Science-policy practice interfaces for resilient housing in a changing climate: a reform agenda for Australia’s building regulation

Communities and households expect that homes and other buildings will be resilient and safe for occupancy in the long term. A growing concern, then, is that scientific knowledge of increasing near-term risks to buildings in Australia that could cause significant damage and impact on the well-being of occupants, is not yet well integrated into building policies and regulations. This paper investigates the climate change science-policy-practice interface (SPPI) of Australia’s building regulations with a view to enhancing housing resilience using a case study method. Attention to SPPIs is found to provide a more nuanced understanding of barriers to the use of climate change science in regulations, and of ways to tailor reforms to address them. Consideration of the science embedded in regulations and practice, distinct from assumptions that science is exogenous to end users, can usefully help focus the initiation of such reforms. This paper outlines steps to address identified weaknesses in all SPPI building regulation components in Australia for resilience in a changing climate. It is suggested that a disaggregated analysis of regulations as an SPPI may be helpful in designing reforms in other countries where building codes are yet to comprehensively address physical climate change risks.