The Australian government has released its first National Climate Risk Assessment (NCRA) and National Adaptation Plan, outlining a nationwide strategy to embed climate resilience into the way the country plans and procures infrastructure, buildings, and critical assets.
The package represents the most comprehensive attempt yet to ensure that climate impacts — including extreme heat, fire, flood and coastal change — are addressed systematically in decision-making, standards, and funding allocations.
The NCRA identifies priority climate risks facing the nation, while the National Adaptation Plan sets out measures to reduce exposure and strengthen resilience across public and private sectors.
Key initiatives include mandatory climate-risk disclosure for large businesses, reforms to land transport funding to require whole-of-life resilience, and a strengthened framework under which Infrastructure Australia will assess projects.
According to the government, embedding resilience upfront will shift procurement decisions away from short-term, lowest-cost models toward approaches that reward durability and proven performance under future climate conditions.
The plan also commits to aligning critical codes and standards with climate objectives, creating national guidance for adaptation in transport, and signalling the development of performance-based pathways in construction.
Industry body Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the government’s approach, noting its strong potential to reshape procurement practices and lift resilience outcomes across the built environment.
“CCAA notes the government’s intent to strengthen Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework so proposals explicitly address climate risk and resilience, and this will be a game-changer for procurement,” said Michael Kilgariff, Chief Executive Officer, CCAA.
“Tender scoring will recognise materials and designs that deliver long service life, lower maintenance and proven performance under heat, flood, fire and coastal hazards.”
The reforms also incorporate changes to how building codes are developed and applied.
“Aligning codes and standards will be critical to avoid fragmented requirements,” Kilgariff said.
“Making climate resilience a specific objective for the Australian Building Codes Board and the National Construction Code — and considering future climate files and heatwave metrics — will help shift procurement toward performance-based specifications that reward durable, hazard-resistant solutions.”
The National Adaptation Plan further reinforces disclosure requirements in both the corporate and government sectors.
Large businesses will be mandated to publish climate-risk reporting, while federal agencies must make ongoing disclosures — an approach expected to influence supply chains and public tendering processes.
Another measure welcomed by industry is the push for land transport projects to deliver whole-of-life resilience as part of funding approvals.
“This rightly moves purchasing decisions beyond lowest upfront cost to whole-of-life outcomes,” Kilgariff said.
Financial markets will also play a greater role under the plan, with the government signalling that the Australian sustainable finance taxonomy — which already covers construction and buildings — may expand to include explicit adaptation and resilience criteria.
“Procurement will increasingly reference the taxonomy,” Kilgariff said.
“It must recognise adaptation performance — durability, service life and hazard resistance — alongside decarbonisation.”
CCAA said it was committed to working with Infrastructure Australia, the Building Ministers’ Forum and Treasury to align procurement guidance, data and disclosures to ensure resilient outcomes.
“The direction is clear: governments want assets that last and perform under future climates. Concrete — specified through performance-based pathways — can deliver that resilience while supporting circular outcomes,” Kilgariff said.
The government has positioned the NCRA and Adaptation Plan as living frameworks that will be periodically updated, tying adaptation measures into broader national climate policy.
By integrating resilience into procurement and funding, it aims to ensure that future infrastructure not only delivers economic value but also endures under Australia’s projected climate challenges.
