Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline

The Queensland Government is providing funding and support to coastal Councils across Queensland to prepare coastal hazard adaptation strategies to address short, medium and long term coastal hazards through the QCoast2100 program.

Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline is the preparation of a coastal hazard adaptation strategy for Fraser Coast. The project will provide us with:

1. Coastal hazard mapping. Coastal hazard impacts will be mapped and will provide an assessment of present day coastal hazards, as well as how they are expected to change into the future.
2. Risk Assessments and Adaptation Options. Community engagement will be imperative in developing risk assessments for assets in coastal hazard areas, as well as options to respond to coastal hazard impacts.
3. A strategy for response and action. The strategy will prioritise what is important so that as a community, we can respond to the most pressing and urgent risks and make smart decisions about our coastline. The strategy will also identify the sequencing of actions over time, define roles and responsibilities and what funding will be needed to roll out the actions.

Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline will provide high quality information to enable well-considered, timely and effective decisions about how to respond to coastal hazard impacts.

This information will also assist short, medium and long-term planning that Council undertakes such as:

• Land use planning for growth and liveability
• Development assessment
• Infrastructure planning and operations- including roads, stormwater, sewerage,  water supply and coastal protection works;
• Asset management and planning, including management of foreshore areas, playgrounds, and public amenities;
• Environmental management and conservation activities along the foreshore;
• Community and corporate planning; and
• Emergency management.

Fraser Coast Regional Council is undertaking this project to better understand the risks posed by coastal hazards that affect our coastline today, as well as those that will affect it in the future. It is important for us to understand how coastal hazards could affect our community, so that we can be prepared and make informed decisions on what short and long-term actions should be taken to manage the risks.

Our coastline is a crucial resource for our community. Many of our towns and communities are located on the coast and are already experiencing coastal erosion and temporary inundation.

Our region has historically experienced the impacts of coastal hazards, and these are likely to increase into the future. The Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline project will help us to better understand both our existing and future risks to ensure they are appropriately managed in the long term.

Coastal hazards are natural events which originate from processes and weather events in the ocean. For the purposes of the Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline, the term ‘coastal hazards’ refers to:

• Coastal erosion – the loss of land, including sand, to the sea which occurs on open coast beaches and in tidal creeks and estuaries. Coastal erosion on beaches can occur rapidly, usually caused by large waves and abnormally high tide levels during a storm. Coastal erosion can also occur slowly over months or years due to subtle changes in currents or sea level rise.

• Storm-tide inundation – the temporary flooding of low-lying areas caused by abnormally high tide levels during a storm. During these events, changes in air pressure, wind speed and waves cause a ‘surge’ which is the additional water level on top of the normal tide level. In tidal creeks and estuaries, storm-tide conditions may also interact with flooding caused by rain to increase the flood depth.

• Permanent inundation due to sea level rise – the periodic or permanent inundation of land due to a rise in the average sea level.

On the Fraser Coast, coastal hazards are not just caused by catastrophic events. Localised storms and king tides often cause damage to local infrastructure, as well as erosion of our beaches. Seasonal northerlies, generally experienced during Spring and Summer, can also cause significant erosion on north facing beaches including Pialba to Urangan. 

Yes – our region has experienced significant damage from coastal hazards during storm and king tide events.

You can view the updated current coastal hazard mapping here.

The Coastal Futures Strategy has been developed with ongoing community input, which has informed the technical background work and the Strategy. Details of the engagement undertaken is available in the Coastal Futures Strategy document.

Work completed to inform the Strategy has included:

• Mapping: Updating the existing State mapping of areas that may be exposed to coastal hazards (storm tide inundation, coastal erosion and permanent inundation due to sea level rise) by 2100, including present day, 2050 and 2100. View the:
  • storm tide inundation mapping here
  • coastal erosion mapping here
  • permanent inundation due to sea level rise here
• Risk assessments: Undertaking a leading practice and tailored coastal hazard risk assessment.
• Adaptation actions: Developing and applying a framework for adaptation and associated regional action plans and local adaptation pathways and actions.

1. Leading by example, Council will plan for the short and long term effects of coastal hazards on our community assets and infrastructure. We plan and build for resilience.

2. Enhancing coastline resilience using ecosystem-based approaches such as mangrove and foreshore revegetation. Protect the function of ecological processes, habitats and biodiversity values.

3. Balancing the environmental, social and economic needs of today, without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations.

4. Prioritising coastal hazard risk mitigation in high risk and high value areas where community benefit is maximised. High cost infrastructure solutions (e.g. seawalls) for protection of private property will not be funded by Council.

5. Adapting to change, we make proactive, evidence-based and responsive decisions in a timely manner, informed by changing environmental conditions and community needs.

6. Build community understanding and awareness resilience through signage, events, newsletters and social media. Encourage affected communities to plan for resilience. 

• Will vary from site to site within each region/locality
• Are tailored to the needs of local communities
• Consider the relative impacts of coastal hazards
• Seek to safeguard the values (social, environmental and economic) and character of the landscape

The Strategy includes regional actions across the themes of:

• Community resilience
• Enhance
• Avoid
• Adapt
• Transition
• Protect

Location specific actions are set out in adaptation pathways for present day, 2050 and 2100 for each of the 11 localities affected by coastal hazards.

The management of coastal hazard risk is a responsibility shared with other land managers and private landowners.

Council plays a key role by ensuring public assets are appropriately and sustainably located, designed, constructed, managed and maintained.

Council also supports community resilience to natural disasters and climate change through its legislative roles in land use planning and disaster management.

The Coastal Futures Strategy:
• Identifies existing coastal hazard risks today and how they are expected to change or worsen in the future over different planning horizons between the present day and 2100; 
• Assesses vulnerability and risks to a broad range of assets and values (e.g. community, ecological, built/economic, cultural); 
• Identifies priorities - what are the most pressing or urgent risks that need responding to today and what can wait? 
• Identifies adaptation options and actions to ‘treat’ or manage coastal hazard risks; 
• Identifies ‘tools’ to deliver these actions; 
• Outlines timing, staging and sequencing of actions over time;      
• Defines roles and responsibilities – who does what? 
• Identifies funding requirements and options; and 
• Outlines monitoring and review expectations

Property values can vary markedly depending on factors such as global financial markets, interest rates, or development nearby.  Ultimately, it is the property market that determines the value. 

The Coastal Futures Strategy is an overarching document that provides a strategy for Council to respond to the impacts of coastal hazards.

The mapping has been undertaken as a conservative assessment and is provided for information purposes (at this stage) only. Further work is required to integrate the project into purposes fit for other planning purposes (e.g. land use planning, disaster management, etc). 

The strategy at this point in time does not change the current land use planning requirements. Further work is necessary to integrate the strategies findings into a format suitable for the planning scheme. Further community engagement would be undertaken as part of that body of work.

Any issues viewing the mapping can be reported here, ensuring to include any details about the type of device you are trying to view the mapping on.

Please note we are aware of issues with viewing the mapping on Apple devices and are working on resolving the issue.

Questions regarding changes to your insurance schedule should be directed to your insurance provider. Insurers do their own coastal risk assessments and risk mapping, independent of local government. 

Insurance companies spend time and resources researching areas of Australia to map coastal hazard prone areas and assign risk estimates to each area.  Insurance companies use data from a range of sources, including coastal hazard mapping (where available), terrain data and independent hydrologist reports. Industry bodies such as the Insurance Council of Australia often complete this on behalf of insurance companies, and then each company considers how to adjust premiums to reflect how likely it is that an individual property might be affected by different coastal hazards.

The coastal hazard mapping has been undertaken as a conservative assessment and is provided for information purposes (at this stage) only. Further work is required to integrate the project into purposes fit for other planning purposes (e.g. land use planning, disaster management, etc). 

The Insurance Council of Australia recommends that consumers shop around if they are dissatisfied with their current cover.

For more information about the role of insurance in adaptation to coastal hazards visit the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) webpage at https://nccarf.edu.au/role-of-insurance/

This mapping has been undertaken as a conservative assessment and is provided for information purposes (at this stage) only. Further work is required to integrate the project into purposes fit for other planning purposes (e.g. land use planning, disaster management, etc). 

For detailed information on how the hazard mapping was determined, refer to Phase 3: Storm Tide Hazard Assessment & Mapping Technical report and the QCoast2100 guidelines.

This mapping has been undertaken as a conservative assessment and is provided for information purposes (at this stage) only. Further work is required to integrate the project into purposes fit for other planning purposes (e.g. land use planning, disaster management, etc). 

For detailed information on how the hazard mapping was determined, refer to Phase 3: Storm Tide Hazard Assessment & Mapping Technical report and the QCoast2100 guidelines.

These maps relate specifically to disaster management and are for the limited purpose of providing historical or predicted storm surge maps, for disaster management and evacuation preparation purposes.

The disaster management mapping is different to the hazard area map contained in the Planning Scheme and it should be noted that disaster management mapping is not intended to be used for individual property risk assessment.  

Council’s disaster management plan will be updated in response to the coastal futures strategy.

Property values can vary markedly depending on factors such as global financial markets, interest rates, or development nearby.  Ultimately, it is the property market that determines the value. 

The Coastal Futures Strategy is an overarching document that provides a strategy for Council to respond to the impacts of coastal hazards.

The mapping has been undertaken as a conservative assessment and is provided for information purposes (at this stage) only. Further work is required to integrate the project into purposes fit for other planning purposes (e.g. land use planning, disaster management, etc). 

The strategy at this point in time does not change the current land use planning requirements. Further work is necessary to integrate the strategies findings into a format suitable for the planning scheme. Further community engagement would be undertaken as part of that body of work.

Refer to the regional actions (pages 29 to 31) and locality pathways (pages 32 to 67) in the Coastal Futures Strategy document.

This mapping has been undertaken as a conservative assessment and is provided for information purposes (at this stage) only. Further work is required to integrate the project into purposes fit for other planning purposes (e.g. land use planning, disaster management, etc). 

For detailed information on how the hazard mapping was determined, refer to Phase 3: Storm Tide Hazard Assessment & Mapping Technical report and the QCoast2100 guidelines.

Compensation is not available on the basis of coastal hazard information being made available.

This mapping has been undertaken as a conservative assessment and is provided for information purposes (at this stage) only. Further work is required to integrate the project into purposes fit for other planning purposes (e.g. land use planning, disaster management, etc). 

For detailed information on how the hazard mapping was determined, refer to Phase 3: Storm Tide Hazard Assessment & Mapping Technical report and the QCoast2100 guidelines.

Subscribe to receive project updates, please register your interest by clicking the 'Follow Project' button in the top right hand corner of the project page.

Click: Visit the Coastal Futures website: https://frasercoast.engagementhub.com.au/draft-new-coastal-futures-planning-our-changing-coastline

Email: coastalfutures@frasercoast.qld.gov.au

Phone: 1300 79 49 29

Council has undertaken the following related studies:

Shoreline Erosion Management Plan (SEMP)

Completed in 2012, the SEMP project assessed the erosion hazard on the Fraser Coast region’s coastline for various planning horizons including the then present day (2012), 2030, 2050, 2070 and 2100.

Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline will use these original erosion assessments and undertake more detailed investigations into erosion around tidal waterways, as well as address other coastal hazards including storm tide inundation and permanent tidal inundation which was not included in the focus of the 2012 SEMP.

Hervey Bay Shoreline (Halcro St to Dayman Park) Management Plan

This project provides recommended treatments and priority locations to practically implement the preferred management policy identified in the SEMP of ‘Hold the Line’ between Pialba and Urangan. Whilst priorities may change due to environmental conditions, the outcomes from the Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline project may also influence a further review of treatments and priorities. 

Hervey Bay Esplanade project

The Hervey Bay Esplanade project is about planning for the future use of the Esplanade. Once the Hervey Bay Esplanade project findings have been realised, work will be done to align both projects so that the coastal hazard risks are better understood in the context of how the Esplanade may be used and invested in. Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline is much broader in that it is for the entire coastline.

Yes.  Council has some existing coastal protection structures, such as rock revetment walls and concrete seawalls.  However, the effectiveness of these structures may be impacted by future coastal hazards.  Council will continue to undertake asset inspections to monitor the conditions of these assets and timing of future works, but their management may also be influenced by the Coastal Futures: Planning Our Changing Coastline project too. 

Yes, most coastal councils in Queensland are currently participating in the QCoast2100 program and developing Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategies.

A number of local and State governments nationally and around the world are already taking action, including in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, along with Auckland Council, the City of Boston, Miami, Singapore and many more.

We plan to learn from others and make sure that coastal hazard planning and adaptation is as effective as possible and locally relevant for the Fraser Coast.

Across Queensland, Councils and communities are working together to develop a tailored approach to adaptation across different localities.

More information on coastal adaptation can be found at:

• QCoast 2100: https://www.qcoast2100.com.au/
•  Coast Adapt: https://coastadapt.com.au/

AEP - Annual Exceedance Probability

ARI - Annual Recurrence Interval

CBA - Cost Benefit Analysis

CHAS - Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy

DEHP - Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection

EPA - Erosion Prone Area

GIS - Geographical Information System

HAT - Highest Astronomical Tide

IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

LGAQ - Local Government Association of Queensland

MCA - Multi Criteria Assessment

NPV - Net Present Value

PRG - Project Reference Group

SPP - State Planning Policy

STIA - Storm Tide Inundation Area 

Acceptable Risk: The level of risk, sufficiently low that society is comfortable with. Society does not generally consider expenditure in further reducing such risks justifiable or required.

Adaptation: Actions undertaken to eliminate or limit the risks posed by a coastal hazard. 

Adaptive Management: Similar to an adaptation pathway, adaptive management is a structured approach to decision making commonly used in natural resource management, that allows a response to a ‘trigger’ or ‘event’ to be altered where required.

Adaptation Pathway: An approach for enabling systematic adjustment of adaptation strategies in response to new information or changing circumstances.

Average Recurrence Interval (ARI): The average, or expected, value of the periods between exceedance of a given storm tide level.

Coastal Adaptation: Actions undertaken to eliminate or limit the risks posed by a coastal hazard.

Coastal erosion: The loss of land or the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, wind action, tidal currents or water flows or permanent inundation due to sea-level rise.

Consequence: A term commonly used in a risk assessment to estimate the impacts of an event.

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA): A technique used to determine the benefits or costs of a project, option or decision to aide decision-making. 

Erosion Prone Area: Statutory erosion prone areas are declared under the Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995, and are areas subject to coastal erosion or tidal inundation. 

Intolerable risk: The level of risk that, following an understanding of the likelihood and consequences, is so high that it requires actions to avoid or reduce the risk.

Likelihood: A term commonly used in a risk assessment to estimate the chance of an event occurring. 

Multi Criteria Analysis:  A decision-making tool that enables options to be prioritised using multiple qualitative criteria. 

Resilience: A system or community’s ability to rapidly accommodate and recover from the impacts of hazards, restore essential and desired functionality, and adapt to new circumstances.

Risk: In accordance with AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009, risk is defined as the combination of likelihood of occurrence of an event and the consequence if the event occurs (Risk = Likelihood x Consequences).

Sea level rise: Rise in average sea level that results in permanent inundation of property and infrastructure by sea water. Council measures sea level using the Bureau of Meteorology SEAFRAME stations. The tide gauge at Rosslyn Bay (near Yeppoon) is part of that network and is managed to accurately record sea level change and sea level trends. This data will be used as the sea level rise evidence base for the Bundaberg region.

Storm surge: A localised increase (or decrease) in ocean water levels caused by high winds and reduced atmospheric pressures associated with a storm event.

Storm tide: The effect on coastal water of a storm surge combined with the normally occurring astronomical tide.

Storm tide inundation area: The area of land determined to be at risk from inundation associated with a storm tide.

Threshold: A pre-determined event/impact that if crossed, would result in impacts deemed ‘unacceptable’ in the CHAS.

Tolerable risk: The level of risk that, following an understanding of the likelihood and consequences, is low enough to allow the exposure to continue, and at the same time high enough to require new treatments or actions to reduce risk. Society can live with this risk but believes that, as much as is reasonably practical, steps should be taken to reduce the risk further.

Trigger point:  A pre-determined point that is set to ‘trigger’ the commencement of planning and implementation of an adaptation option to avoid crossing a ‘threshold’.

Vulnerability: The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards.