Koalas have become one of Australia’s most vulnerable animals, as they increasingly find themselves surrounded by suburbia and the trees they rely on for survival cleared to make way for roads and houses.
Koala habitat consists of trees which serve three functions; food, shelter and corridors which allow koala movement. The favoured habitats of koalas are open forest and woodlands where their food trees occur. Their food consists almost entirely of the leaves of certain species of eucalypts and related plants. Koalas eat approximately 500 grams of food per day, with the leaves they eat containing high levels of toxins and low levels of nutrients. Despite this, koalas are able to process their food very efficiently.
In addition to sheltering in their food trees, koalas are often seen sitting in non-food trees as they move position during the day in response to shifting sunlight.
Habitat loss is recognised as the primary threat to the survival of the koala. Wherever possible we should avoid the removal of koala food tree species and other species known to be used by koalas. It is also important to retain a variety of age classes, both young and mature trees. Every tree matters.
Council regulates vegetation clearing through the Planning Scheme. Vegetation clearing involves the destruction of vegetation of interference with its natural growth in any way, including removing, clearing, slashing, cutting down, ringbarking, scar-barking, pushing or pulling over, poisoning, burning, flooding, draining or compaction of roots. The term does not include pruning branches (where not involving removing tree trunk or pruning so severely that it causes the vegetation to die) or mowing of grass or lawn for maintenance purposes (provided that it is not undertaken in an area of remnant vegetation or high value regrowth vegetation).
Clearing vegetation on your property may require a permit. You may need to lodge a development application with Council for Operational Works. The only exception is where the clearing is “exempt vegetation clearing” as defined in the administrative definitions of the Fraser Coast Planning Scheme 2014. For further assistance in determining whether Council approval is required for your proposed vegetation clearing, phone 1300 79 49 29 or visit one of Council’s Customer Service Centres. The Planning Scheme is available here:
Under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act (1992), koalas are listed as ‘regionally vulnerable’ in the Southeast Queensland Bioregion (New South Wales border to Gladstone, and west to Toowoomba). The Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Science have requirements for tree clearing in koala habitat areas. Under Part 3, Section 15 of the Nature Conservation (Koala) Conservation Plan (2006) (Koala Plan). The Vegetation Management Act (1999) also requires a person clearing koala habitat to ensure the clearing conserves remnant vegetation, does not cause land degradation and prevents the loss of biodiversity.
The Federal Government lists the koala as ‘vulnerable’ in Queensland under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) (EPBC Act). This means that clearing vegetation in a koala habitat is a Matter of National Environmental Significance (MNES) and may require approval under the EPBC Act.
Fast fact! No two koalas look the same. They all have their own unique facial features, with the easiest way to differentiate between two or more koalas being their nose pattern. There is a lack of pigmentation around their nostrils, resulting in patches of pink which is different for each koala. Other features such as the shape of their nose, black pigmentation on their chin, pigmentation spots on their ears and the amount of fur on their ears are also useful for telling individual animals apart.
