A struggling Queensland cassowary centre has been saved, with the new operators looking to set up an extra facility in the state’s far north.

The Garners Beach Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre at Mission Beach had been earmarked for closure last year after its previous operator, Rainforest Rescue, ran out of money.

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, on Wednesday announced not-for-profit Rainforest Reserves Australia has agreed to manage the centre – the only one of its kind in the world – for the next three years.

“The cassowary is an icon in far-north Queensland and it’s important there is help for sick or injured birds or chicks left without their parents,” Palaszczuk said.

“We stepped in to help the previous organisation last year with some temporary funding and [environment minister] Steven Miles has been working hard to find a more permanent solution.

“Cassowaries play an essential ecological role in maintaining the biodiversity of our tropical rainforests by dispersing the seeds of forest plants, and it is important that we place rehabilitated birds back into areas where they can continue to do that.”

Rainforest Reserves Australia’s chief executive, Carolyn Emms, said the conservation group would work to establish a second cassowary rehabilitation facility at Lake Barrine on the Atherton tablelands. “This is great news for cassowary conservation in the wet tropics region,” she said.

She added: “This is a big issue and it is our passion to grow the cassowaries’ habitat.”

The north Queensland group was chosen more than seven months after the state government provided emergency funding to keep the centre open.