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Our mission
Friends of the Koala is committed to conserving koalas and preserving and enhancing their habitat, particularly in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. In doing this, we aim to make a key contribution to Australia’s biodiversity.
Our core business
- Rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing koalas
- Protecting and enhancing koala habitat
- Educating the community about koalas and issues that affect them
- Advocating on behalf of koalas
- Assisting relevant research
Our Partners
Thanks to our partners we have been able to do what we do, better! Without them our work would be that much more difficult.
Key achievements
In the 30 years since Friends of the Koala was first established, with the aim to enhance and protect koala habitat, we’ve become the lead organisation fighting for koalas in the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales.
Amongst many other activities, we maintain a 24/7 Rescue Hotline; rescue, rehabilitate and release sick and injured koalas and operate both a Triage, Treatment and Pathology Clinic and Education and Administration Centre in East Lismore. We also organise a merciful death for koalas that can’t be saved, propagate and sell koala food trees, work with local government to develop and implement Comprehensive Koala Plans of Management and provide advice to landowners on extending koala habitat.
With a volunteer base of about 100 people, by 2017 we had distributed around 152,068 koala food trees across the Northern Rivers since we started this work in 1990, brought into care over 5,000 koalas (releasing over 1,230 back into the wild), educated people about caring for and living with koalas, written countless submissions on matters related to koala well-being, participated in numerous research projects and worked with a wide range of diverse partners to ensure the koala’s survival in our region.
Some major FOK milestones
1986
- Formed as an organisation to enhance and protect koala habitat
1989
- Commenced rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing koalas under the guidance of the Lismore District Office of the National Parks & Wildlife Service
1990
- Incorporated as Friends of the Koala Inc.
1993
- Licensed to rescue, rehabilitate and release koalas under the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Act 1974
1994
- Entry in the Federal Register of Environmental Organisations
1996
- Koala Care and Research Centre, East Lismore opened
- Southern Cross University Vice Chancellor’s Special Award
2000
- Lismore City Council’s Australia Day Achievement Award (Environment Category)
- 1st Green Corps Project 2004- Koala Conservation and Corridor Connection and Bundjalung Walking Track
2004
- Outdoor enclosures established at the Koala Care Centre
- Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation’s Koala and Wildlife Hospital agreed to treat our koalas
- WildLife Link donated our Rescue Van and trailer
2006
- Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia’s Community Wildlife Conservation Award
2007
- 1st Environmental Trust Lead Environmental Community Groups grant
2008
- 21-year lease on Koala Care & Research site granted by Lismore Council
2009
- 1st partnership in an ARC Linkage project – Development of an anti-Chlamydial vaccine for the koala
2010
- NSW Volunteer of the Year Award, Northern Rivers Region Team of the Year Award
2012
- Nature Conservation Council of NSW’s Outstanding Member Group 2012
2013
- Lismore City Council’s Australia Day Achievement Award (Sustainable Environment)
- Nature Conservation Council of NSW’s Marie Byles Award for the most outstanding new environmental campaign
2014
- Byron Shire Council’s 2014 World Environment Day Award (Conservation & Land Management)
- 3 additional outdoor runs extended Koala Care Centre capacity
2015
- 1st Environmental Trust Lead Environmental Communication Grant
2016
- Environmental Trust Restoration & Rehabilitation grant over 3 years – Enhancing Lismore wildlife refuges and corridors for threatened species
- September – Opened our Burribi Education and Administration Centre and hired our first paid employee
2017
- 2017 Environmental Trust Environmental Education grant over 3 years – Koala Watch: Community led koala recovery – Northern Rivers.
- June – WINNER of the Golden Leaf Award of Excellence for a Wildlife Group
- September – official opening of Burribi Education & Administration Centre
2018
- October – Opened our Triage, Treatment and Triage Clinic
2019
- May – Employed our Vet Nurse Marley Christian
2020
- April – Employed our Vet Jackie Reed
- July – Approval granted for FOK to operate a specialist Koala Hospital
Our Licensed Coverage Area
Friends of the Koala Inc. is licensed to carry out rescue and rehabilitation of diseased and injured koalas across five of the local government areas in the Northern Rivers Region of NSW.
