Australia’s Housing Push Faces Urgency to Address Climate Disaster Risks

As climate-induced disasters grow more frequent, experts call for resilient housing designs and improved disaster risk data integration.

Australia plans to build 1.2 million new homes over five years to address a housing crisis, but experts warn these homes must be resilient to natural disasters.
Research highlights fragmented and inconsistent disaster risk data, making it difficult for planners to avoid building in high-risk areas like flood zones or bushfire-prone regions.
Many Australians discover their homes' disaster risks only through rising insurance premiums, as risk data is often inaccessible to homebuyers and planners.
Calls are growing for a national framework to ensure comprehensive, up-to-date disaster risk data informs housing development decisions.
International examples, like Quebec's flood relocation programs, offer insights into integrating disaster risk reduction with urban planning and housing policies.