In NSW it is illegal for a member of the public to hold a koala. The koala must be on a perch, wether it be a keeper or in a fork. the public is then allowed to stand next to the koala and pat it for photo ops. I believe a koala may also only be used for 3 hours a day and only a set number of days in a week. This may have changed since I last read. Go to the Industry and Investment website, the standards are easily available in the animal welfare unit section of the site.
I believe the law may be changing in a few states. I heard a while ago that there may be a boost in the numbers of koalas being kept in institutions, when the law changes.
