SBKN Focal Area Fact Sheets

Any area in the Sydney Basin with koalas is critically important and their habitat must be protected.

In addition, Biolink have identified six focal areas of known koala occupancy to be the subject of further detailed reporting about the existence, conservation status and threats to koala populations to support community advocacy. Increased protection in these areas will assist koala movement and potential population expansion. 

These fact sheets collate key information from our scientific and legal reports including detailed mapping of koala colony generational persistence, key threats, and recommended legislative reform: 

1. Campbelltown/Wollondilly fact sheet
   The Campbelltown City Council and Wollondilly Shire LGAs are located in the Macarthur region of south-western Sydney, an area undergoing considerable urban expansion and development. Because of the interconnectedness of the population which is subject to the same threats, the koala population inhabiting Campbelltown City Council and Wollondilly Shire LGAs are best considered together as one Focal Area for management and advocacy purposes.
   
   
2. Liverpool fact sheet
   Liverpool City Council LGA supports a growing koala population located primarily in the south-east of the LGA where it abuts Campbelltown City Council LGA. This population has seen a four-fold increase in its geographic extent across Liverpool City Council LGA since 2002, the result of a process of recovery and expansion, presumably by way of recruitment from Campbelltown.
   
   
3. Sutherland Shire fact sheet
   Sutherland Shire Council LGA supports a small koala population, with analysis of historical records indicating the loss of areas of GP across the LGA post 2010. Koalas have been sighted from Barden Ridge to Loftus, Worona, Heathcote and Engadine and in the adjoining Heathcote and Royal National Parks.
   
   
4. Wingecarribee (Southern Highlands) fact sheet
   Wingecarribee Shire Council LGA is situated in the Southern Highlands, directly to the south of Wollondilly Shire LGA. The LGA supports substantial amounts of koala GP, particularly in the northern half of the LGA where GP is interconnected with that in Wollondilly Shire.
   
   
5. Hawkesbury fact sheet
   Hawkesbury Shire LGA supports a small, scattered amount of mapped koala GP and a large amount of mapped koala habitat. The LGA is dominated by native vegetation and areas of National Park which suffered extreme impacts during the 2019/2020 fire events.
   
   
6. Cessnock/Lake Macquarie fact sheet
   The adjoining LGAs of Cessnock City Council and Lake Macquarie City Council have one cell each of GP located within the same contiguous habitat in Sugarloaf State Conservation Area which spans both LGAs. Cessnock City Council LGA also has another cell of koala GP further to the west.

Port Stephens LGA is not considered a Focal Area despite the presence of known koala population hubs in Medowie, Tomago and Brandy Hill,  as only 25.14% of this LGA is in the Sydney Basin Bioregion.