Avoid Island lies in the saltwaters of Koinmerburra Country, and is one of the only privately-owned and permanent nature refuges in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The island is managed by QTFN, in collaboration with our partners.
Avoid Island hosts a unique array of inshore species, a diverse range of threatened shorebirds, and an abundance of marine life. It is a key nesting site for the vulnerable east Australian population of Flatback Turtles (Natator depressus), that nest exclusively in Australia. Interestingly, Avoid Island has no ground-dwelling mammals; there are no feral animals and weeds are scarce. Vegetation on the island ranges from mangroves and grasslands to rainforests and estuarine wetland, with 16 hectares of the Critically Endangered Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia. Avoid Island has an impressive biodiversity given its 83-hectare size.