Responding to climate change risk and opportunity: South Australia's adaptation actions
South Australian Government Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation Actions outlines state government led actions to support efforts across all levels of government, business and the community to better prepare for, manage and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The 2024 Statewide Climate Change Risk and Opportunity Assessment for South Australia (the Risk Assessment) will inform a review and update of these actions.
While this document highlights key climate adaptation actions, it represents only a portion of the broader efforts underway across governments, business and communities.
Under the government’s Climate Ready Government Initiative, all public sector agencies are required to assess and manage climate risks to the policies, assets, services and communities they support. This work will be guided by the Risk Assessment.
A snapshot of recent adaptation actions, with a focus on actions put in place during and since finalisation of the Risk Assessment, is outlined below.
The new Biodiversity Act 2025 marks a major milestone in protecting native plants, animals and ecosystems – while also helping to address the impacts of climate change.
In 2025, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) started consultation on preparing a 30-Year Strategy to guide the EPA's role as South Australia's independent environment protection regulator in a rapidly changing world. This includes exploring regulatory approaches to address hotter, drier conditions, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events.
The Urban Greening Strategy, released in March 2025, focusses on increasing tree canopy, cooling the city, boosting biodiversity and a 30% urban tree canopy cover target for metropolitan Adelaide by 2055.
The Greater Adelaide Regional Plan, launched in March 2025, includes actions to incorporate updated biodiversity and habitat mapping to show which areas need protection and which may be appropriate for development and investigate measures such as Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design guidelines to make it easier to maximise biodiversity outcomes in new development.
Work is underway to update the State Landscape Strategy and the South Australian Landscape Boards are reviewing and updating their regional landscape plans which embed climate adaptation in natural resources management.
Climate Ready Coasts program is improving the approach to coastal management and accelerating coastal hazard adaptation planning in South Australia. Projects include new wave monitoring buoys and tide gauges, and funding for councils to progress work on Coastal Hazard Adaptation Plans.
The Coast Protection Board is carrying out works to protect the coast from erosion and storm damage, including an annual grants program to assist local councils to undertake coastal protection works.
A $102.5 million Algal Bloom Summer Plan has been announced by the state and federal governments, including funding for large-scale shellfish reef restoration, community shellfish reef restoration and research that includes testing methods to manage algal blooms in controlled waterways, and establishing an Office for Algal Bloom Research that will undertake long term research into algal bloom events.
The Flood Hazard Risk Reduction Plan 2024is a two year plan that identifies and sets out plans to manage key risks to future floods and flood management.
A Flood Hazard Mapping and Assessment Project is underway and will deliver more consistent and contemporary mapping of riverine and flash flood hazards across South Australia and reflect this in the Planning and Design Code.
Work is continuing on Gawler River flood management projects, including a new flood awareness and preparedness project that commenced in 2025.
The Greater Adelaide Regional Plan and relevant draft Country Regional Plans released in 2025 include actions to update mapping of coastal flooding and storm surge, dune drift and coastal mangrove and saltmarshes to inform spatial amendments to the Coastal Areas Overlay and Coastal Flooding Overlay.
South Australia’s 20 Year Infrastructure Strategy 2025, includes a key focus on infrastructure sustainability and resilience (including climate risk management) and recommends the development of an Infrastructure Sustainability Framework that provides guidance on incorporating sustainability standards and reporting across all stages of the infrastructure lifecycle.
South Australia’s 2025 Transport Strategy includes strategic actions to consider climate change impacts and environmental sustainability in all key decisions that affect the transport system and to strengthen the transport system’s resilience against major weather events and disruptions.
The Urban Water Directions Statement (2022) and Water Security Statement (2022) set out priorities to ensure South Australia’s water resources continue to meet the needs of the environment, communities and the economy. The Annual Water Security Update 2025 includes updated information on water availability and use, along with water security projects underway in each region.
The McLaren Vale Regional Water Security Strategy is being developed, and will consider new water supplies, expansion of existing supplies and changing demand profiles in the context of a changing climate.
A series of plans to ensure the provision of sufficient quality water resources for future generations are being developed. The planning process is using a Water Resilience Framework to inform infrastructure investment, pricing and long-term water security.
A new desalination plant at Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island together with extensions of the water delivery network was completed and operational from July 2024. A new desalination plant commenced supply of safe drinking water to Marree in 2025 with similar projects delivered at Oodnadatta in 2023 and Marla in 2024.
A $30 million boost to farm business and regional drought resilience programs was announced by the state and federal governments in September 2025.
Under the Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program, regional drought resilience plans have recently been completed that identify and guide innovative ways to withstand future droughts, with a focus on agriculture and allied industries.
The Farm Business Resilience Program supports South Australian farmers, farm managers, and farm employees to better manage risks relating to drought and its impacts.
The South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub works closely with farmers and farmer groups to build resilience and preparedness for drought and climate change.
The SA Discovery Farms project aims to improve the climate resilience of South Australian cropping, livestock and mixed farming systems by conducting innovative, applied, long-term trials.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions is delivering a range of other programs in partnership with industry groups to promote climate change adaptation in agriculture, including water use efficiency and irrigation improvement program; sustainable grazing and livestock management (particularly around methane reduction research); and soil and land management programs to improve soil protection, health and resilience.
The Australian Government’s Hazards Insurance Partnership and Strategic Insurance Projects are working with the insurance industry to help lower climate risks, share information and publish guidance for people on what they can do to reduce their risks.
The South Australian Government Financing Authority (SAFA) engaged AON to undertake a climate risk assessment focused on the South Australian Government’s physical asset portfolio in 2024.
South Australia’s Freight and Supply Chain Strategy 2024 includes actions to plan for supply chain infrastructure that minimises the risk of disruption from shocks and vulnerabilities across networks, build resilience to extreme weather events and to support continuity when disruption occurs.
South Australia’s 20 Year Infrastructure Strategy 2025, includes a key focus on infrastructure sustainability and resilience and recommends the development of an Infrastructure Sustainability Framework that provides guidance on incorporating sustainability standards and reporting across all stages of the infrastructure lifecycle.
Under Stronger Together: South Australia’s Disaster Resilience Strategy, funding was provided for building business resilience through projects to assist South Australian businesses to prepare for a range of hazards. The next iteration of the Disaster Resilience Strategy is being scoped and is expected to be completed in mid-2026.
Support is provided for businesses to consider sustainability measures, build climate resilience and transition to a circular economy, through the Small Business Sustainability Support Program and the Business Sustainability Program.
The Annual Jobs and Skills Outlook tracks the increasing employment opportunities offered by renewable energy and the transition to the green economy. The outlook informs the choices and scope of Government investment in skills and training pathways, and workforce development interventions.
SA Health and Climate Change Framework 2025-30 provides a pathway for SA Health to deliver an environmentally sustainable, low carbon and climate-resilient public health system. Work is underway to resource and undertake climate risk assessments across SA Health facilities.
The SA Health Extreme Heat Strategy (2023), aims to reduce the risk of harmful effects of extreme heat on the health of the community and on the health system by ensuring a planned, managed, and effective response to an extreme heat event; providing coordinated communications, including heat warnings; and promoting community resilience and adaptation to extreme heat conditions.
The State Emergency Management Committee Strategic Plan 2023-2026 includes an action to embed climate change planning in emergency management to enhance policy and decision making.
The next iteration of the Stronger Together: South Australia’s Disaster Resilience Strategy, is being scoped and is expected to be completed in mid-2026.
The State Emergency Management Plan 2025 (SEMP) acknowledges the amplified effects and impacts of climate change on emergencies. Agencies must take into account the uncertain and complex influences of climate change in the development and implementation of their plans and other responsibilities under the SEMP.
A draft Emergency Services Sector (ESS) Climate Ready Roadmap is being finalised to direct and assist the sector to become ‘climate-ready’, formalising a commitment to taking planned and targeted action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, better manage climate risks and embed a climate lens to decision making, planning and operations.
The bushfire hazard mapping project is underway, using new and improved evidence-based spatial data to update the Bushfire Overlay in the Planning and Design Code.
South Australia’s Net Zero Strategy was released in late 2024 and supports mitigation of climate risk by contributing to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Climate Ready Government initiative, approved in December 2024, requires the South Australian public sector to manage climate change risk and opportunities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their operations.
The South Australian Climate Projections Viewerand the Guide to Climate Change Projections for Risk Assessment and Planning in South Australia are being updated with the latest climate projections data, with release in the first half of 2026.
During 2025, the South Australian Government supported the Local Government Association of SA’s Climate Ready Regions project seeking to enhance regional climate collaboration across the state, including a business case for investment.
The South Australian Government continues to partner with local government and regional organisations through the Regional Climate Partnerships (RCPs) network to help communities adapt to and mitigate climate risk. RCPs deliver local climate adaptation and mitigation projects ranging from hazard mapping, greening and smart irrigation projects, through to education programs and community capacity building.
More information on South Australia’s response to climate change can also be found at South Australia’s climate change and greenhouse emissions reduction reports.
Main image: NPWS brigade firefighter during the 2020 bushfire on Kangaroo Island
