The NSW Government is making slow to no progress towards improving protections for Koalas, while fast tracking urban sprawl and road expansions.  One population in South West Sydney is in critical danger.

New data, prepared for the Sydney Basin Koala Network by expert ecologists Biolink, shows around half of the last Koala generation in Campbelltown LGA has been struck by vehicles since 2019. Research has demonstrated it only takes 3% of a Koala population to be struck by vehicles each year to drive decline, and we are seeing around 10% or more of the baseline population hit on the road each year since 2021.

High vehicle strike numbers in Sutherland Shire and Wollondilly are also likely exceeding this threshold, putting the wider South-West Sydney population at grave risk. Current and future development plans are creating a net loss of habitat and connectivity for Koalas in South West Sydney which will further drive decline.

The government continues to ignore the increasingly dire situation for Koalas in Campbelltown, with plans to cut off the vital Koala corridor at Mallaty Creek, and leaving properties within the committed George’s River Koala National Park to trade on the open market. The Environment, Roads and Planning Ministers must accept current plans are failing and urgently commit to greater habitat protection and connectivity.

Vehicle Strike and Koala Populations in the Sydney Basin (Biolink 2025) - summary:

Vehicle strike represents a major threatening process to Koalas across urbanised portions of the Sydney Basin. In at least two Focal Areas of study (Campbelltown/Wollondilly and Sutherland) vehicle strike is occurring at levels that may threaten the persistence of local populations. Current approaches to mitigation are ineffectual and can lack scientific basis with vehicle strikes continuing to increase in areas where such measures are in place.

Key Points

• 80% of road strikes impacting the last generation of Koalas in the Sydney Basin have occurred in 4 LGAs - Campbelltown, Wollondilly, Sutherland Shire and Liverpool - these road strikes are persistent and increasing year on year.  This is despite these LGAs being priority areas for the NSW Koala Strategy. 
• Data indicates that vehicle strikes in Campbelltown have impacted ~37-62% of the population since 2019 (depending on the population size estimate which is 236 +/- 60).
• Transport for NSW have instead focused on driver behaviour, which the NSW government’s own research shows is largely ineffective without also reducing speed limits. 
• Vehicle strikes are also dramatically increasing along Appin Road. This correlates with increased clearing for urban sprawl in Campbelltown and Wollondilly. 

If expert advice were followed by Transport NSW, many of the koala deaths on this road could have been avoided. Likewise Heathcote Road in Sutherland is seeing a sharp increase in road deaths while Transport NSW continues to ignore expert advice. NSW Planning is continuing with it's damaging development plans, including cutting off the 116ha migratory corridor Mallaty Creek in Campbelltown. 

Read the full report by Biolink: Vehicle Strike and Koala Populations in the Sydney Basin Bioregion

And use our email template to write to your local federal candidates about how they intend to Save Sydney's Koalas: https://tec.good.do/sydneyskoalaselectionaction/your-election-action/

Campbelltown Koalas, image by Les Shearim