Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill 2025

# Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation) Bill 2025 ## What it does This bill creates a new national system to help Australia prepare for climate change impacts—things like floods, bushfires, and droughts. It sets up an Authority to assess climate risks across the country and requires the government to develop and publish a national adaptation plan showing how we'll deal with these threats. ## Why it matters Right now, Australia doesn't have a coordinated national plan for adapting to climate change. This bill aims to fix that by making climate risk assessments and adaptation plans public, so all levels of government and communities know what's coming and can prepare together. It also forces the government to include climate change costs in budget reports, so we can see what this is actually costing us. ## Key details - **The Authority** will regularly assess national climate risks and make reports publicly available—no hiding the findings in a drawer. - **Five guiding principles** must shape all this work: acting early and fairly, making decisions based on good evidence, managing risks properly, spending money wisely, and working with other countries. - **From the first budget onwards**, the government must include estimates of climate change costs in its economic outlook reports—giving Australians a clear picture of the financial impact.