Over 100 coral-reef fish species disperse poleward from the Great Barrier Reef, and a 20-yer dataset reveals that while most taxa have increased over this time, some have declined. A recent expansion of branching corals Pocillopora aliciae in temperate SE Australia in Sydney has provided key habitat for a number of coral reef fishes including some not record before. on rocky reefs. Here we report n sensory capacity of incoming fish larvae to detect these corals and exhibit habitat preferences. Coral reef fish density on the corals was higher than surrounding rocky reef barrens or kelp, suggesting coral habitat, which is rapidly expanding and infilling, will facilitate tropicalisation. However, temperate fish density was higher in coral habitat, suggesting new coral habitat will have future benefits to local reef fishes. reef fishes in general.