Queensland's government has pledged to do more to protect the state's vulnerable koalas.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Sunday all koalas in Queensland, and not just those in the southeast region, would be listed as vulnerable.
The announcement follows a recommendation from an independent technical committee.
"Everybody loves the koala and we must do everything in our power to protect (it) now and into the future," Ms Palaszczuk said at the Daisy Hill Koala Centre.
Dog attacks, car accidents and other consequences of urbanisation were having a huge impact on their welfare, she said.
The new classification will bring the state government in line with the federal government's position on koalas.
State agencies will now have to work closely with their local counterparts to ensure koala populations are mapped and factored into development as an environmentally significant species.
Developers may also have to take steps to offset any impact on koalas by planting new habitats.
State Environment Minister Steven Miles said the new rating was bittersweet news for Queensland's conservation efforts.
"It's bad news because it means the koala population is not as strong outside of southeast Queensland as we thought," he said.
"But it's good news because it means the government and local councils will do more to protect (them)."
Mike Devery, of the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, said Queensland's koala numbers were not clear but a revised figure was in the works.
An audit between 1997 and 2011 put koala losses at 16,000, he said.
The state government also said a new "Spot Our Species" app would be released.
Locals would be encouraged to take a snap when they spotted a koala and help map areas of concentration.
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