Wildlife rehabilitation licences

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment regulates native wildlife rescue and rehabilitation to ensure injured and sick native animals receive specialised care and treatment.

Native animals are protected in NSW by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act).

The rescue and rehabilitation of native animals involves the capture, handling, treatment, release and at times euthanasia of sick, injured or orphaned native animals. Experience and expertise are required for these specialised activities. Unless you are a qualified vet, you require a biodiversity conservation licence granted under the BC Act to take a sick, injured or orphaned native animal into care.

We license selected groups, authorised animal exhibitors and individuals for the rescue and rehabilitation of protected native animals. Some licensed wildlife rehabilitation providers specialise in native species, such as koalas, flying-foxes or marine wildlife, whereas others cover a wide range of species.

All licensed wildlife rehabilitators must comply with certain standards for the care of the native animals under their control to ensure animal welfare. These standards are outlined in the Rehabilitation of Protected Native Animals Policy, Codes of Practice and wildlife rehabilitation licence conditions and specify the minimum requirements for the welfare of animals, training of group members and the keeping and reporting of records.

Wildlife rehabilitators can also seek the assistance of veterinarians listed on the native animal vet directory who have identified themselves as having expertise in treating native mammals, birds, frogs or reptiles.

Getting a licence

Under the Rehabilitation of Protected Native Animals Policy, we only grant new wildlife rehabilitation licences on a 'need for services' basis.

Our preference is for prospective wildlife rehabilitators to align with an existing licensed wildlife rehabilitation group. In some instances, where a group does not currently operate, we may grant a licence to an individual.

Group wildlife rehabilitation licence expand

We will only consider applications for a new group wildlife rehabilitation licence when we publish a call for applications.

We will only publish a call for applications when we identify a gap or inadequacy in service provision that cannot be filled by an existing licensed group.

As there is no current call for applications, prospective wildlife rehabilitators should align with an existing licensed wildlife rehabilitation group.

Find out more about Getting involved in native wildlife rehabilitation.

Individual wildlife rehabilitation licence expand

We will only consider an application for a new individual wildlife rehabilitation licence provided you:

reside outside of the authorisation area of any existing licensed wildlife rehabilitation groups
have experience rehabilitating local native animal species
give a formal written undertaking to comply with the approved Codes of Practice and Guidelines.

Contact the Wildlife Team to discuss.

Ensuring animal welfare

To ensure good welfare outcomes for sick, injured or orphaned native animals, all participants in the native wildlife rehabilitation sector must comply with:

the Rehabilitation of Protected Native Animals Policy
approved codes of practice and guidelines for injured, sick and orphaned native animals
wildlife rehabilitation licence conditions
record keeping requirements.

Wildlife rehabilitators should also be aware of the:

Hygiene guidelines
Hygiene protocol for the control of disease in snakes

Rehabilitation of Protected Native Animals Policy expand

The Rehabilitation of Protected Native Animals Policy defines our relationship with wildlife rehabilitators and outlines how we regulate wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

Key elements of the policy include:

our strategic approach to licensing wildlife rehabilitation groups, which focuses on an area-based licensing system and consolidating existing services
our specified level of engagement with groups including attending meetings, contributing to training courses and auditing rehabilitation facilities.

Codes of practice for injured, sick and orphaned native animals expand

Wildlife rehabilitators must comply with our approved codes of practice. The Codes set out the minimum standards and guidelines for rescue, rehabilitation and release of native animals incapable of fending for themselves in their natural habitat. The Codes have been prepared in consultation with key partners in the sector including members of the NSW Wildlife Council, Taronga Conservation Society, WIRES and other relevant species experts.

Compliance with the standards in the Codes is a condition of wildlife rehabilitation licences. We undertake audits of wildlife rehabilitation facilities to assess compliance. Failure to meet the standards may constitute grounds for suspending or cancelling a licence.

There is a general code of practice for injured, sick and orphaned protected animals and a series of species-specific codes that complement the general code:

Compliance assessment tools expand

These compliance assessment tools has been designed for wildlife rehabilitation groups to monitor their level of compliance with our codes of practice. Their primary purpose is to proactively help inform and guide improvements to their standards of animal care and optimise post-rehabilitation outcomes. These tools are for use by species coordinators and experienced animal rehabilitators such as mentors and/or buddies. It aims to provide an objective snapshot of a group members application of all, or specific parts of the code.

Koala Care Assessment Tool

Guidelines for initial treatment and care of native animals expand

The Codes of Practice are complemented by guidelines for the initial care and treatment of native animals. These documents aim to give guidance to licensed wildlife rehabilitators on assessment and first aid treatment principles for native animals first presenting for care.

Training standards expand

Wildlife rehabilitators must deliver training in compliance with our training standards, which set out the minimum training requirements to equip new learners with the information and skills necessary to care for a particular species. The training standards are based on the relevant Codes of Practice and will give greater certainty about the quality of care provided to wildlife in rehabilitation. The provision of minimum training standards for the volunteer wildlife rehabilitation sector is a product of the NSW Volunteer Wildlife Rehabilitation Sector Strategy.

We prepared the training standards in consultation with leading wildlife rehabilitation providers, including members of the NSW Wildlife Council, Taronga Conservation Society and Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES).

These training standards are for volunteers working in koalas rehabilitation. Additional training standards for other species are currently in development.

Each set of standards is accompanied by a trainers guide to assist wildlife rehabilitator trainers in understanding, implementing and training to these standards.

Comply with licence conditions expand

All wildlife rehabilitation licences are granted with conditions. Under the BC Act, it is an offence to contravene a condition of a licence.

View the wildlife rehabilitation licence conditions (PDF 37KB).

Licensed wildlife rehabilitation providers in NSW

We currently license various volunteer groups, a small number of individuals and some facilities such as Taronga Zoo as wildlife rehabilitation providers. Together they service nearly all of New South Wales.

Refer to the licensed wildlife rehabilitation groups list below for information about the appropriate group in your local area, or to find a specialist group (e.g. marine animals). You can also find your local wildlife group on the go by downloading the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wildlife rescue app.

Licensed wildlife rehabilitation groups list expand

NSW wildlife rehabilitation groups are authorised to rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured or orphaned native animals under a wildlife rehabilitation licence and mostly operate in defined geographic areas (PDF 7.9MB) across New South Wales. Some groups specialise in particular native species, such as koalas, flying-foxes or marine wildlife, whereas others cover a wide range of species.

The table below contains the contact details of licensed NSW wildlife rehabilitation groups, the species they specialise in and their area of operation. A map is provided where relevant.

Group/organisation	Area	Species specialty	Contact information
Australian Seabird Rescue	Three branches: south coast, central coast and far-north coast	Seabirds and shorebirds; marine turtles	0428 862 852 (rescue) 02 6686 2852 (admin) 264 North Creek Rd Ballina NSW 2478 www.seabirdrescue.org
Dolphin Marine Conservation Park	Coffs Harbour and surrounds	Seabirds and shorebirds; marine mammals and reptiles including marine turtles	02 6659 1900 65 Orlando St Coffs Harbour PO Box 532 Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 www.dolphinmarineconservation.com.au
For Australian Wildlife Needing Aid (FAWNA)	NSW Mid North Coast; local government areas of MidCoast, Port Macquarie-Hastings and Kempsey	All species except marine mammals	02 6581 4141 PO Box 218 Wauchope NSW 2446 fawna.nsw.inc@gmail.com www.fawna.org.au Map (PDF 2.8MB)
Friends of the Koala	Northern NSW coast	Koalas	02 6622 1233 PO Box 5034 East Lismore NSW 2480 www.friendsofthekoala.org Map (PDF 1.9MB)
Kangaroo Protection Cooperative	Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra	All species except koalas, raptors and marine mammals and marine reptiles	02 9651 2557 PO Box 164 Glenorie NSW 2157 info@kpcwildlifesanctuary.org.au www.kpcwildlifesanctuary.org.au Map (PDF 5.6MB)
Koala Conservation Australia Inc, Australia – Port Macquarie Koala Hospital	Northern NSW – coast, tablelands and western plains	Koalas	02 6584 1522 PO Box 236 Port Macquarie NSW 2444 www.koalahospital.org.au
Koalas In Care	Mid-North Coast – Greater Taree, Great Lakes & Gloucester	Koalas	02 6552 2183 PO Box 1249 Taree NSW 2430 koalasic@bigpond.net.au www.koalasincare.org.au Map (PDF 2.8MB)
Ku-ring-gai Bat Conservation Society	Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra	Flying-foxes and microbats	www.sydneybats.org.au
LAOKO Snowy Mountains Wildlife Rescue	Southern NSW – Snowy Mountains, to VIC border	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	02 6456 1313 PO Box 159 Berridale NSW 2628 laokosmwr@gmail.com www.laokosmwr.org Map (PDF 2.1MB)
Native Animal Rescue Group (NARG)	Braidwood	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	02 4846 1900 PO Box 24 Majors Creek NSW 2622 www.narg.asn.au Map (PDF 1.5MB)
Native Animal Trust Fund Inc	Newcastle, Cessnock, Maitland, and Lake Macquarie LGA areas of the Hunter Region	All species except marine mammals	0418 628 483 PO Box 17 Shortland NSW 2307 www.hunterwildlife.org.au Map (PDF 2.3MB)
Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers Inc	Far-northern NSW excluding Tweed Valley	All species except marine mammals	02 6628 1866 PO Box 6439 Lismore South NSW 2480 www.wildlifecarers.com Map (PDF 2.5MB)
Northern Tablelands Wildlife Carers	Northern NSW (excluding coast)	All species except marine mammals	1800 008 290 PO Box 550 Armidale NSW 2350 www.ntwc.org.au Map (PDF 3.4MB)
Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans (ORRCA)	All coastal NSW	Marine mammals	02 9415 3333 PO Box 429 Sutherland NSW 1499 www.orrca.org.au
Port Stephens Koalas	Tomaree and Tilligerry Peninsulas, Port Stephens LGA	Koalas	0418 628 483 PO Box 60 Anna Bay NSW 2316 www.portstephenskoalas.com.au Maps (PDF 1.2MB)
Rescue and Rehabilitation of Australian Native Animals (RRANA)	Far-western NSW	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	0429 204 416 PO Box 5089 South Broken Hill NSW 2880 www.rrana.20fr.com Map (PDF 1.4MB)
Saving Our Native Animals (SONA)	Southern NSW, around the areas of Batlow and Tumbarumba	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	02 6946 2222 www.fauna.org.au Map (PDF 1.8MB)
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium	Sydney	Marine reptiles	1800 199 657 1-5 Wheat Rd Sydney NSW 2000 www.sydneyaquarium.com.au
Seaworld Australia	SE Qld	Marine mammals and marine reptiles	07 5588 2222 Sea World Dr Main Beach Gold Coast Qld Village Roadshow Theme Parks (Sea World) PO Box 190 Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 www.seaworld.com.au
Sunraysia Wildlife Carers	Golgol – south-western NSW along Victorian border	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	0427 875 921 PO Box 189 Gol Gol NSW 2738 sunraysiawildlifecarers@gmail.com sunraysiawildlifecarers.wordpress.com Map (PDF 1.7MB)
Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services	Greater Sydney basin	All species except marine mammals	02 9413 4300 PO Box 78 Lindfield NSW 2070 www.sydneywildlife.org.au Map (PDF 4.3MB)
Taronga Western Plains Zoo Wildlife Clinic	Dubbo	All species	02 6881 1400 taronga.org.au/dubbo-zoo
Taronga Zoo Wildlife Hospital	Sydney	All species	02 9969 2777 PO Box 20 Mosman NSW 2088 taronga.org.au/conservation-and-science/taronga-wildlife-hospitals
Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers	Far North Coast – Tweed Valley	All species except marine mammals	02 6672 4789 PO Box 898 Murwillumbah NSW 2484 www.tvwc.org.au Map (PDF 1.3MB)
Wildcare Queanbeyan	Southern NSW, excluding coast and inland to Young area	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	02 6299 1966 PO Box 1404 Queanbeyan NSW 2620 www.wildcare.com.au Map (PDF 3.1MB)
Wildlife Aid	Upper Hunter	All species except koalas, marine mammals and marine reptiles	0429 850 089 PO Box 619 Singleton NSW 2330 www.wildlifeaid.org.au Map (PDF 2.2MB)
Wildlife Animal Rescue and Care Society (Wildlife ARC)	Gosford and Wyong LGAs, Wyee and Wyee Pt and Post Code 2259	All species except koalas, marine mammals and marine reptiles	02 4325 0666 PO Box 2308 Gosford NSW 2250 www.wildlife-arc.org.au Map (PDF 2.8MB)
Wildlife Carers Network Central West Inc	Mudgee, Lithgow, Capertee and Valley, Kelso, Coolah, Tambar Springs and Western NSW areas	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	0408 966 228 PO Box 1223 Mudgee NSW 2850 secretary@wildlifecarers.org.au www.wildlifecarers.org.au Map (PDF 2.7MB)
Wildlife Rescue South Coast	NSW coast south of Wollongong	All species except marine mammals and marine reptiles	0418 427 214 PO Box 666 Nowra NSW 2541 info@wildlife-rescue.org.au www.wildlife-rescue.org.au Map (PDF 3.0MB)
WINC (Wildlife in Need of Care)	Port Stephens, southern Great Lakes, and southern Dungog LGAs	All species except marine mammals	1300 WIN CWL, 1300 946 295 PO Box 16 Tanilba Bay, NSW 2319 www.wildlifeinneedofcare.org.au Map (PDF 2.3MB)
WIRES (Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service)	Branches throughout NSW	All species except marine mammals	1300 094 737 (13 000 WIRES) PO Box 7276 Warringah Mall NSW 2100 www.wires.org.au Map (PDF 7.9MB)

The NSW Wildlife Council is the peak body for licensed wildlife rehabilitators in NSW. It provides member groups with public liability and personal accident insurance (funded by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and the Roads and Maritime Services).