THE newly announced 100ha koala reserve in Pottsville will be used to help eradicate chlamydia, which is destroying the endangered North Coast koala population.

On Friday, the New South Wales Government announced the $1 million purchase of a 100ha vacant block, located between council land and Cudgen Nature Reserve at the northern end of the Koala Beach estate, which will be used to revegetate and re-establish the Tweed Coast koala population.

With an estimated population of less than 150 koalas on the Tweed Coast, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary head vet Michael Pyne said the new koala reserve was a step forward in protecting the endangered species.

"Koalas are in big trouble in this part of the world,” Dr Pyne said.

"It's quite frightening the numbers coming (into the hospital) and it's crucial that something is done. The purchase of this land is a big step in the right direction.

"There is hope and there are ways we can save our koalas. We're going in that right direction.”

Tweed Shire Council's senior biodiversity program leader Scott Hetherington said the new habitat would allow work to continue to improve chlamydia vaccines for koalas.

"The disease chlamydia is one of the key threats to koalas,” Mr Hetherington said.

"Currently, there's a scientific trial underway to develop a vaccine for it but you need two shots 30 days apart.

"In 2016, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary treated 280 koalas that have come from northern NSW and of those animals a certain number of them were successfully released but none of them were vaccinated because there was no place to hold them for 30 days.

"We will be able to establish (a holding area) here that will allow us to do that.

"The urgency is really there and we'll keep on pushing and try to work that out.”

Mr Hetherington said the new site would also provide plenty of soft-release areas for Friends of the Koala to continue to rehabilitate injured animals.

"The other thing that we don't currently have is a soft-release site on the coast,” he said.

"We can achieve that here aswell.”