Changes in natural hazards related to climate change are evident in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and are projected to become more frequent and intense. The impacts of climate change may adversely affect health and wellbeing, directly via extreme weather events such as heatwaves, storms and floods, and indirectly via impacts on food security, air and water quality, and other environmental amenities. The NSW Government's Climate Change Policy Framework recognises the need to reduce the effects of climate change on health and wellbeing. A conceptual framework can support the aims and objectives of the policy framework by depicting the effects of climate change on health, and individual and social wellbeing, and areas for policy actions and responses. A proposed conceptual framework has been developed, modelled on the Driving force, Pressure, State, Exposure, Effect and Action (DPSEEA) framework of the World Health Organization-a framework which shows the link between exposures and health effects as well as entry points for interventions. The proposed framework presented in this paper was developed in consultation with researchers and policy makers. The framework is guiding current research examining vulnerabilities to climate change and the effects of a range of exposures on health and wellbeing.

The realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires local governments globally to integrate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their policy and practice. In the case of the Hunter Valley Region of Australia, a key sustainable development issue is climate change-induced flooding. The localization and mainstreaming of SDG 13 on climate action can support tangible municipal climate actions in the Region. However, while it is acknowledged that SDG localization is needed to address sustainable development challenges, there is a gap in research and practice to guide local government attempts at SDG localization. This research analyzes literature on SDG localization to understand strategies, challenges and gaps that can inform localization approaches for the Hunter Valley. An analysis of the literature revealed that the implementation of SDG 13 at the local government level is a sparsely researched area, and in practice, efforts to implement SDG 13 have not been publicly communicated. Research-based recommendations for SDG 13 localization are presented to highlight the potential of integrating SDGs into pre-existing local policy so that the SDGs and their targets can support climate action and decrease disaster risk of future floods in Hunter Valley communities.

It is projected that internal displacement of populations in the aftermath of natural hazards will occur more frequently due to climate change [1]. However, to date, 35 nations have implemented policy or legal protections at a national level to plan for displacement or to protect the rights of internally displaced people (IDPs) [2]. While no cohesive national strategy for internal displacement has been developed in Australia, a thematic analysis of climate change, disasters, and emergency management policies was conducted to determine if Australian policy acknowledges the issue of internal displacement or plans for its effects. The study found that Australian policy fails to recognise the needs of IDPs and the threat of displacement risk. The failure of national governments to implement policy and legislation on internal displacement has the potential to undermine the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and stifle the progression of international initiatives such as the Sendai Framework and the Paris Climate Agreement. Furthermore, the lack of recognition for the issue at the governmental level contributes to disaster displacement risk creation, placing vulnerable populations at risk of displacement and associated stressors. As displacement governance is an integral part of addressing the human impacts of climate change and natural hazards [3], this research suggests how displacement risk could be reduced in Australia through national-level policy interventions.