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Large-eared Pied Bat (Chalinolobus dwyeri)

The Large-eared Pied Bat is a small to medium-sized insectivorous bat of eastern Australia. It is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and depends on uncommon combinations of rocky roosting sites and nearby forest, woodland or riparian foraging habitat, so clearing and construction near cliffs, caves, mines and fertile valleys require careful assessment.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Breeding season

The timing below reflects the best documented breeding pattern from New South Wales and may vary between sites. Roost disturbance can be harmful outside the peak breeding period because winter roost use is poorly understood and the species may hibernate during the coolest months.

Survey guidelines recommend surveys from October to March, using passive and active acoustic detection with targeted inspection of caves, mines, overhangs, crevices and Fairy Martin nests.

  • Breeding and pregnancy: Mating appears to occur in early winter. Nursery colonies are established in September, females are pregnant in October and births occur by early December.
  • Young dependent: Females give birth to one or two young. Young remain associated with the maternity roost through summer and begin leaving in late February and March.
  • Juvenile dispersal and winter roosting: Juveniles leave the roost during late February and March, followed by adult females. The documented maternity site may be abandoned during winter, and the species likely hibernates through the coolest months.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing or disturbance near maternity roosts is most likely to harm the species from September to March, with peak risk during births and dependent young from November to January. Roosts and nearby foraging habitat should still be treated as sensitive year-round.

Identification

This is a glossy black wattled bat with conspicuously large ears and a white ventral fringe. It is usually identified by a combination of body pattern, ear size, roosting habitat and its characteristic echolocation call.

The Large-eared Pied Bat has glossy black fur and a broad white stripe or fringe along the underside of the body where it meets the wings and tail membrane. The white fur forms a V-shaped area near the pubic region. It has prominent ears and small lobes of skin between the corner of the mouth and the lower edge of the ear.

Body length: Approximately 100 mm including head and tail

Weight: 7 to 12 g

Forearm: 37 to 44.5 mm

Identification: Distinguishing features

It can be separated from the Little Pied Bat and Hoary Wattled Bat by its larger ears and longer forearms. It differs from Gould's Wattled Bat by its larger ears and the white fringe between the ventral body and the wings.

  • Treat identification from photographs or echolocation calls as provisional where similar wattled bats occur, and seek confirmation from a suitably experienced bat ecologist.
  • The sexes are not reliably separated by the external features described in the supplied sources, but females generally have larger foraging areas than males and may roost farther from their foraging areas.

Identification: Field signs and calls

The species has a distinctive frequency-modulated echolocation call with a characteristic frequency of 22 to 25 kHz. Successive pulses alternate by approximately 2 kHz. Electronic bat detectors are the most efficient non-invasive survey method.

Characteristic frequency: 22 to 25 kHz

Pulse pattern: Successive pulses alternate by approximately 2 kHz

  • Search for bats emerging from cave entrances, shallow overhangs, cliff cracks, old mine workings and abandoned Fairy Martin nests.
  • Inspect potential roosts for clustered bats in roof indentations, fresh guano and staining, while avoiding entry or disturbance during the breeding season unless authorised survey methods are in place.
  • There are no species-specific tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine signs described in the supplied sources.

Distribution: Range and strongholds

The species is endemic to Australia and has a patchy, fragmented distribution in eastern New South Wales and Queensland. Records are concentrated around sandstone and other rocky areas with suitable roosts, but the distribution remains incompletely surveyed.

The range extends from the Shoalwater Bay area north of Rockhampton in Queensland south through south-eastern and central Queensland and central-eastern New South Wales to the southern New South Wales coast. The NSW profile gives the southern extent as Bungonia in the Southern Highlands, while earlier records extend south to Ulladulla.

Known strongholds include the Sydney sandstone region, the Pilliga region and the Central Queensland Sandstone Belt. Other records occur around Coolah Tops, Mount Kaputar, Warrumbungle National Park, the Scenic Rim, Carnarvon and Expedition Ranges, Blackdown Tableland and Cania Gorge.

Distribution: States and bioregions

In New South Wales, records or predicted habitat occur in the Sydney Basin, South Eastern Highlands, South East Corner, NSW North Coast, New England Tablelands, Nandewar, Brigalow Belt South and NSW South Western Slopes. In Queensland, records include the South Eastern Queensland bioregion and areas of the Central Queensland Sandstone Belt within the Brigalow Belt region.

The NSW profile identifies known or predicted subregions including Burragorang, Cumberland, Wollemi, Yengo, Pilliga, Kaputar, Capertee, Bungonia, Scenic Rim, Clarence Sandstones, Burringbar-Conondale Ranges and Woodenbong. Presence within a listed subregion is indicative and does not mean the species occurs throughout it.

Distribution: Population status

The population is naturally rare and divided among small, relatively isolated subpopulations. Known maternity roosts are few, and additional roosts are likely to remain undiscovered, particularly in inaccessible areas.

Estimated total population: Approximately 10,000 to 20,000 individuals, although the number of mature individuals is lower

Known maternity roosts: Approximately 3 to 6

Area of occupancy: Estimated at less than 500 km² when based on known maternity roosts; an earlier broader estimate was 1,508 km²

Extent of occurrence: Approximately 276,333 km² in the NSW assessment, with earlier estimates of about 280,000 km²

Population trend: Decreasing, with continuing decline inferred in habitat, subpopulations and mature individuals

Largest known subpopulation: Estimated at approximately 750 to 1,000 individuals in the IUCN assessment

Habitat: Roosting and surrounding habitat

The Large-eared Pied Bat requires suitable roosting and foraging habitat in relatively close proximity. Neither component is generally sufficient on its own.

Roosting habitat is usually associated with cliffs, escarpments, rocky outcrops, caves, overhangs, cracks and crevices. Sandstone is common, but rhyolite and other geological substrates are also used. Suitable caves and structural features appear to be more important than the precise geology.

Foraging habitat occurs around these rocky areas in fertile valleys and plains, woodland along watercourses, dry and wet sclerophyll forest, grassy woodland, Callitris-dominated forest, tall open eucalypt forest with a rainforest sub-canopy, subtropical rainforest, sub-alpine woodland and small clearings beside rainforest.

  • Retain connected native vegetation between rocky roost features and nearby gullies, watercourses, fertile valleys, slopes and ridges.
  • Treat forest and woodland within foraging distance of known or potential roosts as habitat requiring assessment before clearing.
  • Include small cliff cracks and shallow crevices in habitat inspections, not only large caves.

Habitat: Structure and elevation

Most records are from canopied habitat, indicating sensitivity to clearing. Narrow riparian strips in otherwise cleared areas can also be used, probably because they remain productive. In south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, the species may forage in high elevation rainforest and open forest, including upper slopes and ridge crests near major escarpments.

Recorded elevation: Sea level to nearly 1,500 m above sea level

Typical roost and foraging relationship: Roosting and foraging habitat are generally within several kilometres of each other

  • Map mature and moderately tall to tall trees, riparian strips, gullies, forest edges and canopy connections near rocky features.
  • Assess both the direct clearing footprint and changes to shade, wind exposure, drainage and vegetation structure around roost entrances.

Foraging habitat: Diet and flight

The species is an insectivore that appears to forage in relatively closed vegetation and along forest edges. Its diet has not been examined directly, so prey descriptions are based on morphology and field observations.

The Large-eared Pied Bat is a manoeuvrable, relatively slow-flying bat. Its wing shape suggests that it mainly takes small flying insects below the forest canopy. No particular insect group has been confirmed as its main prey.

  • Retain native vegetation that supports flying insects, including woodland, dry and wet sclerophyll forest, rainforest margins and productive riparian vegetation.
  • Avoid assuming that open paddocks provide equivalent habitat, because most records are from canopied or structurally complex vegetation.

Foraging habitat: Foraging locations

Telemetry and field observations indicate foraging along forest edges at mid to upper canopy height and around the outer canopy of individual trees. The species also uses vegetation corridors and riparian areas, and may forage on upper slopes and ridge crests in productive areas near escarpments.

Almost all records are within several kilometres of cliff lines or rocky terrain. Females have larger foraging areas than males, and both sexes show high fidelity to preferred foraging areas.

Usual relationship to rocky habitat: Most records occur within several kilometres of cliffs or rocky terrain

Foraging height: Forest edges at mid to upper canopy height and the outer canopy of individual trees

  • Survey forest edges, canopy corridors, watercourses, isolated waterholes, sandstone gorges and vegetation within several kilometres of rocky roost features.
  • Retain mature trees and connected canopy around known or potential maternity roosts, particularly where vegetation occurs on fertile soils or along watercourses.
  • Consider the loss of productive riparian vegetation as a potential reduction in foraging habitat, even where the roost itself is not directly affected.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding colonies use specialised maternity roosts, and the number of known sites is very small. Pregnant and lactating females need nearby productive foraging habitat.

Maternity colonies are established in spring and contain females and males initially. Most adult males leave by the time young are born in early summer. Females may return to the same maternity sites in successive years.

Mating: Appears to occur in early winter

Pregnancy recorded: October

Birth period: By early December, with one or two young per female

Young leave the roost: Late February to March

Age at maturity: Females can breed at one year of age

Lifespan: Approximately 8 to 10 years

Gestation: Not reported in the supplied sources

  • Treat occupied or potentially suitable maternity roosts as high sensitivity sites from spring through late summer.
  • Avoid clearing or major noise, vibration, lighting and access changes near a maternity roost while females are pregnant, lactating or rearing young.
  • Plan maternity roost surveys in mid spring to summer, when the chance of detecting breeding colonies is highest.

Breeding habitat: Maternity roost requirements

Known maternity roosts are usually arched caves with domed roofs. The cave must be high and deep enough for young bats to learn to fly inside and must contain roof indentations where bats can cluster, probably to retain heat.

Maternity roosts have been recorded in caves, overhangs, shallow mine adits, disused mine tunnels and concrete structures such as derelict buildings. The surrounding habitat needs to provide productive forest, woodland or riparian foraging areas within close geographical distance.

Known maternity colony size: Approximately 15 to 40 adult females and young

Maternity roost structure: High, deep or arched caves with domed roofs and roof indentations

Roost and foraging separation: Likely within several kilometres, although the distance should not be used as a fixed management threshold

  • Inspect caves, overhangs, cliff cracks, mine adits, disused mine tunnels and suitable artificial structures near productive vegetation.
  • Do not dismiss a site because it lacks a large cave, as smaller cracks and crevices can also be used for roosting.
  • Protect the vegetation around maternity roosts because clearing can reduce food availability and alter the roost microclimate through changes in solar exposure and groundwater conditions.

Sheltering habitat: Natural roosts

The species uses several types of daytime and night-time refuge, including natural rocky features, old mines and abandoned Fairy Martin nests. Roosts can be shallow, accessible and close to the ground, which increases their exposure to disturbance.

Roosts occur in caves, overhangs, cliffs, cliff-face cracks, rock crevices and rocky outcrops. Bats may use the entrance or outer reaches of deeper caves and mines, rather than only deep underground chambers.

Known natural settings: Caves, overhangs, cliff cracks, crevices and rocky outcrops

Maternity roost geometry: High and deep enough for juvenile flight, with roof indentations for clustered bats

  • Search the full vertical face of cliffs and rock outcrops, including small cracks and shallow recesses.
  • Record roof shape, indentations, height, depth, entrance exposure, evidence of bats and access by goats or other animals.
  • Maintain the physical structure and microclimate of roosts by retaining nearby vegetation and avoiding blasting, vibration, altered drainage and direct lighting.

Sheltering habitat: Mines and artificial sites

The species has used disused mine shafts, mine adits and abandoned Fairy Martin nests. Suitable mine workings are generally shallow subterranean tunnels that resemble natural roosts. Open cut workings and deep tunnels are described as unsuitable for roosting.

Other recorded refuges: Disused mine shafts, shallow mine tunnels, abandoned Fairy Martin nests and some derelict concrete structures

Known roost colony size: Maternity colonies may contain 15 to 40 adult females and young

  • Check historic mine records and inspect shallow disused tunnels before sealing, filling, reopening or modifying them.
  • Inspect abandoned Fairy Martin nests where they occur near suitable rocky and forested habitat.
  • Treat a disused mine as a potential roost until targeted survey has established otherwise.

Sheltering habitat: Seasonal shelter use

Maternity sites are occupied from spring through late summer in the best documented populations. After juveniles and females leave in late February and March, sites may be abandoned during winter. The NSW profile indicates that the species likely hibernates through the coolest months, but winter roost requirements remain poorly understood.

  • Do not assume that an apparently empty maternity cave is unimportant, because females may return in later years.
  • Avoid repeated entry, recreational use and construction disturbance at known or potential roosts throughout the year.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main project risks are loss or fragmentation of foraging vegetation, damage to caves and mines, disturbance of maternity colonies, altered fire and hydrology, and indirect effects on prey and roost microclimate.

Agricultural, residential, commercial and infrastructure development can remove forest and woodland within foraging distance of roosts. Fragmentation reduces connected vegetation and may reduce food availability for pregnant and lactating females. Clearing can also alter solar exposure, groundwater conditions and the microclimate around roosts.

  • Survey rocky features, caves, mine workings, riparian vegetation, gullies, forest edges and fertile woodland before finalising the clearing footprint.
  • Avoid clearing native vegetation around known or potential roosts, particularly mature canopy and riparian connections.
  • Retain links between roosting features and nearby foraging habitat rather than protecting isolated cliff faces only.
  • Include indirect clearing effects such as increased exposure, altered drainage, edge effects and loss of canopy when assessing impact.

Threats: Construction, mining and hydrology

Caves, mine tunnels and cliff lines can be damaged by blasting, subsidence, reopening or closure of mines, dam construction and waterway changes. Longwall mining has caused collapse of sandstone cliff lines in areas used by the species, and loss of a maternity roost during breeding could affect many individuals.

Flooding associated with Copeton Dam destroyed the first known maternity roost. Drying of waterways may also reduce foraging opportunities where bats use productive riparian zones.

  • Assess direct and indirect effects of vibration, blasting, subsidence, inundation, drawdown and changed drainage on roosts and nearby foraging habitat.
  • Do not seal or fill shallow disused mine tunnels without targeted inspection and an approved fauna management procedure.
  • Map caves and cliff structures that could be inundated, destabilised or isolated by dams, roads, utilities or mine-related works.
  • Roads are not identified as a separate species-specific threat in the supplied sources, but road construction can contribute to clearing, fragmentation, vibration, lighting and altered drainage.

Threats: Fire, drought and climate

High intensity or frequent fire can kill bats through heat and smoke at shallow caves and outer mine entrances. Fire can also change vegetation structure and reduce insect prey. Low fire frequency may allow dense understorey weeds such as lantana to increase clutter around foraging areas.

Drought and increased temperatures may reduce prey and disrupt reproduction. At Ukerbarley in 2019, the maternity roost was unoccupied during the expected breeding period and subsequent capture and acoustic rates were low, although the cause was not proven.

Habitat affected by 2019 to 2020 fires: Approximately 27% of the species habitat, with about 10% of the range intersecting severe fire

  • Protect known and potential roosts from intense fire and unsuitable fire frequency.
  • Consider fire intensity, frequency, season and smoke exposure around shallow caves, mine entrances and maternity roosts.
  • Retain a mix of vegetation ages and avoid allowing weed-dominated understorey to develop around important foraging areas.
  • Assess cumulative effects where drought, heat, fire and post-fire loss of insects occur together.

Threats: Animals, predators, disease and disturbance

Feral Goats can occupy caves, disturb bats and damage roosts. A previously used cave in the Pilliga was empty during a later survey when goat activity was evident. Cats, foxes and rats may prey on bats where roosts are close to the ground, although the extent of predation has not been measured.

Recreational caving, abseiling and bushwalking near accessible roosts can cause repeated disturbance and may lead to abandonment. White-nose syndrome has not been detected in Australia, but introduction on contaminated clothing or equipment is a potential risk to cave-dwelling bats.

  • Exclude goats and reduce livestock access around known or potential roosts.
  • Control feral predators where they can access low roost entrances or exposed bats.
  • Restrict caving, climbing, abseiling and other access near roosts, especially during maternity use.
  • Clean and disinfect overseas-used caving clothing, footwear and equipment before it enters Australian caves or mines.
  • Reduce pesticide use near known habitat where alternatives are available, because pesticides may reduce insect prey or cause contamination.

Survey methodology: 1. Review habitat and records

Survey the Large-eared Pied Bat where works may affect cliffs, escarpments, rocky outcrops, caves, overhangs, mine workings, Fairy Martin nests, or nearby forest and woodland used for foraging. Surveys should test both roosting and foraging habitat because the species is unlikely to occur where either component is absent.

Before fieldwork, inspect topographic and geological maps and obtain available records of caves, mines, rocky outcrops, cliffs, overhangs and Fairy Martin nests. Contact state agencies, mine and forestry departments, park staff, caving groups, bat researchers and local councils where appropriate.

Map potential roosts and nearby foraging habitat, including fertile valleys and plains, riparian woodland, forest edges, upper slopes, ridge crests, sandstone gorges, watercourses and isolated waterholes.

Treat distribution maps as indicative only. The species is patchily distributed, and important maternity roosts may occur in unsurveyed or inaccessible places.

Known range: Central eastern NSW and south eastern and central Queensland, from near Rockhampton south to the NSW Southern Highlands and Ulladulla area.

Elevation recorded: Sea level to nearly 1,500 m.

Key roost features: Caves, overhangs, cliff and rock crevices, disused mine shafts, and abandoned Fairy Martin nests.

Survey methodology: 2. Passive acoustic detection

Use unattended electronic bat detectors as the primary non invasive method. Deploy them overnight at multiple locations near caves, mines, rocky outcrops and cliff faces, and at representative foraging sites and flyways.

Place detectors near vegetation corridors, sandstone gorges, watercourses, isolated waterholes and forest edges, rather than relying only on cave entrances. Diagnostic search phase calls may not be recorded reliably at an underground roost entrance.

The species has a distinctive frequency modulated call with a characteristic frequency of 22 to 25 kHz, with the characteristic frequency in successive pulses alternating by about 2 kHz. Have call identifications checked by a suitably experienced analyst.

Recommended season: October to March.

Small project area effort: For a project area of less than 50 ha, 16 unattended detector nights over a minimum of 4 nights.

Call range: Characteristic frequency 22 to 25 kHz, with successive pulses alternating by about 2 kHz.

  • Use a range of potential roost and foraging locations across the project area, including retained habitat outside the direct disturbance footprint.
  • Record the detector model, calibration or settings, location, start and finish times, weather, habitat, deployment height and any interference that could affect detection.

Survey methodology: 3. Attended detection, trapping and roost searches

For larger project areas, supplement unattended detectors with walking or driving transects using hand held detectors. Cover likely flyways, vegetation corridors, watercourses, forest edges and habitat near rocky relief.

Use harp traps or mist nets only where approved and where suitably trained personnel can check and clear them safely. Record reference calls from captured individuals before release so identification can be verified.

Search suitable caves, mines, rock overhangs, culverts and crevices for roosting bats where access is safe and authorised. Avoid entering or disturbing a potential maternity roost without a species specific risk assessment and the required permissions.

Attended detector effort for less than 50 ha: 6 detector hours over a minimum of 3 nights.

Harp trap or mist net effort for less than 50 ha: 16 trap or net nights over a minimum of 4 nights.

Maternity colony size reported: About 15 to 40 adult females and young at known cave maternity roosts.

  • Keep trapped bats at room temperature until the following night if they are cleared from harp traps in the early morning, as specified in the survey guidance.
  • Schedule maternity roost searches from mid spring to summer, when females and young are more likely to be present, while managing disturbance carefully.
  • Do not use trapping or roost entry as a substitute for acoustic survey where access is unsafe or the activity could disturb a maternity colony.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Apply the greater survey effort where the project area is 50 ha or more, where habitat is complex, or where potential roosts and connected foraging habitat extend beyond the impact area.
  • Increase effort or seek expert advice when survey conditions, call quality, access limitations, fire effects or other factors reduce the likelihood of detection.
  • Report the survey dates, effort, equipment, weather, habitat, call files, identification method, negative results, roost inspections and all observations in the ecological assessment.
  • Submit verified records, including acoustic records and precise locations, to the relevant NSW or Queensland wildlife database and any other relevant state biodiversity record system.
  • Record potential maternity roosts and other roost features with restricted location access where disclosure could increase disturbance or unauthorised entry.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Plan the project around the species’ dependence on a small number of specialised roosts and nearby foraging habitat. Avoid direct loss of roosts and retain connected, well timbered habitat around cliffs, caves, mines and other rocky features.

Habitat critical to survival: Known roosts or caves that could be roosts, together with nearby foraging habitat, are considered habitat critical to survival.

Approximate roost and foraging relationship: Roosting and foraging habitat is generally within several kilometres, although this is an estimate and must not be used as a standard management buffer.

  • Retain known and potential caves, overhangs, cliff faces, rock crevices, mine adits and abandoned Fairy Martin nests.
  • Retain forest and woodland near roosts, especially fertile valleys and plains, riparian strips, moderately tall to tall woodland, forest edges, upper slopes and ridge crests used for foraging.
  • Avoid clearing or isolating vegetation within the normal foraging distance of a roost unless the ecological assessment demonstrates that the impact will not affect the roost, foraging resources or movement between them.
  • Maintain connectivity between roosting features and nearby forest, woodland, gullies, watercourses and flyways.
  • Design access tracks, compounds, drainage, lighting and temporary work areas outside roost features and retained foraging habitat.
  • Use a site specific buffer around each known or potential roost, based on the roost condition, maternity use, nearby foraging habitat, proposed activity and specialist advice, because the source documents do not prescribe one universal distance.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Check whether the action is likely to have a significant impact on this EPBC Act Endangered species and refer the action to the Australian Government where required.
  • Obtain all relevant NSW or Queensland threatened species, wildlife handling, vegetation clearing, mining, cave access and protected area approvals before work starts.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies roosts, foraging habitat, movement routes, survey results, exclusion zones, stop work triggers, handling responsibilities, emergency contacts and reporting requirements.
  • Schedule clearing and high disturbance activities outside the maternity period where practicable, noting that maternity use and breeding have been recorded from November to January and that maternity surveys are recommended from October to March.
  • Stage works so that retained roosts and foraging habitat remain available while each disturbance area is cleared and checked.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection of all caves, mine workings, overhangs, cliff crevices, rock piles, Fairy Martin nests, buildings and other structures that could provide a roost.
  • Use acoustic detectors around potential roosts and nearby foraging habitat before disturbance, with additional maternity checks where access is safe and authorised.
  • Clearly mark no-go areas, roost protection zones, retained vegetation, rocky features, drainage lines and access routes on plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can prevent machinery, workers, livestock or feral goats from entering a retained roost or other sensitive feature without causing additional disturbance.
  • Brief machinery operators and the fauna spotter catcher on the location of roosts, the daily exclusion zones, low impact access routes and the procedure for unexpected bat observations.
  • Do not seal, fill, reopen, blast, flood, illuminate or otherwise alter a mine, cave, overhang or cliff feature until its use by the species has been assessed and approvals are confirmed.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and supervision

Use active supervision whenever machinery operates near potential roosts, rocky features or connected foraging habitat. The fauna spotter catcher must have authority to pause work and must not place themselves or the animal at risk.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, signs, no-go areas and retained habitat before work begins each day.
  • Confirm that the approved clearing limits, access routes, lighting controls and work methods match the fauna management plan.
  • Keep machinery, workers, vehicles, spoil, rock storage and temporary lighting outside marked roost protection zones.
  • Avoid smoke, dust, vibration, high noise and artificial lighting directed at caves, mine entrances, overhangs and cliff faces wherever practicable.
  • Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher during clearing and other activities that could disturb a roost, rock feature, structure or nearby vegetation.
  • Give the fauna spotter catcher a safe position with clear communication to the operator, an unobstructed view of the work area and authority to stop machinery.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

  • Stop and inspect before removing or disturbing any cave entrance, overhang, cliff section, mine adit, rock crevice, Fairy Martin nest, derelict structure or other feature that could be used for roosting.
  • Do not enter, block, seal, collapse, flood or destroy a potential roost while bats may be inside.
  • Treat hollow-bearing trees, logs, rocks, burrows and wetlands as fauna habitat under the project fauna plan, but recognise that the documented primary roost features for this species are caves, cliffs, crevices, overhangs, mines and Fairy Martin nests.
  • Retain riparian vegetation, forest edges, gullies, fertile woodland and other canopied foraging habitat where it is outside the approved clearing footprint.
  • If a rock, log, tree or structure must be moved, have the spotter catcher inspect it first and move it only under the approved fauna handling procedure.
  • Do not install nest boxes or relocate rocks as a substitute for protecting a known maternity roost unless the measure has been designed and approved by a suitably experienced bat ecologist.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and stop work

  • Stop work immediately if a Large-eared Pied Bat is found in the work area, a roost is discovered, bats emerge from a feature, young are present, or machinery damages a potential roost.
  • Keep people, machinery, dogs and vehicles away from the animal and roost, and reduce noise and lighting.
  • Do not handle the bat unless the person is authorised, trained and equipped under the relevant state wildlife requirements and the project fauna management plan.
  • Allow a healthy bat to leave naturally where safe, or relocate it only to nearby retained habitat selected by the fauna spotter catcher or bat ecologist.
  • Place an injured, grounded or heat or smoke affected bat in a secure, ventilated container and arrange prompt assessment by an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian.
  • Do not attempt to rehabilitate, feed or release an injured bat without advice from an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian.
  • Resume work only after the fauna spotter catcher and the project ecologist have assessed the risk, documented the action and confirmed that the stop work trigger has been cleared.

During habitat disturbance: Records and incident reporting

  • Record every bat observation, call detection, roost feature, injury, handling event, relocation, exclusion breach, habitat damage and stop work event.
  • For each record, note the date, time, precise location, activity, habitat, weather, animal condition, photographs where safe, action taken, personnel involved and final outcome.
  • Notify the relevant project manager, ecologist, regulator and wildlife authority when required by the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Update the project map and exclusion zones when a new roost or movement route is found.
  • Submit verified records to the relevant state wildlife database and retain the original acoustic files and field notes.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-work actions should confirm that retained roosts and nearby foraging habitat remain available and that controls have not failed. Monitoring should be scaled to the project risk, with additional attention to known maternity sites and fire or drought affected areas.

  • Inspect the completed clearing edge, retained vegetation, access routes, drainage works, caves, mine workings, overhangs and cliff features for damage or new hazards.
  • Check that no spoil, sediment, fencing, lighting, barriers or waste has blocked a roost entrance or reduced access to nearby foraging habitat.
  • Complete a post-clearance acoustic survey where required by the approval, where a roost was nearby, or where construction may have altered vegetation, noise, lighting or access.
  • Check for dead, injured, trapped or displaced bats and follow the authorised handling and veterinary procedure if any are found.
  • Remove temporary controls only after the project ecologist confirms that construction risks have ended and retained habitat remains protected.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Reported 2019 to 2020 fire exposure: About 27% of the species’ habitat was within areas affected by those wildfires, and 10% of the range intersected severe fire.

  • Monitor known or suspected roosts and representative foraging habitat after works, using repeated acoustic surveys and targeted maternity checks where disturbance risk is high.
  • Compare post-work detections with pre-work results, while recognising that absence from a detector deployment does not prove that the species is absent.
  • Monitor whether bats continue to use retained forest edges, riparian strips, gullies, watercourses and other foraging areas near the roost.
  • Report compliance, incidents, survey results, roost condition, habitat retained, rehabilitation progress and any corrective action to the approval authority and relevant state wildlife database.
  • Continue monitoring when works coincide with drought, severe fire, major vegetation loss or changes to a known maternity roost, because these conditions may disrupt breeding and reduce detections.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and corrective action

  • Apply the project approval’s offset requirements where impacts cannot be avoided or minimised.
  • Prioritise offsets or conservation actions that protect known maternity roosts, potential roost features and nearby foraging habitat rather than isolated planting without roost protection.
  • Repair damaged exclusion fencing, drainage, vegetation, cave entrances or other controls promptly and document the corrective action.
  • Escalate unexpected roost loss, repeated absence from a known maternity site, mortality or continuing habitat degradation to the project ecologist and relevant authority.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore roosting and foraging habitat

Rehabilitation should restore the combination of roosting features and nearby insect rich, well timbered foraging habitat. It should not be treated as a replacement for retaining an existing maternity roost.

  • Protect and retain existing caves, overhangs, cliff faces, rock crevices, mine adits and Fairy Martin nests during rehabilitation and later maintenance.
  • Replant locally appropriate native eucalypt woodland, dry or wet sclerophyll forest, grassy woodland, Callitris dominated forest and riparian vegetation that match the pre-disturbance community and site conditions.
  • Prioritise continuous or connected canopy near roosts, watercourses, gullies, forest edges and upper slopes because the species has been recorded foraging below and along the mid to upper canopy.
  • Use local provenance species selected by the rehabilitation ecologist and land manager; the supplied documents do not identify a single planting list for all sites.
  • Reinstate natural rock features, logs and woody debris only where their placement is safe and consistent with the original habitat, and do not block cave entrances, crevices or drainage.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage fire, weeds and introduced animals

  • Develop a site specific fire prescription that avoids high intensity or too frequent fire near known or potential roosts and protects retained foraging habitat.
  • Use monitoring to refine fire frequency, intensity, season and extent because the species’ response to particular fire regimes remains poorly understood.
  • Control weeds, including dense understorey weeds such as lantana where they reduce suitable foraging structure or access through retained habitat.
  • Control feral goats near caves, cliffs and mine workings to prevent trampling, fouling, roost damage and disturbance.
  • Manage cats, foxes and rats where approved risk assessment identifies a predation risk, particularly where bats are forced to roost close to the ground.
  • Reduce pesticide use near known or restored habitat and use alternatives where available.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Survey season for rehabilitation monitoring: October to March.

Breeding period reported: Females have been recorded pregnant in October, giving birth by early December, and leaving maternity roosts with young during February and March.

  • Set measurable rehabilitation objectives for native canopy cover, survival of planted vegetation, weed cover, goat exclusion, retained roost condition, connectivity and use of nearby foraging habitat.
  • Use acoustic detectors during October to March at restored habitat, nearby retained habitat and roost approaches to test whether bat activity returns or is maintained.
  • Inspect caves, mine workings, cliffs, overhangs and crevices for damage and signs of use without entering or disturbing a maternity roost unnecessarily.
  • Monitor for at least the period required by the approval and continue until the project ecologist confirms that habitat structure and management controls are stable.
  • Treat successful rehabilitation as retention of safe roost access, functioning nearby forest or woodland foraging habitat, no ongoing goat or weed damage, and stable or improving verified detections, rather than as planting completion alone.

Sources