Warrandyte’s wombats need urgent help
by Nicole Werner MP
8th September 2025
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STATE MEMBER UPDATE
WOMBATS ARE an iconic part of our local landscape, but right now many in Warrandyte are under threat from sarcoptic mange, an invasive disease introduced by early settlers.
Mange is a cruel but preventable condition.
Mites burrow beneath the skin, leading to thickened and cracked hides, painful lesions, and fur loss.
As the disease progresses, wombats become weaker, stop eating, and often do not survive.
Infection levels can reach up to 90 per cent in some areas, and the parasite can also spread to pets, livestock, and other wildlife.
But there is a cure; we can save these wombats, and they are being saved by Mange Management, a remarkable grassroots organisation that punches well above its weight.
What began in 2012 with a handful of wildlife carers has grown into a statewide network of more than 140 trained volunteers who work with landowners, Parks Victoria rangers, councils, vets, and everyday residents.
In the past year alone, the group received over 1,600 reports of suspected mange, including more than 200 via Wildlife Victoria.
Locally, volunteers are active across Warrandyte, North Warrandyte, Templestowe, and Kangaroo Ground.
The charity also operates a phone line and website.
Services provided include reporting sick wombats, mapping sightings in an interactive database, providing free treatment kits to landholders, and training new recruits.
Mange Management is partnering with researchers to keep improving results.
In 2020, the Victorian Government backed this work with $100,000 a year for four years.
That funding expired in May.
Without renewed support, medication purchases will shrink, volunteers will shoulder higher personal costs, response times will slow, and hundreds of wombats will go untreated.
New South Wales has committed $2.8 million to a statewide program, which shows what coordinated investment can achieve.
Victoria’s wombats deserve the same commitment.
As your local MP, I am taking this fight to Parliament.
I am pushing to restore funding for Mange Management and to lock in ongoing, coordinated support so volunteers have the medication, training, and resources they need.
I have raised this issue in Parliament with the Minister for Environment and look forward to their response.
Victoria’s wombats deserve nothing less.
If you see a wombat with patchy fur, scabby skin, or daytime wandering, please call the mange hotline on 0431 600 125.
Nicole Werner is the Member for Warrandyte in the Legislative Assembly.
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Editors’ note: Mange Management has started a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover the shortfall in funding.
If you can donate, please do — every dollar helps.
Visit: gofundme.com/f/help-us-help-the-wombats
Photo: Katja Gutwein
