For councils, climate risk is no longer an abstract future issue. It shows up in flooded roads, heat-stressed suburbs, damaged coastal assets and rising insurance costs. The challenge is not just recognising the risk, but turning a complex mix of data, projections and local knowledge into clear decisions about where to invest, what to protect and how to work with communities.
Digital tools are becoming central to that job. The good news is that Australian local governments now have access to a growing ecosystem of climate data portals, mapping platforms and AI-enabled risk tools that can make climate planning more targeted, transparent and defensible.
This article sketches the current landscape: the tools many councils can use today, and the emerging AI and mapping solutions that are likely to shape local climate planning over the next few years.
From static PDFs to dynamic decision support
Traditionally, councils have relied on a mix of State and Commonwealth guidance documents, regional climate projections and consultant reports. These are still important, but they are increasingly being complemented by:
- interactive maps that reveal risk at property, suburb or LGA scale.
- dashboards that combine climate, asset and socio-economic data.
- AI tools that help interpret complex relationships and future scenarios.
The shift is from one-off, static information toward living tools that can be updated, queried and used across multiple teams including planners, asset managers, emergency management, community engagement and finance teams.
The current toolkit for Australian councils
Across Australia, several national and state platforms now give councils a stronger foundation for local climate planning.
National climate data and risk portals
The Australian Climate Service (ACS) has developed a Data Explorer and National Climate Risk Assessment that provide interactive maps and datasets on climate hazards, vulnerability and risk across key systems and regions. Councils can explore exposure to different hazards and access underlying data in formats suitable for GIS and analysis.
CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology’s Climate Change in Australia resources offer detailed national and regional climate information, including projections and sector-specific tools; projects such as the Electricity Sector Climate Information (ESCI) provide worked examples of how to use climate data in infrastructure planning.
These national datasets are essential, but councils’ ability to use them in practice isn’t guaranteed. Recent changes to the way some Bureau of Meteorology rainfall and river data are licensed, including the shift to new software platforms and associated fees for real-time feeds, have prompted concern from councils who rely on that information for flood warnings and local disaster management. Whatever the eventual outcome, the debate highlights a key governance issue: climate adaptation depends not just on the quality of national data, but on stable, affordable access in formats that councils can integrate into their own systems.
State-based tools and guidance
Some States provide dedicated tools for councils. In New South Wales, for example, AdaptNSW brings together NARCliM regional climate projections with guidance on climate risk assessment, local government adaptation checklists and case studies of councils incorporating climate risk into business-as-usual planning.
Similar portals and guidance are emerging in other states through environment departments, resilience units and planning agencies. For councils, these state resources often provide the most pragmatic bridge between national climate science and local statutory planning.
Risk mapping and asset-focused tools
A number of organisations now offer more granular risk mapping, including for local government areas and physical assets.
- The Climate Council’s Climate Risk Map of Australia is an interactive public tool that shows projected damage risk for properties and communities under different emissions scenarios, using LGA and postcode-level mapping.
- XDI (Cross Dependency Initiative) provides climate risk and adaptation analytics for physical assets and infrastructure, and has produced national assessments of climate risk to 15 million addresses across all Australian LGAs, including multiple hazards.
These tools can help councils understand where their most exposed assets are, what types of hazards matter most, and how risk might change over time, providing critical inputs to long-term financial plans, capital works programs and land-use decisions.
Emerging AI and high-resolution mapping tools
Alongside these more established platforms, a new generation of AI-enabled and high-resolution mapping tools is emerging. These tools do not replace local knowledge or traditional planning processes, but they can significantly enhance them.
AI-driven climate intelligence platforms
Climasens, a Melbourne-based climate intelligence company, is an example of this new wave. Its platform integrates climate models, satellite data and real-time weather information to provide high-resolution physical climate risk analytics. Its flagship HeatSens product offers localised heat risk analysis down to a one-kilometre grid across Australia and has been used by clients such as the City of Melbourne and the Australian Red Cross to identify heat-vulnerable areas and support resilience planning.
More broadly, international work on AI for climate adaptation highlights how machine learning can handle complex, multi-hazard risk assessments, downscale information for specific locations and link global climate models to local decisions.
For councils, these kinds of tools can:
- quantify risk to specific assets or neighbourhoods under different scenarios.
- highlight hotspots where climate, infrastructure and social vulnerability intersect.
- support prioritisation of adaptation investments and community programs.
AI plus geospatial mapping
AI is also transforming how maps are created and used.
New platforms such as Felt are using generative AI to let users build custom geospatial maps with natural language prompts, including applications like flood and wildfire risk monitoring for projects and assets.
Globally, tools like Google Earth AI are combining satellite imagery, population maps and weather forecasts to identify areas at risk from storms, flooding and other hazards, helping governments and organisations prepare earlier and respond more effectively.
Similar approaches are being used to map urban heat vulnerability at fine scales (down to individual buildings in some cities) using AI models that combine land-use, building materials and temperature data to identify high-risk neighbourhoods.
While some of these tools are still emerging or in pilot stages, they signal the direction of travel: more dynamic, AI-assisted mapping that can be customised for local government needs without requiring every council to build deep in-house GIS and data science teams.
Adaptation-focused planning tools
On the planning side, there is growing interest in tools that make climate risk assessment more decision-centric for municipalities. Internationally, frameworks such as the Streamlined Municipal Adaptation Risk Tool (SMART-CRA) are being developed to align with ISO 14091 and make climate risk assessment more practical for local governments, particularly where capacity is limited.
We can expect to see more tools of this kind, combining checklists, scenario analysis and visualisation integrated into standard urban planning and infrastructure design software.
How councils can get value from digital tools now
With so many tools emerging, it is easy for councils to feel overwhelmed. A few principles can help ensure digital tools support, rather than complicate, local climate planning.
Start with the question, not the tool
Before adopting a new platform, be clear on the decisions you are trying to inform. For example:
- Where should we prioritise flood mitigation in the next 10-year capital works plan?
- Which suburbs are most exposed to extreme heat, and what interventions would help?
- How might climate risk affect our long-term asset renewal and insurance costs?
Once the question is clear, it becomes easier to identify which mix of national portals, state resources, risk mapping tools and AI platforms can add real value.
Build on what you already have
Many councils already have access to national and state climate data portals and may have used consultants who work with platforms like XDI or climate intelligence tools. Rather than starting from scratch, a pragmatic step is often to integrate these existing tools more directly into internal planning, asset management and reporting processes.
Combine tools with local knowledge and community insight
Digital tools can reveal patterns and trends, but they cannot replace local knowledge about how hazards and vulnerabilities play out on the ground. The best results come when mapping and analytics are used alongside community engagement, staff experience and local histories of disaster and recovery.
Invest in capability, not just subscriptions
As with any technology, the real value lies in how people use it. That includes:
- basic climate literacy for staff and elected members.
- core skills in interpreting maps and risk indicators.
- the ability to translate technical outputs into clear narratives for reports, funding bids and community conversations.
This is where Climate Jobs’ broad definition of climate and sustainability comes into play. Digital tools are most powerful when they are understood as part of the day-to-day work of councils: informing roads, planning, facilities, procurement and community development, rather than as separate, specialist projects.
Digital tools cannot remove uncertainty from climate planning. But they can help councils see more clearly where risks are concentrated, where interventions will have the greatest impact, and how today’s decisions will play out over the coming decades.
Used well, they turn climate planning from an occasional exercise into an ongoing practice: one that’s data-informed, locally grounded and focused on building resilient communities, not just resilient spreadsheets.