Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00555:body:0:p6
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00555
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 14256–17710

Act (s528) a species is a group of biological entities that (a) interbreed to produce fertile offspring; or (b) possess common characteristics derived from a common gene pool; and includes (c) a sub-species.
Under section 517 of the EPBC Act, the Minister for the Environment may determine that a distinct population of biological entities is a species for the purposes of the Act. On 27 April 2012, the Phascolarctos cinereus (combined populations of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory) was determination under this provision to be a species (Commonwealth of Australia 2012). In this recovery plan, the legal entity is referred to as the 'listed Koala'.
Threats. Activities, events and processes, whether anthropogenic or natural, that directly or indirectly influence the biophysical environment or natural demographic or ecological processes and may interfere with the conservation of the Koala. Examples of indirect threats include habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, and population isolation.
Signage advertising the local Koala attraction, welcoming visitors. Narrandera, central NSW.
Image: © S. Brown.

Acronyms
Term        Definition
ABARES      Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences
ACT         Australian Capital Territory
BC Act      Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW)
CSIRO       Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Commonwealth)
DAWE        Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Commonwealth) (formerly DoEE and DotE)
DotE        Department of the Environment (Commonwealth) (former)
DoEE        Department of Energy and the Environment (Commonwealth) (former)
DECC        Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) (former)
DES         Department of Environment and Science (Queensland) (formerly DERM)
DERM        Department of Environment and Resource Management (Queensland) (former)
DELWP       Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (Victoria) (formerly DSE)
DPIE        Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (NSW) (formerly OEH)
DSE         Department of Sustainability and Environment (Victoria) (former)
EPBC Act    Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth)
IBRA/IBRA7  Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia. Version 7
IUCN        International Union for Conservation of Nature
KoRV        Koala retrovirus
Minister    The Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, Water and the Environment
NAILSMA     North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd.
NRM         Natural Resource Management
OEH         NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) (former)
SPRAT       Species Profile and Threats Database
TSSC        Threatened Species Scientific Committee
UNESCO      United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Overview
The Koala Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss 1817), is recognised globally as an iconic Australian marsupial and is of cultural and emotional significance to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. To see a Koala is a highlight for most international and Australian tourists and, as a drawcard, it provides a significant contribution to Australia's tourism economy (Hundloe and Hamilton 1997). The Koala is also of global biodiversity significance because it is the only surviving member of the ancient line of the marsupial family Phascolarctidae (Black