On World Wildlife Day, with gum leaves rustling in the background and volunteers gathered in East Lismore, Friends of the Koala marked the beginning of a new chapter, launching a major expansion of the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital as part of its 40th anniversary year.

The milestone event on Tuesday brought together long-time volunteers, veterinary staff and supporters, including Tweed-based Team Koala, who presented a cheque to help kickstart the next stage of fundraising.

The goal is to expand and fully fit out the specialist koala hospital so it can meet growing demand across the Northern Rivers.

Friends of the Koala President Rhonda James said the timing felt right.

“World Wildlife Day provides a fitting backdrop for our launch announcements which highlight the importance of protecting threatened species and the habitats they depend on,” she said.

Inside the shell of the soon-to-be koala hospital

Standing inside the current hospital space, Rhonda explained that while major structural works have been made possible thanks to previous funding support, the next stage, the internal fit-out, is now critical.

“You can imagine like all the benches, the vet equipment… that in itself is probably $400,000,” she said. “Any donations from now will go to the fit-out. We’ve kind of made a tentative date for October because that’s our 40th anniversary event.”

Friends of the Koala has only operated its own dedicated hospital for the past five years. Before that, sick and injured koalas were treated through a network of local vets and volunteer carers. Today, the East Lismore facility is the busiest koala hospital in New South Wales, seeing up to 350 koalas each year.

Superintendent Veterinarian Dr Kate Thomas said the expansion would significantly strengthen their capacity.

“We see up to 350 koalas a year, which is the busiest koala hospital in New South Wales,” she said. “Unfortunately, chlamydia is what we see most often here, primarily due to our lack of habitat in the Northern Rivers. Urbanisation is creating higher levels of stress, and koalas in close proximity are more prone to disease.”

Vehicle strikes and dog attacks also remain major threats. Rhonda noted that on roads like the Bruxner Highway and Tatham Road, “we’ve seen up to 12 animals hit by vehicles this year.”

For Maria Matthes, the hospital expansion is about more than just space.

“The hospital expansion will be just absolutely brilliant for us to be able to do greater diagnostics and research and give us a better opportunity to recover more animals,” she said. “This is the first step in our fundraising for finishing off the hospital.”

Lorraine Vass, Vice President, described the project as an investment in the region’s future.

“Our 40th anniversary is something to celebrate, and this hospital is our investment into the future,” she said. “We have been the voice for koala survival in the Northern Rivers for 40 years, and we want to continue doing a damn good job into the future.”

Team Koala President and co-founder Jenny Hayes said the donation presented on the day was raised through $2 memberships and community fundraising efforts.

“I want to thank the public for the way they support Team Koala,” she said. “We feel so honoured to give them some money… so that we can support a wonderful organisation as in Friends of the Koala.”

But alongside celebration came a clear message that more help is needed. Friends of the Koala hopes to raise around $350,000 by October to have the hospital operational, with a broader $500,000 goal to complete training rooms, drainage and access works. Volunteer numbers have also dwindled since the peak support seen during fires and floods.

“We’re desperate for volunteers to keep up the numbers of animals,” Rhonda said. “We may have the runs, but we can’t take the animals in if we can’t do top-quality care.”

For a region known around the world for its wildlife, Lorraine’s words resonated deeply.

“We have the privilege of actually living with koalas,” she said. “Every one of us who lives with koalas does have a responsibility to do something for those koalas.”

As Friends of the Koala enters its fifth decade, the expansion of the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital stands as both a celebration of what Lismore has built, and a call for the community to help protect one of its most treasured neighbours for generations to come.