The Christmas Island blue-tailed skink (Cryptoblepharus egeriae) is Extinct in the Wild (IUCN) due to introduced predatory species and has been bred in captivity for over a decade. Assisted colonisation trials to two of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Pulu Blan and Pulu Blan Madar (980 km south-west from Christmas Island), took place in September 2019 and March 2020, each involving the introduction of 300 skinks bred in captivity. We aimed to evaluate the suitability of these two islands as potential sites to support a self-sustaining blue-tailed skink population, by monitoring skink survival, reproduction, and habitat use. The trial on Pulu Blan met two of four pre-determined metrics for success: (1) signs of mating and reproduction at six-months post-release, and (2) survival to six-months of age of skinks born on the island. However, initial survival was much lower on Pulu Blan Madar, where a previously undetected super-colony of yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) appeared to kill skinks and drive their dispersal to the edge of vegetated habitat. Baiting efforts on Pulu Blan Madar successfully reduced the number of yellow crazy ants to low-detectability, and the surviving skink population began to show signs of recovery. A top-up translocation of an additional 250 skinks took place in June 2021. Given the challenges in controlling invasive species on Christmas Island, and the high costs of maintaining a captive breeding program, assisted colonisation of blue-tailed skinks to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is a feasible option for establishing self-sustaining populations of this species outside of captivity.