The federal government has released Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment and National Adaptation Plan which confirms what planners and communities across the nation are experiencing: climate risks are cascading, compounding and concurrent.
The plan projects that no Australian community is immune, but some will be hit harder than others. Natural hazards must not be viewed as contingencies but as inevitable and increasing risks to communities.
The evidence underscores the urgent need to embed climate adaptation and emissions reduction into land use, housing, and infrastructure planning. These are among the most potent levers for reducing future exposure and managing legacy risks.
The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), the national body representing the planning profession, has commended the federal government for recognising the importance of integrated responses across climate, disaster resilience, infrastructure and community wellbeing. PIA has also applauded the spatial focus applied to understanding climate risks and adaptation responses.
“Planners play a vital enabling role in shaping Australia’s climate response, ensuring that new housing, infrastructure and community development are resilient, safe from natural hazards, sustainable, and aligned with the pathway to net zero emissions,” said Matt Collins, PIA CEO.
PIA calls for four priorities for action:
- Embed climate risk in planning systems: State, territory and local planning frameworks should consistently incorporate long-term climate hazard assessments – including heat, bushfire, flood and coastal risks – to ensure safe land use and development decisions.
- Coordinate infrastructure and adaptation investment: Infrastructure planning and funding should be integrated with land use decisions, ensuring that adaptation measures are prioritised where risks are greatest and communities are most vulnerable.
- Advance national adaptation and resilience measures: Establish permanent, voluntary home buy-back funds for strategically identified high-risk areas. These measures are essential to support communities facing repeated disaster exposure, reduce long-term recovery costs, and enable safer patterns of growth.
- Reduce long-term climate change impacts by abating carbon emissions: Finalise and implement the Built Environment Sector Plan to reduce carbon emissions. We know that buildings and infrastructure are directly responsible for almost one-third of Australia’s total carbon emissions.
PIA says it supports the government’s recognition that every $1 invested in adaptation delivers a tenfold return. To maximise these benefits, adaptation efforts must be grounded in place-based planning and supported by strong collaboration between all levels of government, industry, and communities.
“Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment provides further evidence that climate impacts are here and worsening. Planners are at the frontline of coordinating land use responses that reduce climate risks, support housing and infrastructure resilience, and enable the transition to net zero,” said Collins.
“We urge governments to align land use, infrastructure and climate policies so that communities are safer, healthier and more resilient in the decades ahead.”
Australia’s planning profession looks forward to working with the Australian Climate Service, governments and industry to implement the National Adaptation Plan and deliver resilient, liveable and sustainable communities for future generations.
