The orange-bellied parrot is one of Australia’s most imperilled species. We undertook a range of studies on the wild population at the breeding grounds in Tasmania to investigate their breeding success and habitat quality. Trial burns of moorland habitat increased the abundance of several important food plant species. Infertile captive-bred pairs were successfully used to foster captive-bred fertilised eggs and nestlings from other pairs to increase the number of chicks that fledge. Ongoing monitoring of, and possible intervention with, wild nests may be essential management responses.