The short answer
Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill 2025: what it would create and how it would work
The Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill 2025 is a private member's bill introduced by Independent MP Zali Steggall that would establish Australia's first legislated national framework for climate change adaptation. The bill would create an independent National Climate Change Adaptation Authority, require five-yearly national climate change risk assessments, mandate rolling national adaptation plans, and impose reporting and consideration obligations on Commonwealth decision-makers. Introduced in the House of Representatives on 25 August 2025, the bill remains before the House and has not yet been debated. As a private member's bill without Government support, its path to passage is uncertain. It is Before House of Representatives as of 17 July 2026.
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
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 the development of National Adaptation Plans — rolling strategies that set 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 complex, long-term policy challenges 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 with several key functions: conducting and commissioning climate risk research, preparing the national risk assessments and adaptation plans, providing advice to 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 the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer and staff, and establishes guiding principles that the authority must follow in its 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 that identifies, analyses, and prioritises 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 multiple domains including infrastructure, health, agriculture, water security, biodiversity, coastal zones, and the economy.
The National Adaptation Plan would translate the risk assessment into action. It would set out specific measures the Commonwealth proposes to take, timelines, responsible agencies, and how progress would be measured. The plan would need to be updated regularly — not just after each new risk assessment — and tabled in Parliament. The bill also requires the Minister to report annually to Parliament on implementation progress.
Evidence review
Obligations on Commonwealth decision-makers
A notable feature of the bill is its attempt to embed climate adaptation into routine government decision-making. It would require Commonwealth decision-makers, when making certain decisions prescribed by regulation, to consider the current National Climate Change Risk Assessment and any applicable National Adaptation Plan, and to publish a statement setting out how climate adaptation considerations were taken into account and whether the decision is compatible with the adaptation framework.
This 'consideration and compatibility' mechanism is modelled on similar obligations in other Commonwealth legislation — for example, the requirement under the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 for statements of compatibility with human rights. The mechanism does not dictate outcomes; it requires transparency about how climate risks were weighed.
Evidence review
Parliamentary progress and prospects
The bill was introduced and read a first time in the House of Representatives on 25 August 2025. The second reading was moved on the same day by Ms Steggall, who used her second reading speech to argue that Australia lacks a coordinated national approach to climate adaptation despite facing escalating risks from extreme weather, sea-level rise, and ecosystem change.
As of July 2026, the bill remains before the House of Representatives and has not been scheduled for further debate. As a private member's bill — meaning it was introduced by an MP who is not a minister — it does not have the Government's guaranteed parliamentary time or support. Private members' bills rarely pass without Government backing, though they can influence policy debate and sometimes lead to Government adopting elements of the proposal. The bill has not lapsed and remains on the Notice Paper, meaning it could be called on for debate if parliamentary time permits.
Evidence review
The adaptation gap in Australian law
The bill addresses what its sponsor and many climate policy analysts describe as a significant gap in Australia's legislative framework. While Australia has legislated emissions reduction targets through the Climate Change Act 2022, there is no equivalent legislated framework for adaptation. Adaptation efforts are currently spread across multiple agencies and levels of government without a single coordinating authority or statutory mandate.
The 2021 State of the Environment Report and multiple inquiries have recommended stronger national coordination on adaptation. The bill's framework approach — establishing institutions rather than prescribing specific adaptation measures — reflects the understanding that adaptation is inherently place-specific and will need to evolve as climate science advances. Whether through this bill or subsequent Government action, the question of how Australia coordinates its adaptation response is likely to remain a live policy issue.
Common questions
Before you rely on the answer
Who introduced this bill and why?
The bill was introduced by Zali Steggall, the Independent MP for Warringah, on 25 August 2025. Ms Steggall has argued that while Australia has legislated emissions reduction targets, there is no equivalent national framework for adapting to the climate change impacts already occurring and projected to worsen. The bill aims to fill that legislative gap.
What would the National Climate Change Adaptation Authority actually do?
The authority would be responsible for conducting five-yearly national climate risk assessments, developing and updating national adaptation plans, providing advice to Commonwealth agencies, monitoring and reporting on Australia's adaptation progress, and engaging with states, territories, and other stakeholders on adaptation coordination. It would not directly implement adaptation measures — those would be done by existing agencies under the framework it sets.
Has this bill passed Parliament?
No. The bill remains before the House of Representatives as of July 2026. It has been introduced and read a first time, and the second reading has been moved, but it has not been debated or voted on. As a private member's bill without Government support, its prospects of passage are uncertain.
How is this different from the Climate Change Act 2022?
The Climate Change Act 2022 focuses on emissions reduction (mitigation) — it sets targets for cutting Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. This bill focuses on adaptation — how Australia prepares for and responds to the climate impacts that are already occurring or cannot be avoided. The two are complementary: mitigation addresses the cause of climate change, adaptation addresses its effects.
Source spine
Primary material used for this guide
Review trigger: Bill is debated, passes either house, is amended, receives Royal Assent, lapses, or Government introduces its own adaptation legislation
Archive note: This article was written on 2026-07-17 based on the bill as introduced on 25 August 2025. The bill's status and provisions may change as it progresses through Parliament.
Primary links are provided without affiliate or tracking parameters. Confirm that the source still applies to the bill, sitting date, jurisdiction or reporting period before relying on it.