Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill

The short answer

Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill

The Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill 2025 is a private member's bill introduced by Independent MP Zali Steggall (Warringah, NSW) on 25 August 2025 in the House of Representatives. It would establish Australia's first legislated national framework for climate change adaptation: an independent National Climate Change Adaptation Authority, a National Climate Change Risk Assessment at least every five years, rolling National Adaptation Plans, and obligations on Commonwealth decision-makers to consider and report on climate risk. As at the 13 September 2026 source check the bill remains before the House of Representatives. The first reading was on introduction and the second reading was moved the same day; it has not been debated to a vote, has not passed either chamber and is not law. The change recorded in this batch is source_presence — the bill left the daily selection feed's current snapshot — not a change of parliamentary stage: re-opening the official bill page on 13 September 2026 found the bill still before the House, with no record of passage, withdrawal, discharge or Royal Assent.

This is a federal system guide. State constitutions, parliaments and local-government laws can allocate comparable functions differently.

The useful question is not only “what is the rule?” but also “who administers it, which document controls it, and when might it change?” That distinction prevents an accurate general explanation from becoming wrong advice in a particular election, chamber or policy setting.

Evidence review

Chamber-record cross-check for this update

This update was triggered because the Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill 2025 stopped appearing in the daily selection feed's current snapshot (recorded as a source_presence change). A bill leaving a list is only a signal to re-check the official record; it is not proof that the bill passed, was withdrawn, lapsed or became law. The bill page and the current Bills before Parliament list were re-opened on 13 September 2026.

The official record re-checked on 13 September 2026 shows the bill as a private member's bill originating in the House of Representatives, introduced and first read on 25 August 2025, with the second reading moved and listed as "Before House of Representatives". There is no record of second reading debate, no vote, no committee referral, no passage in either chamber, no Royal Assent and no Act number, and no record of withdrawal or discharge. The bill's substance and stage are therefore unchanged from the site's previous review. There is no chamber action on this bill to report beyond its introduction and the moving of the second reading.

Evidence review

What this bill proposes

The bill would establish a comprehensive national climate change adaptation framework with four core components. First, it would create an independent National Climate Change Adaptation Authority to coordinate Australia's adaptation efforts. Second, it would require the authority to conduct a National Climate Change Risk Assessment at least once every five years, identifying the most significant climate risks facing Australia across sectors and regions. Third, it would mandate National Adaptation Plans — rolling strategies setting out how Australia would respond to the identified risks. Fourth, it would impose obligations on Commonwealth decision-makers to consider climate risks and adaptation when making certain decisions, and to publish statements explaining how climate adaptation has been taken into account.

The bill is structured as a framework statute: it establishes the institutions, processes and principles, then leaves detailed operational decisions to the authority and to future adaptation plans. This is a common legislative design for long-term policy problems where the specific response needs to evolve as scientific understanding and conditions change.

Evidence review

The National Climate Change Adaptation Authority

The proposed authority would be an independent statutory body whose functions include conducting and commissioning climate risk research, preparing the national risk assessments and adaptation plans, advising Commonwealth agencies on adaptation, monitoring and reporting on Australia's adaptation progress, and engaging with state and territory governments, local councils, industry and community groups on adaptation coordination.

The bill provides for a Chief Executive Officer and staff and establishes guiding principles for the authority's work. These principles would include using the best available science, considering both current and projected climate impacts, recognising the particular vulnerability of certain communities and ecosystems, and promoting decisions that are robust under a range of future climate scenarios rather than optimised for a single projection.

Evidence review

National risk assessments and adaptation plans

The National Climate Change Risk Assessment would be a comprehensive, publicly available document identifying, analysing and prioritising climate risks to Australia. It would be required at least every five years, with the first assessment due within two years of the authority being established. The assessment would need to consider risks across infrastructure, health, agriculture, water security, biodiversity, coastal zones and the economy.

The National Adaptation Plan would translate the risk assessment into action: specific measures the Commonwealth proposes to take, timelines, responsible agencies and how progress would be measured. The plan would need to be updated regularly and tabled in Parliament. The bill also requires the Minister to report annually to Parliament on implementation progress.

Because these obligations fall on the Commonwealth, they would not by themselves compel states, territories or local councils to act. Adaptation in areas such as land use planning, coastal management and emergency services is largely state and local responsibility, so the framework's practical reach would depend heavily on intergovernmental cooperation — a point the bill's critics and supporters both make.

Evidence review

Who would be affected

Commonwealth departments and agencies would be the most directly affected, because the framework creates assessment, planning, consideration and reporting obligations on them. That is a governance and administrative change rather than a direct imposition on private parties.

Communities and sectors most exposed to climate risk — including those in coastal, bushfire-prone and flood-prone areas, and the agriculture, infrastructure and health sectors — are the intended beneficiaries of a more systematic national assessment and planning process. As at the check date the bill remains before the House and none of these obligations is in force.

Evidence review

Political context and path to passage

The bill was introduced as a private member's bill by an Independent member, not as government legislation. Its passage therefore depends on whether it attracts majority support in the House and, if it reaches the Senate, whether it is scheduled and supported there. Private members' bills rarely progress to a vote without government or substantial crossbench backing.

The bill's sponsor has argued that adaptation is a gap in Australia's climate framework, which has focused more on emissions reduction than on preparing for impacts that are already locked in. Opponents of statutory frameworks of this kind typically raise concerns about cost, duplication with existing arrangements and the resourcing of a new authority. This article reports those positions as arguments, not as findings.

Common questions

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