Following mineral sand mining on North Stradbroke Island, southeast Queensland, rehabilitation managers have a statutory obligation to restore vegetation communities to meet completion criteria based on representative native 'reference' communities. The success of rehabilitation is currently evaluated by measures of vegetation composition and structure, with native tree and understorey species richness, density and foliage cover required to achieve at least 65 to 75% of reference site values. Rehabilitation aged 8, 10, 15 and 20 years was assessed in the Gordon mine lease area and compared with prescribed reference communities, representative of four eucalypt dominated communities on the island. Ordinations of species composition showed that rehabilitated sites were more similar to each other than to the reference sites. In contrast to reference sites, 15 and 20-year-old rehabilitation was dominated by Allocasuarina littoralis and recorded low species richness. Recently rehabilitated areas were more similar to reference sites with predominantly eucalypt tree species and comparable species richness. Native species density was lower in rehabilitation of all ages (29 to 114 stems/40 m2) compared to reference sites (237 to 368 stems/40 m2). Without management intervention, it is unlikely that 15 and 20-year-old rehabilitation will progress toward the reference sites and with continued exclusion of fire, younger rehabilitation may also become progressively dominated by a simplified stand of A. littoralis. The value of comparing developing ecosystems to successionally 'mature' communities is considered and implications for selecting reference values and choosing management interventions are discussed.