org.au+8sydneybasinkoalanetwork.org.au+8 (9) Video | Facebook
[ii] Biolink (2025). Vehicle Strike and Koala Populations in the Sydney Basin Bioregion: Biolink Report for the Sydney Basin Koala Network and Total Environment Centre. https://www.sydneybasinkoalanetwork.org.au/sbkn_reports
[iii] transport.nsw.gov.au+8ifaw.org+8sydneybasinkoalanetwork.org.au+8
[iv] The Guardian+1Yahoo News Australia+1 Ousedale Creek Koala Underpass | Transport for NSW
[v] NSW Government+4abc.net.au+4The Guardian+4
[vi] https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/native-vegetation/landcover-science/2023-nsw-vegetation-clearing-report-native-vegetation#clearing-under-the-land-management-code
[vii] https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/news/new-national-park-protect-sydneys-largest-koala-population
[viii]woodcentral.com.au+7NSW Government+7newsofthearea.com.au+7.