Draft Koala Management Plan

Protecting koalas in Sutherland Shire

Sutherland Shire is home to a small but growing population of healthy koalas. Our koalas are primarily living in the Woronora Valley and surrounding bushland. So far, more than 200 koalas have been identified.

Koalas are endangered and face significant threats, including habitat loss, climate change and bushfires, disease, dogs and vehicles.

That’s why we’ve prepared a draft Koala Management Plan, so we know where the local koalas are, the main threats to their safety in our area and actions we can take to support their conservation.

The plan aims to:

• Protect and improve koala habitat
• Manage the threats affecting koalas and their habitat in our area
• Build community awareness and shared responsibility for koala conservation
• Ensure we are considering koalas when we assess development applications and make planning decisions.

Read the draft plan

What this means for you

We all have a role to play in enhancing and protecting our local koala population.

Future planning decisions in Sutherland Shire can impact our koala population and their habitat, so we need a clear framework to guide their conservation.

The draft Koala Management Plan proposes a set of actions community and Council can take to ensure the protection of koalas.

Find out if your property is located in, or nearby, 'likely' or 'occupied' koala habitat using our interactive Shire Maps tool:

View koala habitat map

Have your say

We invite you to share your feedback on the draft Koala Management Plan and what you think about the proposed approach and actions.

There are number of ways to share your feedback until 1 May 2026:

• Online by taking the survey below
• In-person by dropping into one of our pop-up information stalls:
  1. Sunday 12 April 2026, 10am – 12pm, Engadine Markets
  2. Saturday 18 April 2026, 8am – 1pm, Shire Farmers Market
  3. Saturday 18 April 2026, 1pm – 3pm, Menai Marketplace
• Email to envscience@ssc.nsw.gov.au

Next steps

Following community consultation, we will review and consider all feedback received. The draft Koala Management Plan will be finalised and reported to Council for adoption. We will continue to share information and keep our community updated.