The Actuaries Institute has warned of significant underinvestment by the Canberra government in climate adaptation. It calls for a coordinated national strategy to help mobilise tens of billions of dollars into measures that will protect communities and businesses.
The Institute issued the warning in a report in November 2025, which said that the economic impact of natural disasters could more than double by 2060.
The report, “Mobilising Investment for Climate Adaptation”, said that natural catastrophes have already cost the Australian economy A$38bn ($25.1bn) per year, a figure that is expected to rise to A$73bn by 2060.
The Actuaries Institute added that various structural, institutional, and financial barriers are preventing investments, highlighting the need for a coordinated national strategy to mobilise funds into resilience measures.
To address these challenges, the body calls for targeted policy actions in three key areas:
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overhauling cost-benefit rules to ensure adaptation and resilience are properly valued over the long term, supporting smarter public investment;
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creating a new national adaptation investment framework; and
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developing options to grow and diversify revenue streams to fund adaptation investments, helping to coordinate contributions from both government and the private sector.
Lead author of the report, Ms Ramona Meyricke, actuary and a principal at the analytics and actuarial consulting firm Taylor Fry, said, “This increasing climate-driven cost and disruption is already a drag on economic activity and pushing up insurance costs.”
She added, “But we aren’t investing anywhere near what’s needed to match the scale of the climate risks facing Australia.
“These costs can’t be avoided entirely, but they can – and need – to be reduced through investing more in adaptation actions that protect homes, property, infrastructure and other assets. The recently released National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan made that clear.”