Travel & Places
A new national park for koalas in Australia
On October 23, 2026, the New South Wales government announced that a law to create the Great Koala National Park had passed.
On October 23, 2026, the government of New South Wales, in southeastern Australia, announced that the state parliament had passed a law to create the Great Koala National Park. The park is on the Mid North Coast of the state, a region of forests, rivers and beaches. The government expects it to open before the end of 2026.
The new law adds more than 178,000 hectares of state forest and other public land to the state's protected areas. This land will be joined to national parks that already exist in the area, such as Dorrigo and New England. Together, they will cover more than 475,000 hectares, which will make the park one of the largest protected areas in New South Wales. Because one square kilometer equals 100 hectares, this is an area of more than 4,750 square kilometers.
Word in this story
In danger of disappearing completely, often because only a few are left or their home is being lost.
The park will also protect 66 threatened animal species, including gliders and glossy black cockatoos.