Australian Koala Foundation

The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) is registered Australian charity created in 1986,^[1] dedicated to the effective management and conservation of the koala and its habitat.^[2] It is the principal non-profit, non-governmental organisation dedicated to the conservation and effective management of the wild koala and its habitat.^[2]

In 2023, the AKF finished its signature project, the Koala Habitat Atlas, which took approximately $20m of scientific time and field work to create. The KHA is provided free of charge to members of the public when they are trying to produce scientific proof that koala habitat could be destroyed if development and industry projects are approved.   

The AKF believes that existing laws, like the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) are inadequate to protect the koala and feel that the federal government is wasting time and resources on research at the expense of habitat conservation.^[3]

In 2016 and 2019 the AFK declared that koalas were "functionally extinct",^[4][5] but those claims were subsequently challenged as untrue by one person and AKF still stands by that view.^[6][7] The claim in May 2019 by the AKF that Australia's koala population was as low as 80,000 animals was challenged by reports that the true population could be more than 300,000.^{[citation needed]}   

In 2019 the AKF expressed grave concerns over the EPBC Act, claiming it did not go far enough to protect koalas.^[8]

The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season had a devastating impact on koala habitat and populations.^[9][10]

The AFK has lobbied for a specific federal koala protection act, akin to the United States' Bald Eagle Endangered Species Act, which has protected its fauna emblem, the bald eagle, since 1973.^[11]

The AKF created "Save the Koala Month", held annually each September, to raise funds for its work and to ensure that people around the world can celebrate the koala.  

Deborah Tabart has headed the Australian Koala Foundation for 33 years. She is the author of The Koala Manifesto,^[12] which tells the story of the koala, and offers steps we can take to save the koala. The Koala Manifesto calls for ten key actions that will need to happen to save the koala and its habitat, and change our relationship with nature.

A current project of AKF is the Koala Kiss Project.^[13] AKF has coined the term "kiss point" to describe the point in the landscape where areas of koala habitat are connected. In some areas koala habitat comes close to each other, but remain separated by divisions of cleared land. AKF is undertaking a huge project to identify and connect these crucial points of habitat.

• Conservation in Australia