Principles for guiding the development of strategic responses

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• Know your community's risks: hazard, vulnerability, and exposure;
• Avoid new development in hazard areas to minimise future losses;
• Locate and configure new development that occurs in hazard areas to minimise future losses;
• Design and construct new buildings and structures to minimise damage to cope with future hazards and pressures on resources, and assess the likelihood and relative importance of future climate change to altering those risks over time;
• Protect existing development from losses through redevelopment, retrofit, and land reuse plans and projects;
• Take special precautions in locating and designing infrastructure and critical facilities to minimise damage; and
• Plan for contingencies (for example, evacuation, progressive retreat)

Example of intra-council coordination

In the case of a coastal development project, coordination between various council sections is recommended in order to ensure climate change effects are adequately considered in:

• decision-making with regard to the location of public and/or private development
• the development and funding of coastal protection works
• the design of coastal reserves
• the type, design and location of infrastructure such as roading or reticulation systems.