An academic at Southern Cross University believes longstanding assumptions about coastal property boundaries no longer hold as the effects of climate change become increasingly dramatic.

New international research led by Southern Cross University has found Australia’s legal system is struggling to keep pace with rising sea levels and coastal erosion, with growing disputes over who owns the coast and who should pay when shorelines disappear.

The study, Beach Law in the Anthropocene, published in the journal Ocean & Coastal Management, argues coastal laws around the world continue to favour private property rights and short-term economic interests over environmental protection, Indigenous values and public access to beaches.

Lead researcher Professor Tim Smith, Southern Cross University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), said Australia’s legal framework was built on assumptions that no longer reflected the reality of a changing coastline.

“In Australia, land below the high-water mark belongs to the Crown and is therefore public land. While this is technically an ‘ambulatory’ boundary, our common law tradition assumes coastlines are stable and coastal property boundaries can be fixed,” he said.

“But as the effects of climate change become more dramatic, those assumptions no longer hold.”

The issue has become increasingly contentious along Australia’s east coast, including the Byron Shire and the NSW Mid North Coast, where proposals for managed retreat, restrictions on rebuilding and debates over seawalls have sparked legal challenges.

Co-author Professor Justine Bell-James from the University of Queensland said existing legal frameworks were struggling to respond to sea-level rise, erosion and increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

The researchers argue governments need to rethink coastal ownership and develop more flexible legal frameworks that recognise changing coastlines while protecting public access to beaches.

According to NASA, sea levels around Australia have risen 13 centimetres since 1993 and are forecast to rise by a further 16 centimetres between 2020 and 2050 if current trends continue.

Photo: Professor Tim Smith says Australia’s coastal property laws need to evolve as climate change reshapes the nation’s coastline.