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Bare-nosed Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)

The bare-nosed wombat is a stocky, burrowing marsupial of south-eastern Australia. On clearing and construction sites, active burrows, night movements, vehicle strikes and damage to creek banks or fences need to be managed carefully. The species is protected in New South Wales, listed as near threatened in Queensland and rare in South Australia, and is treated as an EVNT species for project planning.

Conservation status

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Near threatened.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Rare.

Breeding season

Bare-nosed wombats can breed throughout the year, although mating is commonly recorded from September to December. Timing varies between regions, and dependent young may be present in burrows from April to June in some areas.

Breeding mode: Marsupial. A single young is born and develops in the rear-facing pouch.

Litter size: Usually one young.

Gestation: About one month.

Pouch period: About 7 to 10 months.

Post-pouch dependence: The young may remain with the mother for a further 8 to 10 months and can take up to 21 months to become fully independent.

Age at sexual maturity: About 2 years.

Breeding site: Burrows are used for birth and young rearing. Burrows may be up to 30 m long, several metres deep and may have multiple entrances.

Seasonal timing can vary between years and regions, so inspect burrows and assess occupancy before clearing or disturbance at any time of year.

  • General breeding and births: Breeding can occur throughout the year, although the timing varies between areas.
  • Mating: Mating is commonly recorded from September to December.
  • Dependent young in burrows or with the mother: Dependent young may be present year round, with April to June identified for some seasonal breeding areas.
  • Night-time grazing and local movement: Bare-nosed wombats are mainly nocturnal or crepuscular and may travel up to 3 km during a night while feeding.
  • Juvenile dispersal: Young disperse when approaching independence, but no fixed month for dispersal is established.
  • Highest clearing risk: Treat active burrows and nearby feeding areas as sensitive in every month, with added caution from April to June and September to December when young or breeding activity may be concentrated.

Identification: Appearance and size

Bare-nosed wombats are large, low-set marsupials with a blunt head, a broad naked snout and powerful digging limbs. They are generally solitary and are most often detected by their burrows and distinctive cube-shaped droppings rather than by direct observation.

The snout is broad and naked, with grainy skin. The body is squat and muscular, with short powerful legs, small eyes and ears, sharp claws and continuously growing front teeth.

Adults can reach about 1.3 m in length and weigh up to 36 kg. Other wildlife rehabilitation guidance reports adult weights of 20 to 40 kg.

  • Blunt head and flat nose.
  • Short legs and a stocky body.
  • Powerful claws for digging.
  • Pouch opens backwards, which helps keep soil and twigs out while digging.

Identification: Calls and similar species

Bare-nosed wombats can produce snorts, screeches and other aggressive sounds when defending a territory. These sounds are not a dependable survey method, and there is no established call or echolocation technique for site surveys.

The southern hairy-nosed wombat has a snout covered with fine hairs and larger ears. The northern hairy-nosed wombat also differs in having a hairy nose. Correct identification matters where more than one wombat species may occur.

  • Bare-nosed wombat, Vombatus ursinus, has a naked, grainy snout.
  • Southern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus latifrons, has a hairy snout and larger ears.
  • Northern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus krefftii, is not expected in most field situations and is presumed extinct in New South Wales.

Identification: Field signs

Fresh cube-shaped droppings are a strong sign that a burrow or feeding area is active. Droppings may be placed on rocks and logs as territorial markers.

Look for fresh scratch marks, freshly dug soil and worn tracks at burrow entrances. Wombats often use the same trails between burrows and feeding areas.

  • Fresh, cube-shaped droppings.
  • Fresh soil at an entrance or test dig.
  • Scratch marks around the entrance.
  • Multiple entrances, tracks or trails leading to grassed areas.
  • Scent-marking droppings on raised objects such as rocks and logs.

Identification: Confirming burrow activity

Treat an apparently empty burrow as potentially occupied until checks show otherwise. Place small sticks across each entrance and check them daily for at least one week. Disturbed sticks indicate use and should trigger further ecological assessment.

Cameras, flour or other unobtrusive entrance checks can also help confirm occupancy. Do not enter, block or fill a burrow during a survey.

Distribution: Australian range

The bare-nosed wombat is a south-eastern Australian species. Its distribution is fragmented in parts of New South Wales, while it remains more widespread in suitable areas of Victoria and Tasmania.

The species historically ranged from south-eastern Queensland through New South Wales and across much of Victoria. It is associated mainly with the Great Dividing Range, the coast and western slopes.

The species is mapped in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. Records and suitable habitat are not expected to be evenly distributed across these jurisdictions, so local mapping and current database records should be checked before works begin.

  • New South Wales, particularly south-eastern areas, the coast, ranges and western slopes.
  • Victoria, particularly south-eastern areas, coastal forests and mountain ranges.
  • Tasmania and Queensland, within the mapped range.
  • South Australia and the Northern Territory, where mapped records should be checked against current local information.

Distribution: Distribution on works sites

In New South Wales, the distribution is fragmented and the population is contracting eastward in some areas. Clearing of vegetation can leave wombats concentrated along gullies, creek lines, drainage lines and retained patches.

A site may support wombats even where animals are not seen during daytime inspections. Burrows, trails and fresh droppings are often more useful than sightings for confirming local use.

  • Search retained vegetation, gully sides, creek margins and adjoining grassed areas.
  • Check neighbouring paddocks and connected bushland, not only the construction footprint.
  • Map all burrows, trails, feeding areas and likely fence crossing points before clearing.

Distribution: Overseas range

The bare-nosed wombat is native to Australia. No overseas wild range is recognised.

Habitat: Vegetation and landscape setting

Bare-nosed wombats need secure soils for digging, nearby grass or sedge for feeding, and connected cover for movement. They often use modified landscapes where native vegetation remains along gullies, creek lines, slopes and drainage features.

Look for wet or partly forested country on the coast, ranges and western slopes. Suitable sites may include temperate forest, woodland edges, grassy clearings and native pasture adjoining cover.

Wombats favour areas where the soil is easy to dig and where vegetation, logs, rocks and other debris provide cover or help define a burrow site.

  • Temperate forest and partly forested areas.
  • Forest edges and grassy clearings.
  • Native grassland or pasture beside retained vegetation.
  • Slopes above creeks and gullies.
  • Vegetated drainage lines and areas with rocky debris.

Habitat: Soil and landform

Well-drained, workable soils are preferred for burrowing. Burrows are often on gully sides or above creeks rather than in frequently inundated ground.

Land clearing can push wombats into narrow strips along waterways and drainage lines. These areas may contain a high concentration of burrows and are sensitive to erosion and construction disturbance.

  • Soft or friable soil that can be excavated.
  • Stable slopes above creeks and gullies.
  • Banks with vegetation and some rocky or woody cover.
  • Connected habitat leading to feeding areas.

Habitat: Pre-clearing site checks

Before earthworks, walk the full disturbance area and adjacent retained habitat. Record burrow entrances, fresh droppings, trails, feeding clearings, fence crossings and areas where soil has recently been disturbed.

Where an EVNT trigger or local listing applies, use a suitably qualified ecologist and follow the relevant state survey and approval requirements. Include nearby retained habitat in the assessment because wombats may travel beyond the construction footprint each night.

  • Map active and potentially active burrows with photographs and coordinates.
  • Inspect creek lines, gully slopes, paddock edges and drainage features.
  • Record barriers, roads, fences and proposed access tracks.
  • Plan exclusion, access and clearing controls around confirmed burrows.

Foraging habitat: Food plants

Bare-nosed wombats graze at night and may travel up to 3 km from shelter to feeding areas. Retained grassland and native pasture near burrows can therefore be as important as the burrow itself.

The main diet is native vegetation. Wombats commonly graze native tussock grasses and also eat sedges, roots of shrubs and trees, and some bark.

  • Snow grass and other tussock grasses.
  • Wallaby grass.
  • Kangaroo grass.
  • Sedges.
  • Roots of shrubs and trees.

Foraging habitat: Foraging areas to retain

Look for open grassy clearings, native pasture, forest edges and grassed flats connected to burrow areas. Repeated trails between burrows and these areas may show regular night use.

Wombats can be possessive about particular feeding grounds. Loss of a small feeding area may affect the use of several nearby burrows.

  • Native grass clearings close to burrows.
  • Grazed or partly modified paddocks adjoining bushland.
  • Sedge-rich areas and grassy creek terraces.
  • Trails crossing proposed roads, tracks or fence lines.

Foraging habitat: Construction controls

Keep night lighting, vehicle movements and temporary fencing as low as practicable near feeding trails. Protect connected grassed habitat and avoid placing stockpiles or compounds across regular movement routes.

Where fencing is needed, provide wombat-friendly crossing points. Options include removing the lowest wire to about 15 cm above ground or installing a wombat swing gate at a known breach point, while maintaining the required exclusion of other animals.

  • Retain native grass and sedge cover near occupied burrows.
  • Keep access tracks away from mapped trails where practicable.
  • Use low-speed controls and wildlife warning signs on roads through wombat habitat.
  • Check temporary fencing daily for trapped or injured animals.

Breeding habitat: Breeding timing and young

The burrow is the only breeding and young-rearing shelter described for the bare-nosed wombat. A female generally raises one young, which remains dependent for an extended period, so active burrows require careful treatment throughout the year.

Breeding can occur throughout the year. In New South Wales, mating is reported from September to December, and some areas may have dependent young in burrows from April to June.

A female usually produces one young. The young remains in the pouch for about 7 to 10 months and can take up to 21 months to become fully independent.

  • One young is typical.
  • Young may remain pouch-bound for 7 to 10 months.
  • Full independence can take up to 21 months.
  • Treat occupied burrows as potential breeding sites in every season.

Breeding habitat: Breeding places on a site

Breeding may occur in any suitable burrow within a home range. Look particularly for burrows on stable slopes above creeks and gullies, where entrances are protected by vegetation and the soil is easy to dig.

Multiple burrows may occur within a home range of 5 to 25 hectares. More than one wombat may use a burrow at different times, and burrows may have several entrances.

  • Burrows with fresh soil, droppings or tracks.
  • Burrow networks with several entrances.
  • Vegetated slopes above creeks and gullies.
  • Burrows connected to feeding grounds by worn trails.

Breeding habitat: Female and pouch-young checks

If an injured or deceased female is found, check for a pouch young or signs of a young animal nearby. An elongated teat or stretched pouch may indicate dependent young.

Search the surrounding area thoroughly and monitor it over the following days if a young animal is not immediately found. Use a wildlife camera where appropriate, and obtain wildlife carer or veterinary assistance.

Breeding habitat: Protection during works

Do not bulldoze, collapse or fill a burrow unless it has been confirmed inactive and the required approvals are in place. A vacant-looking entrance can still be occupied, including by a female with young.

For Queensland projects, check the requirements applying to near threatened protected wildlife. Tampering with a breeding place may require a species management program.

  • Fence or mark active burrows before machinery enters the site.
  • Keep clearing crews and plant away from entrances and likely escape routes.
  • Stop work and seek advice if a wombat, pouch young or newly exposed burrow is found.
  • Use a qualified wildlife handler for any necessary rescue or exclusion.

Sheltering habitat: Burrow structure and setting

Bare-nosed wombats shelter in deep burrows during the day and in hot or adverse weather. Burrows may be long, deep and connected to several entrances, so surface disturbance can affect more habitat than the visible opening suggests.

Burrows can be up to 30 m long and several metres deep. They may have multiple entrances and more than one burrow may occur within a home range of 5 to 25 hectares.

Preferred sites include easy-to-dig, well-drained soils on gully sides and slopes above creeks. Wombats may share a burrow even though they are mostly solitary.

  • Freshly dug soil around an entrance.
  • Several entrances close together.
  • Stable, vegetated banks and gully slopes.
  • Logs, rocks and dense vegetation near the entrance.
  • Trails leading from the burrow to grassed feeding areas.

Sheltering habitat: Surveying shelter sites

Inspect each entrance from a safe distance. Record whether it is open, recently excavated, obstructed, eroded or connected to other entrances.

Use sticks, flour or a camera to assess occupancy without entering the burrow. Check potential burrows for at least one week when an activity decision is needed, and extend monitoring if signs are unclear.

  • Photograph and map every entrance before works.
  • Check for fresh cube-shaped droppings and scratch marks.
  • Inspect after rain or recent earthworks for new soil disturbance.
  • Include burrows just outside the footprint if vibration, access or drainage may affect them.

Sheltering habitat: Burrow protection and exclusion

Retain trees, logs, rocks and native vegetation around suitable burrow areas. Revegetating safer areas away from creek banks can help reduce pressure on fragile drainage lines and encourage future burrowing in more suitable locations.

If a wombat must be excluded from beneath a building, use a sturdy one-way door that allows it to leave but prevents re-entry. Steel mesh may be needed below the door to stop digging underneath. Exclusion should be planned with a qualified wildlife professional.

  • Mark burrows with posts or small-strand fencing to keep stock and machinery away.
  • Never fill an apparently vacant burrow without confirming inactivity.
  • Use steel mesh to cover an empty hole on a dam wall only after confirming it is inactive.
  • Provide an alternative route if fencing or structures block a regular movement path.

Threats: Clearing, excavation and burrow collapse

Development can remove burrows, feeding areas and movement routes, or force wombats into roads, fences and unstable creek banks. The species also faces disease, introduced competitors and direct persecution, so site controls should protect both animals and their habitat.

Land clearing can remove feeding grounds and force wombats into narrow strips along creeks and drainage lines. Excavation, vibration, compaction and stockpiling can collapse or block burrows.

Use pre-clearing surveys, clearly marked exclusion zones and staged works. Active burrows should be retained wherever practicable, with any unavoidable disturbance managed under the relevant approval and wildlife requirements.

  • Avoid clearing around active burrows and connected trails.
  • Keep heavy plant, spoil and temporary compounds away from entrances.
  • Retain vegetation, logs and rocks that provide cover and support stable burrow sites.
  • Stop work if a new entrance, wombat or dependent young is found.

Threats: Roads, vehicles and fences

Vehicle collisions are a major field risk, particularly where roads cross routes between burrows and feeding areas. Wombats may try to pass through or under obstacles rather than walk around them.

Use low speeds, warning signs and night-driving controls in known habitat. Design fences to allow wombats to pass without creating gaps that also admit unwanted species.

  • Remove the lowest fence wire to about 15 cm above ground where suitable.
  • Install wombat swing gates at known crossing or breach points.
  • Inspect temporary fencing, trenches and pits each day.
  • Provide ramps or safely cover excavations where an animal could become trapped.

Threats: Sarcoptic mange and animal welfare

Sarcoptic mange is caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. Signs include intense irritation, hair loss, thickened or crusted skin, and advanced eye or ear problems. Untreated animals can become severely ill and die.

Do not handle a sick wombat unless trained and authorised. Record the location, keep people and dogs away, and contact the relevant wildlife rescue, veterinary or government service.

  • Look for hair loss, crusted skin, severe scratching or unusual daytime activity.
  • Avoid moving mange-affected animals without professional direction.
  • Clean equipment that may have contacted an affected animal.
  • Report dead wombats because a pouch young may have survived.

Threats: Habitat loss, competition and persecution

Settlement and agriculture have reduced suitable habitat in many areas. Competition with cattle, sheep and rabbits can reduce available food, while wild dogs, illegal shooting and conflict around fences or gardens can cause direct losses.

Maintain connected native vegetation and grassed feeding areas. Use fencing and access measures that reduce conflict rather than relocating animals without a suitable plan.

  • Control stock access around burrow entrances.
  • Retain native grass, sedge and woodland links between shelter and feeding areas.
  • Manage rabbits and other competitors under the site land management plan.
  • Do not shoot, harass, trap or relocate wombats without the required authority and specialist advice.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

Survey for bare-nosed wombats should focus on burrows, feeding areas and movement routes. The species is mostly nocturnal and can be difficult to see, so signs and remote cameras are often more useful than daytime searches alone.

Map native vegetation, grassy clearings, creek lines, gullies, slopes, rocky debris and areas with diggable soil.

Identify existing records, roadkill locations, known burrows, fence breach points and nearby wombat habitat.

Treat mapped habitat as potentially occupied where records are sparse. Bare-nosed wombat distribution is fragmented in parts of its range and local abundance can vary greatly.

  • Review current Commonwealth and state conservation databases before finalising the survey design.
  • Check whether the project occurs in or near a Queensland near threatened population or a South Australian Rare population.
  • Map all proposed clearing, access tracks, compounds, drainage works, roads and temporary stockpiles against burrows and likely feeding areas.

Survey methodology: 2. Burrow and sign searches

Search suitable habitat on foot during daylight, when burrow entrances and fresh signs can be examined safely.

Record burrows with fresh cube-shaped droppings, scratch marks, freshly dug soil, tracks and worn trails. Fresh signs indicate recent use.

Inspect creek and gully slopes, paddock edges, rocky areas, vegetation remnants and places where wombats may pass under or through fences.

  • Record each burrow with a GPS location, photographs, entrance condition, number of entrances and nearby habitat.
  • Mark burrows in the field without blocking the entrance.
  • Record droppings or scent-marking on rocks and logs, feeding lawns, trails and fence crossings.
  • Search for more than one burrow within the surrounding home range. Wombats may use several burrows across 5 to 25 hectares.

Survey methodology: 3. Occupancy confirmation

Use a wildlife camera at important burrow entrances where the burrow may be affected or where signs are unclear.

For an apparently vacant burrow, place light sticks across each entrance and check them every day for at least one week. Disturbed sticks indicate use.

Use flour or other non harmful track media only where it will not contaminate the burrow or attract predators. Cameras are preferred where practicable.

  • Do not fill, collapse or cover a burrow until inactivity has been confirmed.
  • Check all entrances to a multi entrance burrow.
  • Record the dates and methods used, weather, camera deployment period, stick disturbance, animal observations and evidence of young.

Survey methodology: 4. Night and road surveys

Use dusk, night and early morning searches to detect animals moving between burrows and feeding areas. Avoid relying on a single night search.

Search slowly along tracks, fence lines and known movement routes, with suitable traffic controls and trained observers.

Use thermal or infrared equipment where available, while maintaining safe distances and avoiding disturbance at burrow entrances.

  • Survey in conditions that allow safe access and reliable detection, and repeat searches after rain where fresh tracks and soil disturbance are easier to identify.
  • Record live sightings, roadkill, direction of travel, habitat used, nearby burrows and any signs of mange.
  • Do not chase, spotlight closely or handle a bare-nosed wombat during a detection survey.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Approvals and legal checks

Plan works around occupied burrows, feeding grounds and movement routes. The bare-nosed wombat breeds throughout the year, so a burrow may contain a dependent young animal at any time.

Confirm the current conservation status for the project locality before works begin. Queensland populations are listed as near threatened and South Australian populations are listed as Rare. Apply the higher level of protection where a population or subspecies specific listing applies.

Obtain all required state wildlife permits before survey, handling, exclusion, relocation or disturbance. Wombats are protected in New South Wales and other jurisdictions may require similar authorisations.

Ask the relevant Queensland department whether a species management program, or SMP, is required for tampering with a near threatened wombat breeding place.

  • Screen the action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Make an EPBC referral if the project may have a significant impact on a listed threatened species or another matter of national environmental significance.
  • Confirm whether a state approval, fauna spotter catcher licence, rehabilitation authorisation, relocation approval or wildlife rescue arrangement is required.
  • Keep copies of approvals, permit conditions, maps, contact details and escalation procedures at the site office and in the spotter catcher's vehicle.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Avoidance and site design

Retain active burrows, native vegetation, trees, logs, rocks and connected feeding habitat wherever practicable.

Redesign access, drainage, stockpiles and compounds to avoid burrow entrances, gully slopes and established trails.

Avoid directing wombats towards roads, buildings, steep excavations or unstable creek banks. Wombats may try to pass through or under obstacles rather than go around them.

  • Fence exclusion zones with a clear, durable barrier that does not trap animals or prevent access to essential habitat.
  • Mark burrows and movement routes on construction plans and in the field.
  • Keep livestock, vehicles and plant away from burrow entrances. Use posts or small strand fencing where stock may fall into or damage burrows.
  • Use wombat swing gates or remove the lowest fence wire, 15 centimetres above ground level, where fences obstruct regular movement.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Pre clearance inspection

Complete a final pre clearance inspection shortly before each clearing stage. Recheck every mapped burrow because occupancy can change between surveys and construction.

Inspect nearby vegetation, rocks, logs, gullies and drainage lines for additional burrows and signs.

Search for a female with a pouch young or a dependent young animal near a burrow. Breeding can occur year round, with dependent young in burrows from April to June in some areas.

  • Use cameras or other occupancy checks at burrows that will be disturbed.
  • Do not treat a burrow as inactive solely because no animal is seen during a daytime inspection.
  • Stop the planned disturbance and obtain specialist advice if a burrow is occupied, recently used, structurally connected to another burrow or likely to contain young.

Before habitat disturbance: 4. Exclusion and induction

Exclude animals from a work area only under an approved method and with advice from the relevant wildlife authority or a qualified wombat rehabilitator.

Where a wombat is living under a building or structure, use a sturdy one way door that lets the animal leave but prevents return. Install it only after confirming that the animal is out and that dependent young will not be trapped.

  • Never use a one way door as a substitute for checking the burrow for young.
  • Use buried steel mesh where needed to prevent digging under an approved exclusion door.
  • Induct all workers on identification, burrow signs, speed limits, exclusion zones, stop work authority, handling restrictions and the injured animal pathway.
  • Tell workers that only inactive burrows may be bulldozed or filled.

Before habitat disturbance: 5. Timing and movement planning

There is no known migration period that allows all works to be safely scheduled outside a movement season. Plan for local, nightly movement between burrows and feeding areas instead.

Avoid night works near active burrows, trails and feeding areas where practicable. If night works cannot be avoided, use a specific fauna management plan and active supervision.

  • Schedule high risk works for daylight where this reduces the chance of encountering a moving wombat.
  • Use temporary fencing and gates that allow approved movement routes to remain open until habitat is no longer required.
  • Include a contingency for a wombat found after clearing starts, including safe plant shutdown, veterinary contact and authorised rescue support.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Sequential clearing

Clear habitat in small, controlled stages and keep a qualified fauna spotter catcher present during high risk activities. The spotter catcher must be able to stop work immediately when a wombat, active burrow or dependent young is found.

Clear from the least hazardous area towards retained habitat so animals have an opportunity to move away, but do not force them towards roads, machinery, open trenches or unsuitable habitat.

Clear in small sections and inspect each section before moving plant into it.

Retain all active burrows and their immediate surroundings unless an approved action specifically authorises disturbance.

  • Maintain a live map of cleared areas, retained burrows, exclusion zones and open excavations.
  • Inspect stockpiles, pipes, culverts, trenches and cavities before moving or covering them.
  • Cover or barricade excavations at the end of each shift where an animal could enter.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Stop work and animal handling

Give the spotter catcher authority to stop work without seeking further approval from the plant operator or supervisor.

Only authorised and suitably trained people may approach, capture, transport or release a wombat. Do not attempt to drag an animal from a burrow or pull a joey from a pouch or teat.

  • Stop plant and personnel movement when a wombat, active burrow, dependent young, carcass with a possible joey or sign of injury is found.
  • Keep people, dogs and vehicles away from the animal and provide a quiet escape route where safe.
  • Contact the nominated wildlife rescue or veterinary provider before capture or transport.
  • Do not relocate an apparently healthy wombat simply because it is inconvenient.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Active burrows and dependent young

Treat a burrow as active when it has fresh cube shaped droppings, scratch marks, fresh soil, disturbed monitoring sticks, camera records or other recent signs.

If an active burrow or dependent young is found, stop the affected work area and have the fauna specialist assess the site and the approval conditions.

  • Do not fill, collapse, bulldoze, fumigate or block an active burrow.
  • Search the surrounding area carefully if a female has an elongated teat or stretched pouch, or if a deceased female may have a joey.
  • Use a wildlife camera and repeat site checks where a young animal is not immediately located.
  • Restart work only after the animal risk has been resolved and the authorised person records the decision.

During habitat disturbance: 4. Injury, disease and carcasses

Treat animals showing hair loss, thickened or crusted skin, severe itching, blindness, weakness or unusual behaviour as potentially affected by sarcoptic mange. Do not handle them without appropriate authority and hygiene controls.

A wombat hit by a vehicle may have a live joey in the pouch or nearby, even when the adult is dead.

  • Keep the public and workers away from an injured or diseased animal.
  • Contact the nominated wildlife rescue service, veterinarian or relevant state wildlife authority.
  • Record the exact location, condition, photographs where safe, time, likely cause and the person notified.
  • Check a dead female for a joey only through an authorised and trained person. Never pull a joey from a teat or pouch by a limb.

During habitat disturbance: 5. Daily records and communication

Record every wombat observation, burrow encounter, stop work event and mitigation action on the day it occurs.

Keep the site supervisor, environmental representative and fauna spotter catcher informed as work fronts change.

  • Record date, time, location, activity, weather, animal condition, burrow status, action taken, approvals relied on and outcome.
  • Photograph burrows and exclusion measures without entering or disturbing them.
  • Update the construction map and handover notes before the next shift.
  • Report permit breaches, injury, death, unauthorised burrow disturbance and failed exclusion immediately through the project escalation process.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Immediate post clearance checks

Post clearance checks should confirm that no animal remains trapped and that retained burrows and movement routes are functioning. Monitoring effort should match the risk, with more follow up for Queensland near threatened or South Australian Rare populations, active burrow disturbance and projects that remove habitat connections.

Inspect the cleared area, retained vegetation edges, trenches, pits, culverts, stockpiles and temporary fencing at the end of each work stage.

Recheck burrows near the disturbance footprint for fresh droppings, tracks, soil disturbance and structural damage.

Confirm that all escape routes, gates and exclusion fences work as intended and do not trap animals.

  • Use cameras at retained or relocated burrows where occupancy is uncertain.
  • Remove redundant fencing, mesh, pipes and other hazards as soon as they are no longer needed.
  • Repair damaged burrow entrances only with specialist advice. Do not seal a burrow to make it look tidy.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained habitat, burrows, trails and road crossings at a frequency suited to the project risk and permit conditions.

Use repeat sign searches and cameras to compare activity before and after works. Record changes in occupancy, fresh signs, roadkill, mange observations and fence interactions.

  • Continue monitoring through the first period of active use after construction, and longer where required by a permit, SMP or management plan.
  • Report results to the relevant regulator and project approval holder in the required format.
  • Update the site risk assessment if burrows become inactive, animals move into the work area, or new movement routes are identified.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Relocated or released animals

Release or relocation must be authorised and undertaken by appropriately trained wildlife personnel. Use the animal's original locality where lawful and suitable, or the nearest suitable connected habitat identified by the authority.

A suitable release area should contain appropriate burrows, food and water, an existing wombat population, connected habitat and low risks from roads and free ranging dogs.

  • Do not move a wombat across a physical boundary it would not normally cross or farther than it would normally travel.
  • Check the selected burrow for occupancy for at least 3 consecutive days before release, using a camera, flour or twigs at entrances where suitable.
  • For rehabilitated animals, release at the age of natural dispersal and when the animal is independent and in suitable body condition. Hand raised animals are generally released at about 18 months to 2 years, or approximately 18 to 20 kilograms, under the rehabilitation code.
  • Monitor the release site for emergence, feeding signs, injury, road movement and use of the selected burrow.

After habitat disturbance: 4. Incident review

Review every injury, death, burrow disturbance, failed exclusion and unplanned relocation before the next work stage.

Include the fauna spotter catcher, site supervisor, environmental representative and relevant authority where required.

  • Identify the immediate and underlying cause, such as speed, lighting, a gap under fencing, unmarked habitat or inadequate pre clearance checks.
  • Amend inductions, maps, fencing, work methods and supervision before work resumes in the affected area.
  • Keep a complete incident file with photographs, GPS locations, notifications, veterinary or rescue outcomes and corrective actions.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Burrows and shelter habitat

Rehabilitation should restore connected habitat, feeding areas and safe burrowing conditions rather than simply cover disturbed ground. Bare-nosed wombats use burrows, not nests or roost structures, so habitat repair is usually more useful than artificial shelters.

Retain existing burrows wherever practicable and protect them from vehicles, livestock, erosion and future earthworks.

Restore areas with well drained, diggable soil, native vegetation, logs, rocks, bark and stumps. These features provide cover and help direct burrowing away from fragile creek edges.

Create or improve suitable burrowing areas only with advice from a wombat ecologist or wildlife authority. Do not excavate an artificial burrow without checking for flooding, collapse and conflicts with infrastructure.

  • Do not install nest boxes, bat boxes, artificial nest sites or roost structures for this species.
  • Provide secondary shelter options where a managed release or rehabilitation site may flood.
  • Use steel mesh to cover an empty hole on a dam wall only where this is part of an approved site solution and cannot trap an animal.
  • Keep new plantings and soil works away from active burrow entrances.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Feeding habitat and connectivity

Revegetate with locally appropriate native grasses, sedges, shrubs and trees that support grazing and provide cover.

Restore links between burrows, feeding clearings and retained vegetation. Wombats may travel up to 3 kilometres in a night while feeding.

Retain or recreate safe routes beneath or through fences and around construction infrastructure.

  • Use native grass species suited to the locality, including locally appropriate tussock, wallaby or kangaroo grasses where they occur naturally.
  • Keep livestock and introduced herbivores from newly restored feeding areas until vegetation is established.
  • Remove temporary barriers and redundant roads or tracks where they fragment habitat.
  • Place logs and rocks away from creek edges where they can provide cover without destabilising banks.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Weeds, soil and water

Control weeds using methods that do not contaminate food plants, soil or burrows. Avoid herbicide application near occupied burrows unless the method has been assessed and approved.

Manage erosion and drainage so that burrows are not flooded, undermined or directed into unstable banks.

Maintain access to clean water while preventing open pits, steep sided tanks and drainage structures from becoming traps.

  • Use clean, contaminant free soil, roots and plant material in rehabilitation areas.
  • Inspect restored creek lines and slopes after heavy rain for erosion, exposed burrows and blocked movement routes.
  • Install fauna friendly water points where required, with escape ramps or shallow edges.
  • Keep domestic dogs and stock away from release and restoration areas.

Rehabilitation actions: 4. Lighting, roads and fences

Reduce artificial light near burrows, feeding areas and movement routes. Use the lowest practical intensity, shielded fittings and warm spectrum lighting where lighting cannot be avoided.

Design roads and driveways to reduce collision risk, particularly near known trails and feeding areas.

Maintain wombat friendly fencing that excludes stock where needed but permits safe movement.

  • Avoid lighting directly into burrow entrances or across retained trails.
  • Use speed controls, warning signs and driver briefings on roads through wombat habitat.
  • Install wombat swing gates or leave the lowest fence wire 15 centimetres above ground where appropriate.
  • Check culverts, drains and pits regularly for trapped animals.

Rehabilitation actions: 5. Long term monitoring

Monitor restored sites for burrow establishment, feeding signs, movement, roadkill, fence use and mange. Use the same methods and locations where possible so results can be compared over time.

Set monitoring intensity according to the listing and impact level. Use enhanced monitoring for Queensland near threatened populations, South Australian Rare populations, active burrow impacts and sites with known disease or road mortality.

  • Inspect burrows and signs during daylight and use cameras at representative entrances.
  • Record vegetation establishment, weed cover, erosion, water availability and connectivity as well as wombat activity.
  • Review results with the landholder and relevant authority, then adapt fencing, lighting, weed control, drainage or traffic measures.
  • Keep monitoring records with the project environmental management documents and approval reports.

Sources