On 7 September 2025, the NSW Government formally unveiled the proposed boundaries of the Great Koala National Park (GKNP), together with a moratorium on logging in state forests ear-marked for protection, and a comprehensive plan to support workers, industry and local communities.1 

EDO welcomes the government’s announcement to establish the GKNP, which will provide a much-needed lifeline for endangered koalas and other wildlife that call native forests home, including southern greater gliders, yellow-bellied gliders, glossy black cockatoos and spider orchids.  

Habitat loss is a key threat to biodiversity in NSW and protecting and preventing loss and fragmentation of habitat is critical for reversing ongoing decline and halting extinctions.  

The proposal would see 176,000ha of state-owned native forests combined with existing reserves to create a network of protected areas on the NSW Mid-north Coast, spanning 475,000ha. 

In our 2019 submission to the NSW parliamentary inquiry into koala populations and habitat in NSW, EDO highlighted the failure of NSW laws to provide adequate protections for the iconic species.2  

We flagged that efforts to address koala conservation have historically focused mainly on funding and policy, without substantial legislative or regulatory reform to increase legal protections for koala populations and habitat.   

We advised that the strongest legal protection for koalas would be to reserve designated protected areas, with national parks providing the greatest level of protection against habitat loss and fragmentation, including from development, agriculture and forestry activities.  

We have strongly supported proposals from koala experts for additions to the national parks estate that specifically target koala habitat.  

We understand the proposed GKNP closely aligns with proposals advocated by NSW environment groups, including the NSW National Parks Association and local and regional environment groups including the Nambucca Valley Conservation Association, Bellingen Environment Centre, Clarence Valley Environment Centre, North-east Forest alliance and North Coast Environment Centre3  

Next steps 

Formal designation of the GKNP will require legislative amendments to reserve the GKNP under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.  

The government proposes to introduce the Bill to the NSW Parliament in 2026.  

The government has also indicated that designating the GKNP is contingent on the successful registration of a carbon project under the proposed Improved Native Forest Management Method, which is currently moving through the federal government assessment processes. It is unclear how the GKNP will be affected if that process is delayed or fails to proceed; if that was the case EDO and the broader community would still expect the GKNP to be established in recognition of its broad biodiversity, social, cultural, and economic values.  

Importantly, the government has announced a moratorium on timber harvesting in state forests identified to become part of the new national park.  

It has advised that current harvesting operations will cease, and no new operations will commence.  

This is an important step in protecting proposed areas of the GKNP while its creation is formalised.  

In the past, EDO has provided legal assistance to members of the community who were concerned that areas of state forest within the proposed GKNP footprint were being logged, despite the government’s election commitment to create the park, putting the important environmental values of these areas at risk. 

The announced moratorium means all logging within the announced boundaries of the park must now cease.  

The NSW Government has also indicated that it is working to contain the number of businesses impacted and minimise job losses due to the reduction in wood supply. 

This is an important step in ensuring affected communities are supported in the transition to establishing the park. 

We encourage the NSW Government to move swiftly to complete these final steps and formally enshrine the GKNP in law. 

References 

  1. Great Koala National Park, NSW Environment and Heritage Department, 8 September 2025.  ↩︎
  2. Submission to the Inquiry into koala populations and habitat in New South Wales, 9 August 2019. ↩︎
  3. The Great Koala National Park: Let’s Make it Happen, NSW National Parks Association. ↩︎