The Koala Alliance also recognises that there are significant inaccuracies and misconceptions about koala health and population abundance in Victoria and over their historic range. We are committed to researching, questioning and challenging the dominant narratives surrounding koalas in the state and nationally.

Everything we do is driven by a simple goal: to see healthy koalas living in healthy environments, protected by stronger safeguards that give them the best possible chance of survival into the future.

Our reports summarise our findings. We are delighted that the Koala Alliance has quickly gained the reputation of a trusted source of pragmatic and unbiased information on how to ensure the survival of wild koalas.

Aerial Shooting Of  Koalas At Budj Bim National Park

In early April, distressing reports emerged that koalas had burned in Budj Bim National Park following recent bushfires. Concerned that something more serious was unfolding, we contacted journalist Michael Dahlstrom at Yahoo News, whose investigation revealed that koalas were being shot from helicopters by professional marksmen, under authorisation from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change (DEECA).

DEECA described this as part of a “welfare” bushfire response. However, aerial shooting is neither a humane nor accurate form of euthanasia.

The Victorian Government did not make it transparent to to the public what was happening and the department make significant attempts to withhold information, exclude carers and rescuers from entering the park, and the silence from mainstream media, all pointed to something more alarming—a covert koala cull disguised as a welfare operation.

Budj Bim is surrounded by vast blue gum plantations that have become home to thousands of displaced koalas due to habitat loss. During the recent shootings, we observed several large plantations that had just been logged, likely driving more koalas into Budj Bim in search of food and shelter.

DEECA’s narrative of “overpopulation” has long been used to justify culling. In truth, koalas in the southwest are victims of habitat scarcity, not overabundance.

When plantations are logged, koalas are left stranded, injured, starving, or wandering roadsides with no trees in sight. This is not mere mismanagement; it is a systemic failure to protect one of Australia’s most iconic species. The problem is not too many koalas—it is too little habitat. The southwest region contains around 130,000 hectares of plantations, yet the government has made no effort to restore native vegetation to support displaced wildlife when plantations are logged.

DEECA continues to “manage” koala populations under the guise of welfare and health programs, now extending to mass aerial culling.

Despite Freedom of Information requests, media inquiries, and questions raised by Members of Parliament, DEECA has provided no information about the shootings.

During the shootings they claimed extensive fire damage and difficult terrain preventing ground assessments and rescue, but after the park opened, experienced rescuers and carers from Koala Alliance, surveyed the park and found the area easily accessible, with minimal fire damage and extensive green canopy, even in zones where heavy shooting took place.

Read our report on the 2025 Aerial Culling – Aerial shooting of koalas should not be allowed to happen ever again.

Watch a video taken by our President Jess Robertson, 3 months after the fire in Budj Bim National Park.

Read our analysis, report and call for an inquiry on the aerial shooting of koalas at Budj Bim National Park – a cull in all but name.

Update on Budj Bim National Park investigation:

During and after the shootings, Koala Alliance shared firsthand information from Budj Bim National Park with Australians for Animals, an Australian animal welfare organisation. Australians for Animals subsequently filed legal proceedings against DEECA in relation to the shootings. Throughout this process, Koala Alliance, a Victorian-based organisation, has consistently provided factual information as events unfolded. Koala Alliance is made up of wildlife rescuers, carers and advocates with significant experience dealing with DEECA, many regulated under them. This experience has given members a strong understanding of how koalas have been managed in Victoria by the department over many years. Wildlife carers across Victoria have witnessed significant changes in koala management practices over the past decade, particularly a decline in transparency. This issue is central to the current case, as the helicopter shootings were never intended to become public knowledge. Had there not been a tip-off from the ground, the shootings may never have been revealed.

Large Scale And Ongoing Translocation

After European settlement, koalas were hunted for their fur, which drove them to near extinction. To secure their survival in the wild, and repopulate whole regions where local extinction had occurred, mass translocation programs were initiated.

Over nearly 100 years, these programs highlighted how successful the translocation strategy was, ensuring koalas were reestablished
in their historic ranges. The only way to ensure the koalas long-term survival in Victoria and throughout Australia is to undertake large scale and ongoing translocation programs in conjunction with habitat restoration.

Translocations are neither expensive or unsafe for koalas when done with care. If we want to save the koala from extinction in the wild, we must demand no more government misinformation or excuses regarding koala translocation.

Koala Alliance has summarised what you need to know about koala translocations programs in the linked report.

Koala Alliance Policy Recommendations: French Island Koalas & French Island National Park

French Island is home to one of Victoria’s few disease-free koala populations. In the past, government programs have been implemented to relocate koalas from the island to the mainland, and sterilise females as a way of managing numbers on the island.

Recently, however, conflicting reports have emerged about the state of the island’s koalas and their habitat. Some local farmers and the island’s Landcare group have claimed there is an “overpopulation” crisis, that trees are stripped bare, koalas are dying, and joeys are being orphaned.

Over five visits to the island, our own observations have painted a very different picture. Based on our findings, Koala Alliance has developed a number of policy
recommendations regarding French Island koalas and the French Island National Park.