Results from a koala survey carried out in Joyner earlier this year are expected later in 2026, with the findings set to help guide future habitat and road-safety measures across Moreton Bay.
The survey comes during a year in which Joyner has already seen 11 fauna escape hatches installed along Youngs Crossing and Samsonvale Road. Wildlife signage for the suburb has also been included in the City of Moreton Bay’s 2026–27 Budget.
For Joyner, the work puts particular attention on areas where busy roads intersect with established wildlife corridors.
Koalas Tracked From the Air and Ground
Joyner was one of seven areas surveyed by the City of Moreton Bay and the University of the Sunshine Coast during May and June.
Thermal cameras mounted on drones were flown over selected areas at night to locate koalas. Ground teams, including detection dogs, were also used as part of the survey work.
Murrumba Downs, Kallangur, Strathpine, Petrie, Lawnton and Whiteside were among the other areas surveyed.
Council said the results, expected later this year, would help inform future koala conservation projects. These could range from habitat assessments, weed control and planting to disease management and road infrastructure such as fauna hatches, underpasses and exclusion fencing.
For Joyner, the findings will follow several years of wildlife protection work around two important local corridors — Samsonvale Road and Youngs Crossing Road.
Eleven Escape Hatches Added in Joyner
Seven fauna escape hatches were installed at Youngs Crossing earlier this year, with another four placed along Samsonvale Road.
That gave Joyner 11 of the 49 hatches installed across Moreton Bay in the wider rollout.
The devices sit within roadside fencing and provide a one-way exit for koalas and other native animals that find themselves on the road side of the barrier. Once an animal passes through a hatch into surrounding habitat, it cannot use the same opening to return to the roadway.
Their installation followed a 12-month trial involving 16 hatches across seven Council-managed roads. Council reported no koala fatalities at wildlife crossings fitted with the devices during the trial, while cameras recorded koalas, echidnas and bandicoots using them.
The hatches are not Joyner’s only wildlife road infrastructure. Council records show a fauna rope bridge on Forgan Road, while Samsonvale Road has two cage-style rope bridges, a fauna underpass, exclusion fencing, nest boxes and wildlife signage.
At Youngs Crossing Road, exclusion fencing is also used to guide animals moving through the One Mile Creek habitat corridor under the bridge.
New Wildlife Signs Flagged for Joyner
The City’s 2026–27 Budget includes wildlife signage in Joyner, as well as Albany Creek, Cashmere, Clear Mountain and Warner.
It does not specify how many signs will be installed in Joyner or exactly where they will go.
At the same time, the Youngs Crossing Road upgrade is continuing through the area. Council’s September project update says about 85 per cent of the precast concrete beams forming the foundation of the new bridge deck have now been installed.
The project covers more than a kilometre between Protheroe Road and Dayboro Road, with a temporary 40km/h speed limit applying along Youngs Crossing Road during construction.
The next development will be the release of the 2026 survey findings, which Council has said will help inform future koala conservation projects across Moreton Bay.
Published 5-September-2026
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