NSW Wildlife Council launches its Impact Report

The Report has details about the collective efforts made by its 30 member groups in 2023-2024 - the work they perform, and impressive statistics on their annual impact, trends in wildlife care and case studies of the work performed by some groups. 

The Report uses data about wildlife care in NSW which was sourced from National Parks and Wildlife (NPWS) Rehabilitation Data Dashboards which are largely populated with information supplied by NWC member groups.  

Sadly, the stories and data in the Report also make clear the threats on our wildlife, the pressure on the wildlife sector and the volunteers who sustain it.

NWC, the largest and longest-standing wildlife rescue and care network in NSW represents over 5,500, or 68%, of all wildlife rescuers and rehabilitators in the state.

In 2023-2024 these volunteers coordinated rescues for over 454 land and marine species, including 72 threatened species.  

With Australia’s unique wildlife facing a significant decline due to habitat loss, and other threats, such as collisions with motor vehicles and domestic animal attacks, the almost 10,000 animals rehabilitated and released by NWC members will go some way to assisting in survival.

It’s timely that in the ‘International Volunteer Year 2026’, the Report recognizes the significant investment made by volunteers in wildlife care.   On average over 23,000 kilometres are traveled, one million dollars is spent on feed, fuel and medical supplies and the average annual feed bill per volunteer member group is $25,000. 

The Report is available online via the NWC’s new website Initiatives — NSW Wildlife Council 

About the NSW Wildlife Council –

The NSW Wildlife Council, (NWC) is the peak body for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation in NSW.  NWC represents 30 groups, comprising statewide and regional wildlife rehabilitators supporting over 5,500 members. The NWC adopts collaborative approaches to achieve desired outcomes in wildlife care.  This collaboration is shown through its strong relationship with other wildlife rescue groups, the veterinary community, the Veterinary Practitioners Board and government departments.  

In 2025 the NWC ran a statewide ‘Wildlife Friendly Roads Campaign’ that reached millions of Australians through partnerships with the tourism sector, Transport for NSW, media and Waze/Google Maps.

In 2026 the NWC Learning Hub will be introduced to improve access to training opportunities for members and to connect volunteers with local groups and licencing and government departments.