Protecting Australia's Threatened Species

Step onto a bush trail at daybreak and you expect the trees to burst with life. Yet across Australia the once bright chorus is fading to a hush. From rainforest canopies to inland salt-marsh, more than 2 000 native species now stand on a cliff edge. 

Many of the voices and colours that once defined our landscapes are fading fast. In this blog, we’ll explore why, spotlight the threatened species in Australia most at risk, and share the hopeful ground-level work already giving them a path back from the brink. 

Why losing Australia’s threatened species hurts us all

Healthy ecosystems quietly keep life humming, often in ways we notice only when something goes wrong: 

• Pollination and seed dispersal: birds such as the Regent Honeyeater and mammals like the Grey-headed Flying-fox move pollen and seeds across huge distances, supporting crops and regenerating bushland. 

• Clean water: Murray–Darling river turtles stir sediments, cycle nutrients and keep wetlands clear. 

• Rich soil: Southern Brown Bandicoots turn over several tonnes of soil each year while foraging, aerating soil and helping leaf litter break down. 

When these “ecosystem engineers” vanish, services worth billions in agriculture, tourism and disaster resilience begin to unravel. 

Snapshot of a crisis we can still avert 

Here’s why urgency matters: 

• More than 2,000 native species already sit on state or national threatened-species lists.

• Koala numbers have fallen by over 50 percent in just two decades.

• In parts of the Murray–Darling Basin, nine out of ten river-turtle nests are destroyed each breeding season.

• The Regent Honeyeater counts fewer than 300 wild birds, while the Orange-bellied Parrot is down to double digits.

Unless we act swiftly, lifelines for many species will close within our lifetime. 

Meet the species on the edge 

Woodland singers and night gardeners 

Regent Honeyeater, Swift Parrot, Orange-bellied Parrot and Grey-headed Flying-fox are vital pollinators and seed couriers, but shrinking old-growth eucalypt woodlands and coastal salt-marsh put them between Endangered and Critically Endangered. 

Fresh-water guardians 

The Murray Short-Necked Turtle has cruised Australian rivers for sixty million years. Today, egg-raiding foxes, hotter summers and flash floods have wiped out up to 90 percent of some local populations. 

Rocky refuges and grassy scrubs 

Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby, Southern Brown Bandicoot and Greater Bilby cling to isolated strongholds, challenged by feral predators and shrinking habitat corridors. 

Icon in the treetops 

The beloved Koala is now missing from half of its historic range as land clearing, disease and hotter bushfires take their toll. 

Plants we can’t afford to lose 

It’s not only animals that are at risk of extinction; rare plants underpin entire food webs. 

• Kangaroo Island Spider Orchid (Caladenia ovata): a barometer of healthy, species-rich woodlands. After farmland expansion and altered fire patterns, FNPW and local partners are rebuilding the understorey on Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula to help this orchid rebound. 

• Davidson’s Plum (Davidsonia jerseyana): a nutrient-dense rainforest fruit that feeds birds and supports First Nations enterprises. Northern Rivers nurseries now raise thousands of seedlings for restored creek-line corridors.

• Small Purple-pea (Swainsona recta): a bright wildflower that enriches box-gum woodlands by fixing nitrogen. FNPW nurseries in NSW and Victoria propagate plants for return to newly restored woodland plots. 

When these keystone plants disappear, everything from pollinating insects to seed-dispersing birds feels the loss. 

How we’re turning urgency into action 

At FNPW, we’re working alongside Traditional Owners, researchers, volunteers and local communities to restore habitat, protect nests and rebuild wildlife corridors that can turn the numbers of Australia’s threatened species around.  

Landscape Resilience Program 

Thirty community nurseries across four states have produced more than 1 000 000 locally adapted seedlings since 2020, restoring 2 500 ha and reconnecting fragmented corridors rebuild salt-marsh and re-green fire-scarred country, exactly where birds, bats and marsupials need them. With the one millionth tree planted in October 2024, the program now scales toward 8 million trees by 2030. 

Saving our Species 

• 1 Million Turtles: Nest guards, wetland repair and hatchling releases lift survival from 10 % in the wild to near 100 % in protected sites. 

• Nectar Sippers: Flowering eucalypts planted as “stepping-stones” give Regent Honeyeaters and Swift Parrots safe refuelling stops. 

• Bandicoot Superhighway: In South Australia’s Mt Lofty Ranges, 34 600 native seedlings and habitat works have triggered 110 new Bandicoot sightings in 2023 alone. 

Conservation Grants and First Nations Partnerships 

In the Kimberley, Aboriginal rangers from seven language groups use cool patch burning and detailed burrow mapping to protect Greater Bilbies, combining traditional knowledge with modern science. 

Fire Wise and Climate Resilience 

Since the Black Summer fires, FNPW supporters have helped plant the one-millionth tree for burnt landscapes and restore 2,500 hectares of habitat. 12 nurseries are now growing low-flammability species, and more than 100 landholder workshops now share proven techniques that lower fire risk while boosting biodiversity. 

Proof that hope is justified 

Recovery is real. 

• Turtles back in the water: school-incubated hatchlings now thrive in revitalised wetlands. 

• Birdsong returning: new eucalypts in the South-East Woodlands attracted Regent Honeyeaters within just two flowering seasons. 

• Bilbies on camera: motion-sensor footage shows Bilbies foraging in freshly managed country where cultural burns revived food and shelter. 

These successes are milestones that prove wildlife rebounds quickly when we give nature a hand. 

How you can help 

Volunteer locally

Join tree-planting days, beach clean-ups or citizen-science surveys through our corporate volunteering program.

Give a Gift

Your one-time donation helps drive real, on-the-ground conservation, supporting urgent action for priority projects. 

Become a monthly donor 

Join Habitat Heroes – a passionate community of monthly givers protecting wildlife all year round. 

We put 78% of every dollar straight into field projects, not administration. 

• $50 plants a tray of native seedlings to rebuild lost habitat. 

• $100 restores critical woodland or wetland. 

• $200 funds nest boxes, predator control or Traditional Owner surveys. 

A future worth fighting for 

Envision a dawn where the chorus is strong, rivers run clear and bright wildflowers blanket the ground, an Australia where threatened species not only survive but thrive. By understanding the challenges, celebrating progress and supporting practical on-ground work, we can turn that vision into reality.