Minister Penny Sharpe, Nick Butcher and Dr Rachel Ladd release a Bettong.

© Michael Daddow

A renewed commitment to collaboration will strengthen efforts to save Australia’s threatened wildlife, as Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) the NSW Government and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) plan to extend their ground?breaking partnership for another decade.

Penny Sharpe, Minister for the Environment, delivered the announcement during a visit to Mallee Cliffs National Park in the far south west of NSW, one of the sites where the partnership has successfully delivered large-scale conservation work over the last 10 years. She was joined by Nick Butcher, AWC Board Chair, and David Kelly, NPWS Threatened Species Unit Manager.

“We’re bringing native species back from the brink. bilbies, numbats and Shark Bay bandicoots are back where they had disappeared from and they’re thriving,” said Minister Sharpe. “The next ten years of this partnership is not just about what happens inside fenced areas, it’s about improving our knowledge of what contributes to successful reintroductions, so we can drive recovery of threatened species and tackle our extinction crisis.”

When AWC and the NSW Government signed their landmark agreement in 2016, it marked the first time a private conservation organisation had partnered with a government agency to manage wildlife and deliver large?scale threatened species recovery. It became the blueprint for partnerships within Australia and inspired similar arrangements with the wider conservation community.

Within the first decade, the partnership utilised AWC’s effective model of science-led conservation management to establish large, feral predator-free fenced areas at Mallee Cliffs National Park and the Pilliga State Conservation Area in north west NSW. Once construction was complete, introduced predators, including all cats and foxes, were removed from within the fenced areas. These safe havens have since enabled the return of 11 native species across the two sites, many of them nationally threatened, with some absent from the landscape for more than 150 years.

Since reintroductions began, these feral predator-free safe havens have delivered strong conservation gains, with multiple species thriving across both sites. At Mallee Cliffs, several populations have grown substantially, including the Greater Bilby reaching an estimated 1,840 individuals and Brush-tailed Bettong exceeding 600 individuals. In the Pilliga, reintroduced populations are also growing, with the Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, Brush-tailed Bettong and Shark Bay Bandicoot all numbering in the hundreds.

“By working together, we’ve proven what long-term collaboration can deliver for conservation in Australia,” said Tim Allard, AWC Chief Executive. “Together with the NSW Government, we’re turning the tide of extinction by restoring threatened species to their former range, rebuilding resilient ecosystems, and reconnecting local communities to nature. With this partnership extending, we’re excited to build on this success and see an even greater impact for Australia’s wildlife over the next decade.”

“AWC, the NSW Government and NPWS are pioneering a new model for conservation in Australia, and its success creates a blueprint for restoring threatened species and rebuilding ecosystems,” said Nick Butcher. “After a decade of hard work, wildlife absent from this landscape for over a century are back and thriving, and biodiversity is recovering at scale. Extending our partnership will ensure greater gains for nature and expand AWC’s work beyond the fence across the broader landscape, and into the next chapter of conservation in Australia.”

In the next decade, AWC, the NSW Government and NPWS hope to expand the feral cat and fox management beyond the fenced areas. This would enable the partners to explore the opportunity for reintroducing select species into the broader landscape and demonstrate how targeted introduced predator control can support the recovery of threatened species outside fenced safe havens. This approach draws on AWC’s groundbreaking wildlife restoration at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in WA, where three species have now been released and are surviving beyond the safety of a feral predator-free fenced area.

Collaboration over the next 10 years will also include the reintroduction of additional locally extinct species to the fenced areas, further increasing the significance of the partnership for conservation outcomes.

More information on the groundbreaking partnership is available, here, and updates on the species reintroduced to each site is, here.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is a pragmatic, on-ground global conservation leader, conserving landscapes and providing hope for Australian wildlife. Informed by science, we deliver measurable conservation impact at scale to secure the future of our most endangered species and their habitats, including restoring degraded landscapes where necessary.

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