Coastal hazards

State Coastal Policy 1996

The State Coastal Policy 1996 articulates the Tasmanian Government's strategic policy direction for the sustainable development of natural and physical resources, and environmental management and protection within Tasmania’s coastal zone.

Its purpose is to protect the natural and cultural values of the coast, provide for sustainable use and development of the coast, and promote shared responsibility for its integrated management and protection.

More information can be found at the Department of Premier and Cabinet website.

Managing coastal hazards through Tasmania’s land use planning system

Land use planning and building regulations work to reduce risk in areas vulnerable to coastal hazards and secure a safe and sustainable working, living and recreational environment on Tasmania’s coast.

The State Planning Provisions (SPPs) include a Coastal Erosion Hazard Code and a Coastal Inundation Hazard Code. These codes contain provisions and mapping (‘overlays’) that control use and development within ‘hazard bands’. Hazard bands are a mapping feature that indicates the risk posed by each hazard in particular locations and determine what planning and building controls are required.

More information, including a Fact Sheet, can be found at the State Planning Office website.

Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania’s managing coastal hazards principles

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania has adopted principles to communicate the approach and responsibilities of the Crown to the management of coastal land, and underpin the Crown’s land-use planning and decision making in coastal risk areas.

More information can be found at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania website.

To help communities plan for and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate, the Tasmanian Government has developed a range of resources to improve the understanding and management of coastal hazards, including the publication of statewide mapping of coastal erosion and coastal inundation hazards, and sea level rise planning allowances for all coastal local government areas.

Statewide coastal inundation and erosion maps

The Tasmanian Government has developed coastal inundation and erosion maps that show how sea level rise and major storm events are projected to affect Tasmania's coastline. These maps are an important input into the planning code for coastal hazards, which will be implemented through the statewide planning scheme being developed as part of the government’s planning reforms.

The coastal inundation and erosion map layers can be viewed online through the Land Information System Tasmania. Use the LISTmap function and select the 'Coastal Vulnerability' category from the available layers. The layers in this category will only be visible when zoomed in to less than 1:20000.

The coastal hazard areas were mapped as part of the Mitigating Natural Hazards through Land Use Planning Project undertaken by the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Office of Security and Emergency Management. Learn more about Mitigating Natural Hazards through Land Use Planning.

More information about coastal hazards in Tasmania can be found at the Office of Security and Emergency Management website.

Sea level rise planning allowances

Sea level rise planning allowances help to ensure consistency and certainty in how planners, developers, property owners and managers take into account sea level rise in any new coastal developments.

In 2016 the Tasmanian Government engaged CSIRO to provide updated sea level rise planning allowances for the state. The updated allowances are based on the sea level rise projections provided in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5) and are based on the high emissions scenario RCP8.5.

From the CSIRO work, Tasmania now has sea level rise projections and planning allowances for each coastal municipality in the state, as well as statewide averages for 2050 and 2100 (both relative to 2010 sea levels).

The sea level rise planning allowances for each coastal municipality can be found in this table: Tasmanian Local Council Sea Level Rise Planning Allowances (PDF).

More information on the sea level rise projections for Tasmania and coastal municipalities, as well as the methodology behind the projections, is detailed in the CSIRO report Sea-Level Rise and Allowances for Tasmania based on the IPCC AR5 (PDF).

Local government adaptation planning

Modules and resources for Corporate Adaptation or Community-Based Coastal Adaptation are available for local government. The modules will step you through the processes.

Learn more about the local government adaptation planning resources.

Projections of Tasmania's future climate

Fine-scale climate projections provide an understanding of Tasmania’s future climate. The projections are useful to inform a wide range of policies and strategies relating to coastal adaptation planning across government, government business enterprises and local government.

Climate Futures for Tasmania is Tasmania’s most comprehensive source of fine-scale climate projections, providing detailed information on projected risks to Tasmania’s coastal zone, including extreme weather events, extreme tide, and sea level events.

An updated set of fine-scale climate projections for Tasmania is being developed as part of the next climate change action plan.

Light Detection and Ranging Dataset

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analysing the reflected light, enabling a high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to be generated. A number of LiDAR datasets have been produced to generate DEMs to map inundation areas and coastal morphology (the origin of coastal features and how they have been shaped).

In November 2008, the Climate Futures for Tasmania (CFT) project delivered Tasmania’s first LiDAR dataset for coastal areas that may be vulnerable to inundation. Information about the CFT LiDAR dataset is available in the LiDAR factsheet (PDF).

In 2014, the Tasmanian Government procured an additional LiDAR dataset for coastal settlements not included in the CFT project, to develop higher resolution coastal hazard maps for those areas. The Coastal LiDAR dataset, and other LiDAR datasets, are available by contacting the LIST Help Desk by email listhelp@nre.tas.gov.au or by phone: (03) 6165 4444.

Managing Coastal Hazards for Existing Settlements and Values project

This project was initiated in 2018 to support Tasmania’s coastal managers to help them identify and manage coastal hazards to existing settlements and values.

Four information gathering workshops with coastal managers and relevant staff from state and local governments and government business enterprises were held across the state in late 2018.

The findings from the workshops will continue to inform the development of the Tasmanian Government’s ongoing approach to managing coastal hazards for existing settlements and values.

Tasmanian Coastal Adaptation Pathways program

The Tasmanian Coastal Adaptation Pathways (TCAP) project aimed to help Tasmanian communities and decision makers adapt to climate change impacts by:

• raising communities' awareness of their vulnerability to the impacts of coastal inundation and erosion
• improving the ability of coastal councils and communities to plan for and respond to likely climate scenarios
• examining risk management and adaptation options that will improve communities' ability to manage risk and reduce the impacts of inundation and erosion.

Learn more about TCAP.

Regional Strategy for Adapting to a Changing Coastline in Tasmania

The Southern Tasmanian Councils Authority (STCA) has released the Regional Strategy for Adapting to a Changing Coastline in Tasmania (PDF 6MB) to help Councils employ a strategic approach to existing or potential hazards on the coastline that threaten harm to public and natural assets, infrastructure, people or property.

CoastAdapt

CoastAdapt is an information delivery and decision support framework developed by the National Climate Change Adaptation Facility. It is for anyone with an interest in Australia’s coast, the risks it faces from climate change and sea level rise, and what can be done to respond to those risks.

Canute - the sea level calculator

Developed by CSIRO, Canute provides estimates of the likelihood of extreme sea levels during this century, taking into account sea level rise and the effects of tides and storm surges and now offers the additional calculation of wave setup.