FAQs

A Coastal Hazard Risk Management Adaption Plan (CHRMAP) is a strategic planning document required for Local Governments under State policy and the Planning and Development Act 2005.

A CHRMAP details management and adaptation controls for coastal areas to preserve valued assets in sustainable, considered ways. 

These coastal assets include both built and natural assets, which provide social, environmental, economic and heritage values to the community.

CHRMAPs inform other local planning documents by providing a framework for managing future coastal vulnerabilities. They allow informed decision making to occur by coordinating integrated and sustainable land use planning in the short and long term.

The purpose of a CHRMAP is to:

• Set the framework for the assessment by identifying coastal hazards such as erosion and flooding, evaluating the level of risk to specific assets, determining the most critical protective and adaptive measures, and providing an implementation plan;
• Communicate potential coastal hazard risks; ascertain values as well as identifying key coastal infrastructure and assets that are at risk, establish a definitive plan for the City of Kwinana to manage these coastal hazard risk over time; and 
• Provide strategic guidance to the City of Cockburn for land use planning and management that is coordinated, integrated, and sustainable, including any necessary changes to the Local Planning Strategy, Local Planning Scheme, and other relevant strategies and policies.

Coastal hazards are natural events or changes that can affect our beaches, coastlines, and nearby communities. These include things like:

• Erosion - when wind, waves, and currents gradually wear away the shoreline.
• Flooding (inundation) – when sea water temporarily covers land, especially during storms or high tides.
• Storm surges – when strong winds and low pressure from storms push seawater onto the coast.
• Sea level rise – when the ocean slowly rises over time due to climate change, increasing the risk of flooding and erosion.

These hazards can impact homes, roads, parks, and natural habitats along the coast. By understanding them, we can work together to plan and protect our coastal areas for the future.

Coastal hazards happen for a few different reasons. These include:

• Changes in how sand moves along the coast, there’s been less natural movement, which affects the shape and stability of our beaches.
• Strong storms, which are becoming more intense due to climate change.
• Rising sea levels, which are expected to increase noticeably in the near future and even more significantly over time, possibly by nearly a metre (900mm).

Together, these changes are putting more pressure on our coast and the places we value, like beaches, parks, and infrastructure. That’s why we need a thoughtful and long-term plan to manage these risks and help our coast adapt in ways that work for both the environment and the community.

The Coastal Hazard Risk Management and Adaptation Plan (CHRMAP) outlines the areas that may be affected by these hazards over the next 100 years.

Coastal hazards are assessed by combining:

• Exposure – the probability of impact;
• Sensitivity – the effect if impact does happen; and
• Adaptive capacity – how easily assets or areas can adapt to the hazard.

The most vulnerable coastal areas are those that are exposed, sensitive, and less capable of adapting.

A CHRMAP is a step towards planning for the protection of our coastline and the places we care about, like homes, parks, roads, and natural areas from things like erosion, flooding, and rising sea levels.

A CHRMAP is developed with input from local residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to make sure community values and concerns are included. This means your voice helps shape the decisions.

The plan can affect things like:

• How and where future development happens
• What areas might need protection or changes
• How we prepare for and respond to coastal hazards
• What actions we take to keep our coast safe and enjoyable for everyone

Overall, a CHRMAP helps planning for our coastal areas to remain stay safe, sustainable, and accessible, now and into the future.

If no action is taken to manage and adapt to coastal hazards, areas along the coastline that are already vulnerable, including beaches and dunes, will continue to erode over time. This could lead to the loss of public spaces, natural habitats, and important infrastructure such as roads, walkways, and community facilities.

As part of the CHRMAP process, investigations will help identify which areas are most at risk and what impacts we might see in the future. Taking no action means accepting a higher level of risk to the places we value, which is why planning ahead is so important.

The Kwinana Coast stretches from Challengers Beach to the Kwinana Dog Beach and includes several well-known coastal spots:

• Challengers Beach
• Naval Base Horse Beach
• Kwinana Beach
• Wells Park
• Kwinana Dog Beach
• The nearby Kwinana Industrial Area

This stretch of coastline is a mix of natural beauty and industrial activity, offering a range of recreational spaces that are known to be valued by the community.

The City is currently updating its Coastal Hazard Risk Management and Adaptation Plan (CHRMAP), which builds on the previous Coastal Adaptation Plan. This new plan will help guide when and how we take action to manage coastal risks, using sustainable solutions that protect our coastline both now and into the future.

We know the coastline is important for our community, being a place for recreation, connection, and natural beauty. To support the CHRMAP, we’re seeking input from the community to better understand how the coastline is valued and used. Your feedback will help inform future planning and decision-making.

Creating a CHRMAP brings many benefits for our community and coastline. It helps us:

• Better understand how Kwinana’s coast behaves naturally and what hazards it faces.
• Learn which areas are most sensitive to changes like erosion and flooding.
• Identify when and where our coast is most at risk, so we can plan timely and effective responses.
• Recognise the value of both natural features and built structures along the coast, and the important roles they play.
• Understand which community assets like parks, roads, and facilities are vulnerable to coastal hazards.
• Assess the likelihood and potential impact of coastal hazards on properties and infrastructure.
• Plan practical steps to manage and adapt to these changes and include them in both short-term actions and long-term decision-making.

By having a CHRMAP, we can make informed choices that help protect our coastline and the places we care about, now and into the future.

The CHRMAP is being developed to help guide how we manage and protect our coastline into the future. Right now, the plan and its recommendations are in draft form. This is your opportunity to review the proposed ideas and share your thoughts. Your feedback will help shape the final version of the plan, which will be considered by Council after the public consultation period. By getting involved, you’re helping the plan to reflect what matters most to our community.

The City invites you to be involved in developing a CHRMAP and share your thoughts on ways we can preserve Kwinana’s natural and built assets for you to enjoy now and for future generations to come. Your feedback will be used to develop a draft CHRMAP, which will be available for further public comment in 2025 to confirm we captured your values.

There are a number of ways you can get involved and provide your feedback towards the CHRMAP:

• Participate in the values survey on our website (available 1/09/2025 to 29/09/2025)
• Complete a hard-copy survey (between 1/09/2025 to 29/09/2025)
• Provide comment on the final CHRMAP 

Whilst the project site is the preferred method for feedback, you can obtain a hard-copy of the survey at the following locations:

• City of Kwinana Administration (Corner of Gilmore Avenue and Sulphur Road, Kwinana Beach)
• Kwinana Public Library (Corner of Robbos Way and Chisham Avenue, Kwinana Town Centre)

Your feedback will be used to inform coastal values and management and adaptation controls as part of the draft Coastal Hazard Risk Management Adaption Plan (CHRMAP).

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact the City at (08) 9439 0200 or visit the My Kwinana website (www.lovemykwinana.com/coastal-hazard-risk-management-adaptation-plan-chrmap).