Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Support AWC > Corporate Partnerships > AWC Optus Corporate Partnership

AWC-Optus Corporate Partnership

Optus is joining AWC at the frontline to save Australia’s endangered wildlife.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy is proud to announce an innovative new partnership with Optus which will help save some of Australia’s most endangered species.

Corporate support for wildlife conservation in Australia is still very much in its infancy and this partnership with Optus, AWC’s first major sponsor, represents a significant step forward. At a time when Australia is facing a wildlife extinction crisis, Optus it taking the lead with a major investment in the protection of Australia’s endangered species.

As part of this exciting, joint initiative, called “Building better homes for Australia’s wildlife,” Optus will:

Provide generous funding to assist with a number of key, on-ground projects that protect endangered species in their natural habitat
Help raise public awareness of Australia's threatened wildlife, and mobilise community involvement, through innovative communication strategies on the Optus website and through the Optus customer network.

The first species to benefit from the Optus partnership was the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby. They are one of Australia’s most beautiful wallabies, but is endangered by feral animals, particularly feral predators, and loss of habitat. Optus has helped AWC protect a significant population of Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies at its Buckaringa Wildlife Sanctuary in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.

Optus is now helping to secure the future of the endangered Purple-crowned Fairy-wren by providing vital funding to conserve populations at AWC’s Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary. Data will be gathered on the distribution Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, as well as the effect of habitat loss on its populations, to make recommendations for effective conservation of this charismatic species. The monitoring, surveys and research conducted under the project will help AWC understand the impacts that current land management and future environmental changes will have on the species in the Kimberley and across northern Australia.

Given Australia's current record of mammal extinctions shows no signs of abating, it is vital we find new and innovative ways of doing conservation. This initiative places Optus at the front-line in efforts to save Australia’s wildlife. Optus, together with its staff and customers, will be helping to deliver practical, on-ground conservation projects around Australia, as well as raising nationwide awareness about our endangered wildlife.

This partnership with Optus is helping to define an important new model for conservation in Australia, which involves the community and the private sector working in partnership with Government.

AWC particularly values the expertise that Optus will provide in communication services and new technologies. The Optus business model is set to play an important role in assisting AWC with our core business – saving Australia’s endangered wildlife.

This is an innovative new partnership, which provides an exciting model for corporations who wish to make a real contribution to protecting Australia’s wildlife.

AWC-Optus Corporate Partnership

Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby :

Purple-crowned Fairy-wren :

Helping create Australia's largest non-gorvernment sanctuary