Climate agency set up by Coalition had 'little chance of success'

Former environment Minister Sussan Ley established the Australian Climate Service in 2021, to feed data and information on climate to government.

But an independent review, commissioned by Assistant Minister for Climate Change Jenny McAllister in October 2023, found the agency was failing to equip Australia to deal with climate change.

"Because of the way it was established, ACS had to prioritise short-term emergency management needs at the expense of long-term climate information services," the report reads.

"Consequently, the ACS has been unable to meet Australia's wider climate information requirements."

The findings have prompted the Albanese government to transfer emergency management support functions to the National Emergency Management Agency of Australia (NEMA), while it works through 10 other recommendations.

The impact on jobs at the service is not yet clear - the agency had an Average Staffing Level of 84.2 places in the 2023-24 financial year, and contracted 98.5 roles out.

The review, authored by Mary O'Kane, Daryl Quinlivan and Russell Reichelt, also found that Australia's emergency management agency could not rely on the service to provide information on natural disasters.

"At times, NEMA's needs could arguably have been better met by alternative suppliers, but it did not have the flexibility to choose its preferred provider," the report states.

"NEMA responded by increasing its in-house capabilities to address its needs."

The review recommended a new climate service be established in the long term - known as the National Climate Service.

It should have the capacity to serve Australian governments at all levels, and eventually provide information to all Australians.

"Establishing the ACS was a start in the process of creating a national climate service, but its structure and organisational capacity are inadequate to deliver the type of climate service Australia needs, nor are they sufficient to respond to government's ambition," the review found.

Senator McAllister said the changes would support "good climate information will help Australians make the best decisions we can as our climate changes".

"The Albanese government is delivering real action to limit the impacts of climate change and at the same time ensuring communities and businesses have the tools and data needed to adapt."

The government will respond in full to the recommendations later in 2024.