NSW Net Zero Commission urges heat action plans and planning reforms, citing Australia’s deadliest hazard

Extreme heat is not being taken seriously enough and must be built into the way New South Wales plans and prepares for emergencies, the state’s Net Zero Commission has warned in a new report to Climate Change, Energy and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe. The commission — a state agency established two years ago — found extreme heat caused more deaths in Australia between 2000 and 2018 than all other natural hazards combined.

It is calling for reforms to planning laws and emergency responses, arguing the risk is both the most deadly and among the most preventable. “It’s mostly a serious issue because we haven’t planned for it,” commissioner Professor Andy Pitman said. “It’s not necessarily a massive threat if we’ve planned for it and we’ve adapted to it.

It’s that we haven’t taken it seriously.” The commission wants heat action plans similar to those used for bushfires and floods. Among its recommendations are personal extreme heat plans for households — including identifying the coolest parts of a home — and options to seek relief in community facilities.

Where homes cannot provide safe refuge, the report suggests residents use council-provided spaces such as libraries, or hospitals in an emergency. The report identifies older people living alone, infants, people with chronic illness, outdoor manual workers and residents of poorly designed social, Aboriginal and rental housing as most at risk.

It calls for NSW Health to track and publish data on heat-stress deaths, SafeWork NSW to require business-level plans for managing heat exposure, and planning rules to mandate that development applications and controls address thermal safety.

It also recommends minimum thermal-safety and resilience requirements for rental, social and Aboriginal housing — a change the commission says would improve conditions across 35 per cent of the state’s housing stock. The concerns resonate with Sydney renter Arlo Valmai, who recalled living in an old inner-west terrace where, in summer, the walls would “drip” with condensation.

The state government says it is making progress on addressing heat stress in some of the ways outlined by the review. The commission’s central message is that with deliberate planning and adaptation — from building codes to workplace rules and emergency protocols — the threat from extreme heat can be substantially reduced.