A rare white koala bear, which was found ill in a remote part of Eastern Australia, has been returned to the wild after being nursed back to health at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie.

The koala, nicknamed Mick, was found by police officers in remote bushland about three weeks ago.

It was desperately ill and taken for treatment at Port Macquarie's Koala Hospital, in the state of New South Wales.

Mick was kept isolated from other koalas at the hospital, and security cameras provided round-the-clock protection as staff feared he could become the target of thieves, local media reported.

Unlike albino koalas which have pink eyes and noses, Mick has a black nose and yellow eyes, and its white fur is due to a recessive gene.

When found it was suffering from complete blindness caused by chlamydia - an affliction which can also cause infertility and urinary tract infection in koalas.

Port Macquarie's Koala Hospital supervisor, Cheyne Flanagan, said Mick's eyes looked like "red cabbages" when it was found, and underwent an operation to remove diseased flesh.

Afterwards, an antibiotic cream was applied twice a day for two weeks as he recovered.

Mick is believed to be one of only a handful of white koalas in Australia.

On Friday he was returned in secret to the remote area where he was found, local media reported.