Fauna Spotters logo

Wollumbin Pouched Frog (Assa wollumbin)

A very small, ground-dwelling myobatrachid frog restricted to rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in and near Wollumbin National Park, north-eastern New South Wales. It is Critically Endangered because its distribution is highly restricted to one threat-defined location, and its moist forest habitat is declining through fire, drought, climate change and lantana.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

This frog breeds on the forest floor in spring and summer, with eggs laid under damp cover and tadpoles carried in the male's brood pouches. Plan clearing for the cooler non-breeding period where practicable, but retain moist leaf litter, rocks and logs year-round because resident adults shelter there and seasonal movement is poorly known.

Reproductive mode: Terrestrial egg laying. Embryos hatch as tadpoles and develop through metamorphosis in the male's lateral brood pouches.

Clutch size: Around 10 large eggs.

Incubation: Embryos hatch after 11 to 12 days. The male may remain with the clutch during development.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Beneath damp leaf litter, rocks or similar concealed forest-floor cover. Eggs are laid in closely grouped layers in moist sites without standing water.

Breeding frequency: Females may lay two clutches per season. Males can carry two cohorts of tadpoles and may mate more than once in a breeding season.

Confirm timing locally before works, particularly after warm, wet weather or substantial rainfall, because rainfall may trigger breeding activity and exact monthly timing has not been established for the species.

  • Calling: Males call from secluded positions under dense leaf litter, curled leaves or among small rocks during the reported spring and summer breeding period, September to February. Exact monthly calling intensity has not been established.
  • Egg laying: Eggs are laid on the forest floor during spring and summer, usually beneath damp leaf litter or rocks and not in standing water. The clutch contains around 10 large eggs.
  • Tadpoles: Tadpoles hatch after 11 to 12 days and wriggle into the male's brood pouches, where they develop for about 60 to 81 days before emergence. This places pouch-carrying tadpoles broadly from October into the following autumn when eggs are laid across spring and summer.
  • Froglets: Metamorphs emerge from the male's pouches after approximately 60 to 81 days. Emergence may therefore occur from late spring or summer into autumn, depending on when the clutch was laid.
  • Active period: The species is resident and is thought to spend most of its time on the forest floor beneath rocks, rotten logs and damp leaf litter. Seasonal movement and non-breeding activity are poorly known, so no reliable restricted active period can be defined.
  • Winter inactivity: No winter inactivity, brumation or hibernation period has been documented. Adults may shelter beneath rocks, rotten logs and damp leaf litter throughout the year, including during winter.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest during the spring and summer breeding period, September to February, when calling males, egg clutches, pouch-bearing males and newly emerged metamorphs may be present. The habitat remains sensitive outside this period because the species is resident and its movement timing is poorly known.

Identification

The Wollumbin Pouched Frog is a tiny, cryptic frog of the forest floor. It is most likely to be found by carefully searching damp leaf litter, beneath rocks and under rotten logs, or by detecting its short repeated male call.

Adults are small, with smooth to slightly granular skin and highly variable dorsal colouration, ranging from light cream or orange tinged brown to almost black. Common markings include two V-shaped marks on the lower back, a dark transverse bar across the folded thigh and foot, and often a broad dark mid-dorsal stripe bordered by light cream and black.

The underside is smooth and brown to cream, sometimes mottled, with strong contrast between the dorsal and ventral surfaces. The snout is rounded, the eyes are black with a gold rim, the tympanum is not visible, and the fingers and toes are unwebbed.

Female size: Up to 20.5 mm snout to vent length.

Male size: Approximately 19 mm snout to vent length.

Weight: Not reported in the supplied sources.

Identification: Distinguishing it from the pouched frog

The sister species, the pouched frog, Assa darlingtoni, is morphologically very similar. The Wollumbin Pouched Frog is generally slightly smaller, and males have different advertisement calls.

Wollumbin Pouched Frog records are concentrated at 350 to 550 m above sea level in and around Wollumbin National Park. The pouched frog is usually recorded above 800 m, although the boundary between the species and any overlap remain uncertain.

The two species are the only Australian frogs known to have male brood pouches. Male Wollumbin Pouched Frogs have pouch slits on both sides of the lower body, which is a useful confirmation feature in close examination.

Wollumbin Pouched Frog call: Advertisement calls comprise repeated notes, typically with fewer notes and shorter pauses than those of the pouched frog.

Courtship call: A single short squelch sound, broadly similar to that of the pouched frog.

  • Do not identify a small brown frog from colour alone, because dorsal colouration is highly variable.
  • Use location, elevation, body size and the male call together when separating it from the pouched frog.
  • Avoid handling unless required for authorised fauna work, and follow current hygiene procedures because amphibian chytrid fungus is a potential threat.

Identification: Field signs

There are no reported species-specific tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine features that can be used reliably during development surveys. The most useful field sign is the male advertisement call, together with a frog found in suitable damp forest-floor habitat.

Breeding evidence may include eggs beneath rocks or leaf litter, males carrying tadpoles in lateral brood pouches, and small metamorphs emerging from the pouch. Eggs are large, about 3 mm, unpigmented and enclosed in large jelly capsules.

  • Listen from secluded forest-floor areas during suitable spring and summer conditions, rather than relying only on visual searches.
  • Search slowly beneath loose rocks, rotten logs and damp leaf litter, and replace all cover exactly as found.
  • Treat any suspected frog, eggs, brood pouch or metamorph as a potential record and have it confirmed by an appropriately qualified herpetologist.

Distribution: Australian range

The species has one of the most restricted distributions of any Australian frog. All confirmed records are from or immediately adjacent to Wollumbin National Park in north-eastern New South Wales.

The Wollumbin Pouched Frog is known only from the Wollumbin area in the Tweed Caldera, north-eastern New South Wales. No records from other Australian states are provided in the supplied sources.

The range lies within the Tweed Caldera and includes subtropical rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in and near Wollumbin National Park. The species has not been reported as occupying the broader range of the pouched frog.

State: New South Wales only in the supplied records.

Bioregional setting: Tweed Caldera, in the rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest of the Wollumbin area.

Known stronghold: Wollumbin National Park and some surrounding properties.

Protected area designation: A 2,243 ha area within Wollumbin National Park is an Asset of Intergenerational Significance for the species.

  • For projects in New South Wales, treat records from the Wollumbin National Park area and adjoining suitable forest as potentially significant.
  • Do not assume that a small frog record outside the mapped range is this species without taxonomic or acoustic confirmation.

Distribution: Subpopulations and trend

The number of subpopulations is not known. The species is considered to occur at one threat-defined location because a single severe wildfire or drought could affect the entire known population.

Population size has not been estimated and there is no species-specific monitoring programme sufficient to quantify decline. A continuing decline in mature individuals, geographic distribution and habitat area, extent and quality is inferred from the known threats.

Number of mature individuals: Unknown.

Estimated density in prime habitat: Hundreds of individuals may occur within 1 km2.

Threat-defined locations: One.

Population trend: Inferred to be declining; the rate and magnitude are unknown.

Conservation status: Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act and Critically Endangered in New South Wales.

Habitat: Forest types and structure

The species depends on cool, consistently moist forest-floor conditions. Suitable habitat is associated with closed forest, damp leaf litter and abundant natural cover rather than open or heavily disturbed ground.

The known habitat is subtropical rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in or near Wollumbin National Park. The species is thought to spend most of its time on the forest floor.

Closed forest communities with an established layer of damp leaf litter are considered essential for persistence. The forest canopy helps retain moisture and protects the leaf-litter layer from drying.

Primary vegetation: Subtropical rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest.

Key structural features: Closed canopy, damp leaf litter, rotting logs and rocks.

Known elevation: Most records are from 350 to 550 m above sea level.

  • Retain continuous canopy, damp leaf litter, rotting logs and naturally occurring rocks wherever work is proposed in or near the known range.
  • Treat apparently suitable forest-floor habitat as habitat of potential value even when frogs are not detected during a daytime search.

Habitat: Climate and disturbance limits

The species requires consistently moist forest conditions, particularly for terrestrial breeding. Lower elevation parts of the range are considered more exposed to climate change because they are likely to become warmer and drier.

High-intensity fire can remove canopy cover and dry the forest floor. Evidence from the sister species indicates that sites where canopy is lost may not be recolonised even after leaf litter returns.

  • Avoid creating new canopy openings, exposing leaf litter to sun and wind, or removing natural ground cover.
  • Manage construction dust, drainage and sediment so that retained forest-floor habitat remains moist and is not buried or compacted.
  • Plan clearing and fire management with regard to the species' very small range, because a single severe event may affect the entire known population.

Foraging habitat: Known information

The diet, prey and foraging behaviour of the Wollumbin Pouched Frog have not been described in the supplied sources. It is a small, terrestrial frog that is thought to remain mainly on the damp forest floor.

Diet and movement patterns are unknown. No food plants, prey taxa or foraging distances have been reported for this species.

The species is usually hidden under rocks, rotten logs or damp leaf litter, so feeding is likely to occur within or close to these forest-floor refuges, but this has not been confirmed specifically for Assa wollumbin.

Diet: Unknown.

Known prey or food plants: None reported.

Foraging range: Unknown.

  • Do not clear, rake or stockpile damp leaf litter, rocks or rotten logs on the assumption that they are unused feeding habitat.
  • Retain connected moist forest-floor habitat between shelter and breeding areas because the species is terrestrial and its movement range is unknown.
  • Use targeted ecological advice before moving natural cover or applying chemicals in occupied or potential habitat.

Breeding habitat: Breeding sites

Breeding is terrestrial and takes place on the forest floor, not in a pond or stream. The male provides parental care by carrying the developing tadpoles in lateral brood pouches.

Males call from secluded places on the forest floor. Eggs are deposited beneath rocks or under damp leaf litter, where they remain until embryos hatch.

After hatching, the larvae move into pouches on both sides of the male's lower body. Tadpoles complete development within the pouch and do not require an external water body.

Breeding season: Spring and summer.

Clutch size: Around 10 fertilised eggs.

Clutches per season: Females may lay two clutches.

Egg size: Approximately 3 mm, unpigmented and surrounded by large jelly capsules.

Amplexus: Up to 9 hours.

Embryo development: Hatching occurs after 11 to 12 days.

Pouch development: Metamorphs emerge from the male's pouch after approximately 60 to 81 days.

Age at maturity: Not reported.

Lifespan: Not reported.

  • Protect damp leaf litter, loose rocks and secluded forest-floor cover during the breeding season.
  • Do not remove or turn over suspected egg sites unless authorised and supervised by qualified fauna personnel.
  • Maintain canopy cover and moisture around breeding habitat, because drying leaf litter can reduce reproductive success.

Breeding habitat: Breeding response to disturbance

The species relies on moist conditions for terrestrial reproduction. Low rainfall combined with high temperatures can dry the leaf-litter layer, reducing breeding success and recruitment.

Hatchlings that fail to reach the male's brood pouch do not survive. This makes disturbance around egg sites, calling sites and cover objects a direct risk during the breeding period.

  • Schedule unavoidable clearing outside the spring and summer breeding period where practicable.
  • Before disturbance, inspect suitable damp forest-floor habitat for calling males, eggs and males carrying young.
  • Keep fauna handling, hygiene and release procedures under a project-specific amphibian management plan.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

The frog shelters at ground level in moist, shaded forest-floor cover. These refuges also provide nesting sites and help maintain the humidity needed for breeding and survival.

Individuals are thought to spend most of their time beneath rocks, under rotten logs or within damp leaf litter. The species relies on moist leaf litter, rotting logs and rocks for shelter and nest sites.

No refuge dimensions, burrow depths, hollow requirements or minimum cover patch sizes have been reported.

Shelter type: Damp leaf litter, rocks and rotten logs on the forest floor.

Burrows or tree hollows: Not reported.

Refuge dimensions: Not reported.

  • Retain rocks, logs and intact leaf-litter layers in place during site preparation and construction.
  • Do not push natural cover into piles, burn it, chip it or expose it to prolonged drying before a fauna ecologist has assessed the area.
  • Search refuges carefully and replace cover immediately after inspection.

Sheltering habitat: Moisture and canopy requirements

Closed forest and established damp leaf litter are important because canopy loss can dry the forest floor. Evidence from the sister species indicates that severely burnt sites may remain unsuitable even after the canopy and litter layer regenerate.

Lantana can alter the groundcover from sparse native leaf litter to dense vegetation, reducing habitat quality and increasing fuel loads at rainforest and sclerophyll forest interfaces.

  • Prevent unnecessary canopy removal and avoid changing drainage patterns around retained habitat.
  • Control lantana using methods that do not further disturb the leaf-litter layer or increase fire risk.
  • Keep retained refuge habitat free from vehicle movement, laydown areas, spoil, washout and construction materials.

Threats: Fire and habitat loss

The species' small range means that local disturbance can affect a large proportion of the population. Fire, drying, climate change and lantana act together by removing canopy, reducing leaf-litter moisture and degrading breeding and shelter sites.

High-frequency and severe fire can directly kill frogs and remove the canopy, leaf litter and forest structure needed for shelter and breeding. More frequent severe fires may cause irreversible declines and local extinction in small, fragmented populations.

The species' habitat did not burn during the 2019 to 2020 bushfires, but substantial areas of similar habitat nearby did burn. Future fires are considered likely to reach lower elevation sites as fire frequency and severity increase.

Fire effects: Direct mortality, canopy loss, reduced leaf litter, forest-floor drying and possible loss of recolonisation capacity.

  • Avoid clearing or slashing that creates continuous flammable edges between rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest.
  • Do not burn cleared vegetation or conduct high-intensity fire management in potential habitat without species-specific ecological advice.
  • Retain canopy and damp litter around work areas and prevent machinery from spreading fire into occupied habitat.

Threats: Climate change and drying

Increasing temperature, drought frequency and drought duration threaten the consistently moist conditions required by this terrestrial breeding frog. Dry leaf litter can reduce reproductive success and recruitment.

The lower elevation edge of the range is considered particularly exposed because it is warmer and more likely to dry. A single drought may affect the entire known population.

  • Avoid redirecting runoff away from retained forest or concentrating flows through occupied habitat.
  • Prevent unnecessary canopy opening, soil exposure and compaction that would accelerate drying.
  • Monitor retained habitat for loss of leaf-litter moisture during extended dry periods and escalate concerns to the project ecologist.

Threats: Lantana and other site disturbance

Lantana camara changes the normally sparse forest-floor groundcover, reduces habitat quality and adds flammable fuel, particularly at rainforest and sclerophyll forest interfaces.

Clearing and fragmentation are serious concerns because the known distribution is approximately 40 km2 in extent of occurrence and is treated as one threat-defined location. The supplied documents do not provide species-specific evidence about road mortality or predation.

  • Map and control lantana before it expands into retained habitat, using low-disturbance methods suited to amphibian habitat.
  • Keep access tracks, compounds and stockpiles out of damp forest-floor habitat wherever practicable.
  • Treat any clearing within or adjacent to the known range as a potential impact on the species, even where no frog is detected.

Threats: Disease and construction hygiene

The species' susceptibility to amphibian chytrid fungus has not been confirmed, but the closely related pouched frog is highly susceptible under laboratory conditions. Disease could reduce the population's ability to recover from drought and other stressors.

The supplied documents do not identify confirmed project-related disease events, predators, road impacts or hydrology thresholds for this species.

Potential disease: Amphibian chytrid fungus causing chytridiomycosis.

  • Apply amphibian hygiene protocols between sites, waterbodies and habitat patches.
  • Do not move frogs, wet soil, leaf litter, logs or rocks between sites unless authorised and managed under an approved procedure.
  • Record and report unusual frog mortality or morbidity promptly through the project environmental management system.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and diurnal searches

No species-specific survey effort or survey guideline is provided in the supplied documents. Surveys should target the species’ restricted rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest habitat, where frogs shelter and breed in damp leaf litter, under rocks and rotten logs.

Map all rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest within and adjacent to the proposed disturbance area, including damp leaf litter, rotten logs, rocks and closed-canopy forest.

Search suitable forest-floor shelter sites during the day by carefully checking damp leaf litter, beneath rocks and around rotten logs.

Avoid excessive disturbance to leaf litter, logs and rocks during searches because these features provide shelter and nest sites.

Survey methodology: 2. Nocturnal searches and call surveys

Survey during the spring and summer breeding period, when males call from secluded sites on the forest floor.

Use nocturnal visual searches and listen for calling males in suitable forest-floor habitat, particularly after conditions that maintain damp leaf litter.

Record survey dates, start and finish times, weather, recent rainfall, observer effort, transect locations and all detections.

The species is small and cryptic, and its advertisement call consists of repeated notes, usually with fewer notes and shorter pauses than the call of the pouched frog.

Survey methodology: 3. Targeted searches of disturbance footprints

Survey the full proposed clearing footprint and any access tracks, stockpile areas, drainage works and temporary compounds that contain rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest or damp forest-floor habitat.

Extend searches into retained habitat beside the footprint where animals may move during clearing or where relocation is proposed.

Treat all potential habitat within the known range as habitat critical to survival, because the species has a restricted distribution of less than 100 square kilometres.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a qualified ecologist to set survey effort according to the size and condition of the impact area, season, weather and risk of disturbance, because the supplied documents do not prescribe numbers of nights, hours, transects, trap nights or survey area.
  • Do not rely on a single negative survey to clear potential habitat where conditions are dry, the canopy is open, or leaf litter and ground shelters have been disturbed.
  • Record positive and negative results, photographs, call recordings where available, coordinates, habitat condition, survey conditions and the identity of surveyors and fauna spotters.
  • Submit confirmed records and any significant survey observations to the relevant NSW wildlife database and the relevant state or territory wildlife records system for the project location.
  • Check current Commonwealth and state survey, approval and data-submission requirements before work starts.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

The species is known only from within and adjacent to Wollumbin National Park in north-eastern New South Wales. A project in suitable habitat should be treated as a high-risk activity because the species occurs at one threat-defined location and a single fire or drought could affect the whole population.

  • Avoid clearing rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest, especially closed-canopy forest with an established layer of damp leaf litter.
  • Retain damp leaf litter, rotten logs, rocks and other forest-floor shelter and nest features within the work area wherever practicable.
  • Avoid fragmenting retained forest and maintain connected patches between occupied or suitable habitat.
  • Keep machinery, access tracks, storage areas and spoil outside retained forest-floor habitat.
  • Give particular protection to lower-elevation habitat between approximately 350 and 550 metres above sea level, where most records have been made.

Before habitat disturbance: Check approvals and plan the works

  • Check whether the proposal may significantly impact this EPBC Act Critically Endangered species and obtain project-specific Commonwealth advice or approval before disturbance.
  • Check NSW threatened species requirements, permits and consent conditions, including requirements applying to the Wollumbin National Park Asset of Intergenerational Significance.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies potential habitat, survey results, exclusion areas, stop-work triggers, fauna handling arrangements, incident contacts and reporting requirements.
  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat remains connected and fauna can move towards undisturbed forest rather than isolated construction areas.
  • Schedule disturbance outside the spring and summer breeding period where practicable, and avoid work during dry conditions that could further dry leaf litter and breeding sites.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare the site

  • Complete a pre-clearance survey immediately before works in all potential habitat and repeat it after a material delay, major rainfall event or change in the disturbance footprint.
  • Mark no-go areas, damp leaf-litter patches, rotten logs, rocks, retained canopy and proposed relocation habitat before machinery enters the site.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can prevent machinery and people entering retained habitat, and inspect the fencing before and during works.
  • Brief all operators on the species’ small size, cryptic behaviour, forest-floor shelter sites and the requirement to stop when fauna or unapproved habitat damage is detected.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery supervision

Clearing should be supervised by an appropriately authorised fauna spotter catcher with experience in amphibians and wet forest habitat. The work method should protect damp forest-floor features and prevent machinery from isolating or crushing animals.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, access routes and retained habitat before each work period.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher in a position where the operator can stop immediately and where the spotter can inspect the active clearing edge and ground surface.
  • Clear progressively in small stages towards retained habitat, where this is consistent with the approved fauna management plan and does not drive animals into active machinery areas.
  • Do not place cleared vegetation, spoil, mulch or machinery on damp leaf litter, rotten logs, rocks or retained forest floor.
  • Stop work if fire, smoke, unexpected drying, erosion, chemical contamination or other activity is damaging retained habitat or creating an unapproved impact.

During habitat disturbance: Handling logs, rocks and leaf litter

  • Inspect leaf litter, rocks and rotten logs before they are moved or crushed.
  • Move habitat features only under the direction of the fauna spotter catcher and place them in nearby retained, moist forest habitat where relocation is authorised.
  • Replace moved rocks and logs so that shelter remains available and avoid exposing the surrounding leaf litter to prolonged drying.
  • Do not burn or unnecessarily remove forest-floor material from retained habitat.
  • Treat any animal found under a shelter feature as present until the feature has been inspected and the fauna spotter catcher has cleared the area.

During habitat disturbance: If a frog is found

  • Stop nearby machinery and establish a quiet exclusion area around the animal.
  • Allow the fauna spotter catcher to confirm the identification and decide whether the animal can remain safely in place.
  • Only a person authorised under the project approval and relevant wildlife requirements should handle or relocate the frog.
  • Use clean, damp, species-appropriate handling equipment and minimise handling time, contact with skin and exposure to heat or drying conditions.
  • Relocate the frog only to nearby retained moist forest habitat approved in the fauna management plan, because the species has a very restricted distribution and its habitat requirements are narrow.
  • Do not move the frog outside its known local range or across the suspected boundary with the pouched frog without specific scientific and regulatory approval.
  • Place an injured frog in a clean, secure, temperature-controlled container and contact the nominated wildlife carer, veterinary practitioner or wildlife authority immediately.
  • Record the location, date, time, habitat, action taken, release location, condition and photographs or other evidence where appropriate.

During habitat disturbance: Disease, fire and incident response

  • Apply amphibian hygiene procedures between sites and handling events to reduce the risk of spreading chytrid fungus.
  • Stop work and notify the site environmental officer if a frog is injured or killed, if an animal is found outside the approved impact area, or if clearing damages marked habitat.
  • Stop work if fire behaviour or smoke threatens retained habitat, because high-intensity fire can remove canopy and leaf litter and may prevent recolonisation.
  • Report any breach of approval conditions, unplanned habitat loss, mortality, disease concern or failed relocation in accordance with the fauna management plan and approval conditions.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance actions should confirm that no animals remain in the disturbance footprint, that retained forest-floor habitat is intact, and that controls continue to protect the species during construction and operation.

  • Inspect the cleared footprint, retained edges, access routes and temporary work areas after each clearing stage for frogs, injured animals, damaged habitat and displaced logs or rocks.
  • Complete a final fauna inspection before removing exclusion fencing or allowing unrestricted machinery access.
  • Check that retained canopy, damp leaf litter, rotten logs and rocks have not been removed, buried, compacted or dried by construction activities.
  • Record all inspections, detections, mortality, relocations, habitat damage, corrective actions and photographs.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and controls

  • Maintain exclusion fencing, no-go markers, sediment controls and machinery restrictions for as long as construction could affect retained habitat.
  • Monitor retained habitat for drying, canopy loss, weed invasion, altered drainage, fire damage and other changes that could reduce habitat quality.
  • Undertake targeted post-work surveys during suitable spring and summer conditions where required by the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Escalate any continuing decline in habitat condition, repeated frog detections in work areas or evidence of mortality to the project environmental officer and relevant authorities.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and offsets

  • Provide the final fauna report to the approving authorities and project environmental officer, including methods, effort, conditions, records, incidents, relocations, habitat impacts and compliance with conditions.
  • Submit confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and retain the data in the project environmental records.
  • Implement any approved offset, restoration or compensatory measure required under Commonwealth or state approvals.
  • Do not treat an offset as a substitute for avoiding and minimising damage to this species’ remaining habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore forest structure and ground habitat

Rehabilitation should recreate moist, closed forest-floor habitat rather than simply stabilise exposed soil. The species depends on consistently moist conditions, damp leaf litter and shelter on the forest floor, and it may not recolonise areas where the canopy has been lost through severe disturbance.

  • Re-establish locally appropriate subtropical rainforest or wet sclerophyll forest using locally sourced native plants suited to the approved restoration site.
  • Restore closed-canopy conditions and a continuous layer of damp leaf litter over time, because the species relies on these conditions for shelter and terrestrial breeding.
  • Retain or reinstate naturally occurring rotten logs and rocks in moist, shaded positions that provide shelter and nest sites.
  • Prevent compaction, clearing and repeated vehicle access across rehabilitated forest floor.
  • Design drainage and erosion controls so that they maintain suitable soil and leaf-litter moisture without creating avoidable sediment or pollution impacts.

Rehabilitation actions: Control weeds, fire and disease

  • Control lantana and prevent its re-establishment in and beside rehabilitated habitat, using methods that do not damage damp leaf litter or contaminate shelter sites.
  • Plan fire management with the land manager to avoid high-intensity fire through retained and rehabilitated habitat.
  • Reduce fine fuel accumulation and lantana-driven fire risk while maintaining the leaf litter and fallen timber required by the species.
  • Use amphibian hygiene procedures during weed control, earthworks and monitoring to reduce the risk of spreading chytrid fungus.
  • Do not install nest boxes or create wetlands as a substitute for restoring this species’ known terrestrial forest-floor habitat, because the supplied documents do not identify those features as required by the species.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

  • Inspect rehabilitated areas after planting, major rainfall, drought, fire and construction maintenance to identify drying, weed invasion, erosion, canopy loss and loss of ground shelters.
  • Measure progress by survival and establishment of native forest plants, increasing canopy cover, retention of damp leaf litter, presence of suitable logs and rocks, lantana control and protection from high-intensity fire.
  • Repeat targeted searches and call surveys during spring and summer to detect the species or other evidence of use of rehabilitated habitat.
  • Use monitoring results to replace failed plantings, restore lost shelter features, repair drainage or fencing and revise weed and fire controls.
  • Report rehabilitation outcomes and any frog records to the land manager, approval authority and relevant wildlife database.

Sources